Kings Name Dave Lowry As Assistant Coach
It’s been a big day for NHL assistant coaching news already with Scott Gomez joining the New York Islanders staff and Scott Stevens leaving his post with the Minnesota Wild. Yet, the news continues to break. The Los Angeles Kings, new GM Rob Blake, and recently named head coach John Stevens today announced that Dave Lowry has joined the team as an assistant coach. Lowry joins goalie coach Bill Ranford on Stevens’ staff, one that will surely grow more as the off-season continues.
Lowry is no rookie when it comes to coaching; he has had his fair share of experience in the NHL and elsewhere. The 52-year-old began his coaching career as an assistant with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen in 2005, eventually working his way into the head coaching position during the 2008-09 season and guiding the team to the WHL Championship round. Lowry then stayed in Calgary, but instead worked for his former NHL club, the Flames, from 2009 to 2012 in his first taste of big league coaching. Lowry returned to the junior game in 2012 as the head coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, a position he held until today’s announcement. In that time, Lowry won WHL Coach of the Year twice and helped his team to fourth place or better divisional rankings and a playoff berth every season. In 2016, his success also earned him the job of coaching Canada’s National Junior Team at the IIHF World Championships.
The Kings are one of the oldest teams in the NHL and have one of the league’s worst prospect pipelines, so Lowry will not be coaching kids like he has of late. However, the WHL is traditionally known a heavier league than it’s CHL counterparts with more physicality and less speed, much like the style of the Kings under Darryl Sutter. If Stevens also feels that his players are better suited to that pace, it is one that Lowry has ample experience with as a coach. It’s also similar to how Lowry played as an NHL player during his long 18-year career. Lowry, a left winger, was not so much known for scoring as he was for his physical two-way play. A Kings penalty kill that already ranked fifth in the league last year could be potent in 2017-18 and beyond with Lowry in the mix. Lowry was also an effective checking threat and a force in the crease at just 6’1″ and often less than 200 pounds, so he should be able to help the likes of young, similarly sized players like Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli to round out their defensive games and rebound efficiency.
Expansion Primer: Los Angeles Kings
Over the next few weeks we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.
It was a tough year for the Los Angeles Kings. After bouncing back in 2015-16 with an 102-point season, the squad collapsed this year after early goaltending injuries and a decisive lack of speed from the forward group. After a nice early season return from the old Dustin Brown, he scored just nine points in his final 26 games and again looks like a buyout candidate. Marian Gaborik scored just 21 points all year, and Anze Kopitar had just three goals through the first 35 games (and only 12 on the season).
Despite all that they added at the trade deadline, dealing for Jarome Iginla and Ben Bishop to try and sneak into the playoffs. They missed, and with it the coaching staff and front office were cleared out. New GM Rob Blake is in charge now, and the Kings will be looking for a fresh start. They will select 11th in the entry draft, but first have some decisions to make in the upcoming expansion draft.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Anze Kopitar (NMC), Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Marian Gaborik, Tanner Pearson, Trevor Lewis, Kyle Clifford, Jordan Nolan, Nic Dowd, Andrew Crescenzi, Andy Andreoff, Nick Shore, Justin Auger, Michael Mersch, Tyler Toffoli
Defensemen:
Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, Matt Greene, Brayden McNabb, Derek Forbort, Kurtis MacDermid
Goaltenders:
Jonathan Quick, Jeff Zatkoff, Jack Campbell
Notable Exemptions
Alex Iafallo, Adrian Kempe, Jonny Brodzinski, Kale Clague, Mike Amadio
Key Decisions
The first, and biggest decision the Los Angeles Kings must make is which protection scheme to use. Each team can protect either 7 forwards, 3 defenseman and 1 goaltender (7-3-1) or eight skaters and one goaltender (8-1). Even though the Kings didn’t have much success this season, doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of players they’d like to protect. The trouble with being a team on the downside of such a run of success, is that most of your key contributors aren’t young enough to be exempt from the expansion draft. 
Up front, the team will undoubtedly protect their veteran leadership in Kopitar and Carter, and their young talent in Toffoli and Pearson. If they decide to go with the 7-3-1 route, that leaves them with three spots left to hand out protection to some combination of the other forwards that include Lewis, Clifford, Shore, and Dowd. Even though Brown and Gaborik could be solid marketing options for Vegas as former stars, the contracts attached to both are basically built-in protection.
