With just two teams still playing, the rest have already started their offseason planning. What storylines lie ahead around the league? Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Los Angeles Kings.
From the standpoint of making the playoffs versus not making them, 2017-18 was a success for Los Angeles. They picked up their play down the stretch and landed the top Wild Card spot in the West. However, the success ended there as they wound up being swept by Vegas in the opening round which has sent them back to the drawing board. With most of their team already signed, it’s shaping up to be a relatively quiet summer but here are some keys to make it a successful one.
Decision On Rieder
Prior to the trade deadline, the Kings picked up speedy winger Tobias Rieder from Arizona as part of a deal that saw netminder Darcy Kuemper sent to the desert. They were hoping that he would bolster their bottom six and that his struggles with the Coyotes weren’t a sign of things to come. That wasn’t exactly the case as he wound up with just six points in 24 games (regular season and playoffs).
At the time the trade was made, it seemed like there was a good chance that Rieder would get a qualifying offer in June but that’s not as much of a guarantee now. The back-loaded nature of his contract means that he is owed a $2.45MM qualifier and while that’s not bad value for a player who put up 25 points on the year between the two teams, there is probably better value to be had on the open market.
Further complicating things is his arbitration eligibility. While he’s not going to have a case for a big raise, his award won’t be high enough for Los Angeles to receive walkaway rights.
On the flip side, Rieder is just 25 years old, has hit double digits in goals in each of his four NHL seasons, and can play both wings. He’s not the type of player that a team builds around but he can certainly be part of a supporting cast on a good team so he’s not someone that they should necessarily want to let go for free either. Of the players on the bubble for qualifying offers, Rieder’s situation is one of the more intriguing ones.
Free Up Payroll
There aren’t many teams that are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the salary cap for next season than the Kings. They already have roughly $70MM committed per CapFriendly and while their list of free agents is rather small, by the time they fill out the rest of their roster, they may not have enough left to have another impact player and still leave enough to hedge against injuries or to save for a late-season acquisition.
Considering their move to acquire defenseman Dion Phaneuf last season, it may seem a little odd to think that they may want to deal from their back end to free up some extra flexibility. However, their top five blueliners cost just shy of $23MM and with the free agent market being relatively weak at that position, they’d be dealing from a position of strength and having rookie Daniel Brickley in the system gives them a youngster with upside to step in.
Add Top-Six Help
The other reason they may want to do something with their back end is to give them the flexibility to add to their top-six. Youngster Alex Iafallo had a nice rookie season but is miscast in a top-line role and while Dustin Brown had a significant bounce-back campaign, it would be tough to count on a repeat of his 61 points after he failed to average half of that over his previous four seasons. Rieder (if qualified) doesn’t really fit in a top-six spot either.
Fortunately for Los Angeles, they’re set down the middle with Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter so they can set their sights on the wing where the free agent market is much stronger. It’s also the easier position to try to acquire in a trade.
If they can free up a little more payroll room (or the salary cap increase is higher than anticipated), the Kings should be able to go after most of the top wingers on the open market. Adding one of them would force Iafallo to drop into a more optimal spot in the lineup while also providing a shot in the arm to a middle-of-the-pack attack. Quietly, Los Angeles was the top defensive team in the league in 2017-18 (in terms of goals allowed) so adding one more quality scorer would go a long way towards getting them closer to contention.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jeff Skinner is a perfect ideal acquisition
He would be – but LA can deal from their defense as a position of strength. Guess where Carolina’s strongest assets are?