Austin Strand has accepted his qualifying offer and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Los Angeles Kings worth $771,750. He was not eligible for arbitration this summer.
Strand, 24, made his NHL debut this season, playing 13 games for the Kings and registering a single point. The undrafted defenseman has worked his way up through the minor leagues but will have to fight for playing time again this season. Waiver-exempt for 2020-21, he was involved in daily transactions between the minor leagues, taxi squad and NHL roster. That opportunity won’t be available this time around, meaning Strand will be at risk to the rest of the league if he fails to make the team out of camp.
The Kings already have five defensemen signed to one-way contracts, plus Michael Anderson, Tobias Bjornfot, and Christian Wolanin fighting for playing time, not to mention the unsigned Kale Clague and Jacob Moverare. There’s plenty of options for the coaching staff to work with as the Kings try to find a mix that can get them back to the playoffs, with Strand serving as valuable depth even if he’s not in the NHL lineup on a regular basis.
The Kings seem to have a handful of decent prospects that just need more development time, but are also getting pushed back by the shiny newer prospects. They’ll eventually lose these guys to the waiver wire…. unless they package a couple of them in a trade.