The problem with going the 7-3-1 route, and why it’s likely the toughest decision the Kings will have to make, is that it would result in the exposure of McNabb and Forbort. Though the previous Kings regime has never really allowed him to play a key role in their blueline, McNabb has elite possession numbers and could easily be a target for a more analytical-leaning Vegas squad. Forbort on the other hand played in all 82 games for the Kings this season, logging over 20 minutes a night attached to the hip of Doughty.
Both McNabb and Forbort are young enough (26 and 25 respectively) to make an impact for several years in Vegas, and for a team like Los Angeles looking to rebuild losing them for nothing would be a mistake. That said, Doughty, Muzzin and Martinez would all easily be the pick if left unprotected and going with the 8-1 protection scheme would put several forwards at risk (and only give one additional protection slot on the back end).
In net, Quick is going to be protected and there isn’t much debate on that fact. The franchise goaltender missed almost the entire 2016-17 season, but is still an excellent starting option and locked in long-term. Campbell could be interesting to Vegas after a renaissance in the AHL this season but with so many other options from the team will likely be an afterthought.
Vegas will have a chance to sign any free agents during their selection window, and today George McPhee said they would be “very aggressive” in doing so. It’s hard to see it coming into effect for the Kings though, as the only real free agent of note is Iginla who isn’t worth forfeiting a selection over.
Projected Protection List
F Anze Kopitar (NMC)
F Jeff Carter
F Tanner Pearson
F Tyler Toffoli
D Drew Doughty
D Alec Martinez
D Jake Muzzin
D Derek Forbort
It’s not a perfect option for the Kings, as they will watch a valuable player walk out the door during the expansion draft if they don’t make a move to protect themselves. They seem like the perfect candidate to work out a pre-draft trade with Vegas in order to take one of their hefty contracts off their hands and allow them some freedom to rebuild over the next few years.
The same way the team was looking to move Gaborik at the deadline, they now may offer an asset up for Vegas to take him off their hands. The problem is that Vegas holds all the cards (sorry), as there isn’t a clear path for Los Angeles to get out of this that doesn’t involve dealing with George McPhee and the Golden Knights.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Former Blackhawks All-Star Bill White Passes Away
On Monday, the hockey world lost Bill White, a six-time All-Star and one of the great defenseman of the 1970’s, at the age of 77. White was a perennial All-Star and Norris Trophy candidate every year from 1969 to 1974 and spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks. The organization mourned the loss of their former star and offered condolences to his family and friends and team historian Bob Verdi recalled his great career and how much he meant to the Blackhawks.
White’s NHL career began with the Los Angeles Kings in 1967, when he scored 38 points and racked up 100 penalty minutes as a rookie, establishing that he was here to stay in the big leagues. White was traded to Chicago in February of 1970 as the centerpiece of a six-player swap. With two All-Star appearances already, White still took his game to the next level with the Blackhawks. From 1971 to 1974, White added four more All-Star game appearances, was twice named a Second-Team All-NHL selection, and twice finished in the top ten in the league in +/-.
Sadly, white suffered a career-ending neck injury toward the end of the 1975-76 season at 36 years old, but nevertheless he remained committed to the team. White stayed on as a coach and the next season replaced long-time head coach Billy Reay and finished out the campaign. Altogether, White finished his NHL career with 265 points in 604 regular season games and another 39 points in 91 playoff games as a player and a 16-24-6 record in 46 games as a coach.
Offseason Keys: Los Angeles Kings
While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Los Angeles Kings.
This season was a tough one for the Kings. An injury in the opening game of the season to goaltender Jonathan Quick set the stage for things to go downhill in a hurry and that’s exactly what happened. They wound up missing the postseason and the team cleaned house, letting both head coach Darryl Sutter and GM Dean Lombardi go. Both were replaced internally with John Stevens being promoted behind the bench while Rob Blake took over as general manager. Here are some of the things he’ll be tasked with in the months ahead.
Clear Up Cap Room
Los Angeles is locked to in a lot of big money, big term deals and as a result, their cap space is at a premium. Presently, they have nearly $62.2MM committed to 16 players for next year per CapFriendly which doesn’t give them much room to add impact players once they take care of their own free agents.
The good news is that they don’t have many no-trade clauses to deal with if Blake decides to shake things up. Dustin Brown has a 22-team no-trade clause while Anze Kopitar has a no-move clause and that’s it as things currently stand.
Marian Gaborik’s situation could be an interesting one to keep tabs on. It has been speculated that he could be a candidate to start on long-term injury reserve next year which could free up a bit of money when the season starts. However, it’s hard to imagine that he’d be okay with being stashed on there similar to the way Joffrey Lupul was with Toronto this year so it’s not a long-term solution by any stretch. Whether it’s through moving out one big contract or trying to save a bit here and there in a few moves, some of their dealings this summer will be motivated by their cap situation.
