2:05pm: The team has also signed Mersch to a one-year, two-way deal. The 24-year old played 48 games for the Ontario Reign this year, scoring 33 points despite a knee injury that kept him out for almost two months. The former fourth-round pick made his NHL debut in 2015-16, and is still trying to make it back to the Kings.
1:05pm: The Los Angeles Kings have reached agreements with four more restricted free agents, signing Justin Auger, Andrew Crescenzi, Zachary Leslie and Kurtis MacDermid to one-year, two-way contracts that pay $650K at the NHL level. Crescenzi was the only one of the four with arbitration rights, though he declined to file earlier this month. The Kings now have three remaining RFAs to sign: Paul LaDue, Jonny Brodzinski and Michael Mersch, though none of the three filed for arbitration either.
Out of this group MacDermid may be the most interesting, though none of the four look to have much of an NHL future. MacDermid went undrafted and signed with the Kings in 2012, only to return to the OHL to develop his two-way game further. In 58 games this season with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, the 6’5″ defenseman put up 20 points and was a physical force on the ice, laying huge hits and dropping the gloves whenever necessary.
Auger, the highest draft pick of the bunch is another towering player who has some sneaky good hands and can contribute offensively at times. He, like the other three, seem destined to continue in the AHL for the foreseeable future, but Ontario fans won’t be upset about that. The club went 36-21-11 last season and should be competitive once again next year.