New Deal For Toffoli
Earlier this month, the Kings wrapped up one of their two key offseason re-signings with a new four year, $15MM contract to Tanner Pearson. Now they’ll need to turn their focus to their other key RFA in Tyler Toffoli.
Last week, it was reported that substantive talks had yet to start although that was expected to occur in the coming days. Toffoli is coming off a bit of a down season as a leg injury cost him 19 games and as a result, he recorded just 34 points (16-18-34) in 63 contests.
Toffoli’s salary this past season was $3.9MM with a cap hit of $3.25MM. As the salary sets the qualifying offer, that’s going to be the minimum cap charge on his new deal (unless he agrees to a contract less than that qualifying offer which isn’t likely). He’s coming off a two year bridge contract and is two years away from unrestricted free agency so it’s reasonable to expect that the team will be looking to pursue a long-term pact. How long (and expensive) the deal is will certainly affect the amount of cap room Blake has to work with.
Add Speed
If you were to ask the average fan how they’d classify the Kings, the word slow would likely come up quickly. Lombardi built a team with an emphasis on size and as a result, they have quite a few slower players. A decade ago, that approach made a lot of sense but as the league trends towards speed, this isn’t a good spot to be in.
It’s believed that Stevens plans to employ a more up-tempo system next season as one of the tweaks he implements as the head coach. For that to happen, Blake will need to bring in some players who are better suited for that style of play. Given that many teams are heading in that direction though, there will be plenty of suitors either via trade or free agency for some of the players that they’re likely to target.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hindsight Bias: The Best And Worst Of Trade Deadline Day
With the conference championships underway, we’re left with just four teams remaining in the hunt for the Stanley Cup. For the rest, they can take a look at the major trades made up to and on March 1st this year and gauge whether they were a mistake or a success. It’s somewhat of a mixed bag this year, with no deadline acquisition fueling their team to postseason dominance and no scapegoat whose underwhelming performance is to blame for an epic collapse. With that said, over two months later, it is safe to say that there were some clear winner and loser trades at the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline.
Winner: Anaheim Ducks – Patrick Eaves
Eaves has quietly been one of the most consistent contributors in the NHL this season and that did not change when he moved from the Dallas Stars to the Ducks ahead of the deadline. A versatile, two-way winger, Eaves has fit in well in Anaheim as is the lone major deadline addition who is still playing in the conference championships. After scoring 37 points in 59 games with the Stars, about .63 points per game, he registered 14 more in the final 20 regular season games for the Ducks, boosting his scoring to .7 points per game down the stretch in his new home. He even has two goals and two assists in seven playoff games, despite battling injuries. Anaheim may be down 1-0 in their pursuit of the Campbell Bowl and a Stanley Cup berth and their postseason success has bumped the price for Eaves up from a 2017 second-round pick to a first-rounder, but with a one in four chance at a title and a chance to re-sign Eaves, the Ducks cannot be more pleased with how this deal has played out thus far.
Loser: Minnesota Wild – Martin Hanzal
A team that is not so happy with their first-round investment is Minnesota. The Wild had been one of the best teams in the league all season long when they surprised many by acquiring one of the top trade deadline targets in Hanzal. The power forward performed admirably post-trade, putting up half as many points as his season total in Arizona in less than half as many games, 26 in 51 versus 13 in 25. He even added a playoff goal. However, his time in the playoffs, by no fault of his own, was much shorter than expected. The Wild were upset by the St. Louis Blues in five games and just like that they’re Stanley Cup hopes were gone. Falling so short despite high expectations makes the cost of adding a piece that didn’t matter much more difficult to swallow. Minnesota owes the Arizona Coyotes a top pick this season and a second-rounder next season plus another conditional pick and prospect, with little to show for the price.
Winner: New York Rangers – Brendan Smith
While the Rangers were underwhelming in their semi-final series against the Ottawa Senators, one many expected them to win, their exit is still not all that surprising given their status as a wildcard seed. Helping them to upset the Montreal Canadiens in Round One and take the Senators to six games was deadline acquisition Smith. While some initially mocked the deal – a 2018 second-round pick and 2017 third-round pick for a defenseman with just five points – Smith proved to be an excellent fit in New York. He scored four points in 18 games with the Rangers and also played better in his own end, earning him more play time. A disappointing start to the season in Detroit for the career-Red Wing quickly turned into a career revival with impressive play for his new squad. The postseason brought yet another four points and continued high-level play for Smith. Unfortunately, perhaps his worst game as a Ranger came in the elimination loss to the Senators when he was exposed on defense multiple times. Yet, in the big picture he was a success in New York. There is no word yet on whether there is mutual interest between both sides in an extension, especially since the Rangers carry many expensive blue line contract, but regardless this deal has to be considered a win for the Blueshirts.
Loser: Los Angeles Kings – Ben Bishop
Bishop may be happily settling in to his new home in Dallas after signing a nice six-year deal, but his time in Los Angeles did little to help him secure that contact. The Kings and the keeper were strange bedfellows to begin with, as now ex-GM Dean Lombardi traded red-hot backup goalie Peter Budaj, 2015 second-round defenseman Erik Cernak, and a 2017 seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Bishop, just as starter Jonathan Quick was returning to health. The Kings needed scoring, not better goaltending, if they wanted to make the playoffs, but ended up with neither from the Bishop trade as he picked up only two wins in seven appearances with L.A. and posted just a .900 save percentage. The Kings finished 10th in the Western Conference and eight points out of a playoff spot, not even all that close to a berth, and now need to find a new backup goalie for 2017-18. The Bishop trade makes as little sense now as it did then and undoubtedly figured in to Lombardi’s firing.
Winner: Boston Bruins – Drew Stafford
The Bruins may have lost in the first round of the playoffs, but they likely wouldn’t have if four of their six starting defenseman didn’t miss all or most of the series. Even with those major injuries, the Ottawa Senators still had a difficult time eliminating the Bruins and Stafford was a thorn in their side with two goals and consistent two-way contribution. Add in four goals, matching his total earlier in the season with the Winnipeg Jets, and four assists in 18 regular season games as well as an outstanding +8 rating, and Stafford was an excellent addition for Boston. Acquired for just a sixth-round pick, Stafford was easily the steal of the trade deadline and ongoing talks of an extension would only add more value to a shrewd deal by GM Don Sweeney.
Loser: Florida Panthers – Thomas Vanek
Vanek was having a great season for the Detroit Red Wings when the Trade Deadline rolled around. He had 38 points in 48 games and was sniping with accuracy unseen over the past five years. When the Florida Panthers struck a deal to acquire that level of talent for just a 2017 third-round pick and struggling prospect Dylan McIlrath, there was a consensus that they had won the trade considering the affordable cost. Yet, the counter to that argument was that, even if he maintained the same rate of production, Vanek alone was likely not enough for the Panthers to make the playoffs. In the end, that proved to be true. Vanek’s scoring dropped off to just two goals and ten points in 20 games and his shooting percentage fell almost ten points, but even if it hadn’t, the Panthers wouldn’t have qualified for the postseason. They finished 13th in the Eastern Conference, 14 points shy of a playoff spot. At the end of the day, acquiring the impending free agent and missing the playoffs by that much was simply a waste of a third-round pick for a team that is still building.
Loser: New York Islanders – No One
The idea that you can’t lose at the Trade Deadline if you don’t make a deal is incorrect. Case in point: the 2016-17 Islanders. New York ended up missing the postseason by just one point and their playoff hopes were alive up to the final day of the season. Had the Isles made a trade, even a small one, that could have won them one more game down the stretch, they might have been a playoff team after all. Given their need to convince star John Tavares to stick around, the Islanders should have been more willing to do something – anything – to transform into a playoff team.
Notable Contracts Signed During Playoffs
The NHL’s regular season ended on April 9. Since then, there have been six notable contracts handed out by teams who either missed the playoffs or were eliminated early. We also saw the first major signing by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
At the half-way mark of the playoffs, let’s take a look at the bigger contracts signed so far:
April 24 – The New York Islanders re-signed Dennis Seidenberg to a one-year extension worth $1.25MM. A year removed from being bought-out by the Boston Bruins, Seidenberg signed with the Islanders during training camp. The defensive defenseman scored five goals and 22 points in 73 games with the Islanders. Seidenberg will be exposed in the expansion draft, but is not the most-appealing option that will be available to the Golden Knights from the Islanders roster.
May 2 – The Toronto Maple Leafs finally confirmed the long-rumored signing of defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to a seven-year, $31.5MM extension. That’s an average of $4.5MM per season, which is fair value for a top-four defenseman on a long-term deal. The 25-year old transitioned exceptionally to the NHL, registering 36 points while leading the Maple Leafs in ice-time and playing in all 82 regular season games. The term is likely longer than most Maple Leafs’ fans wanted, but will keep the cap hit down. He will also be exempt from this spring’s expansion draft.
May 4 – The Vegas Golden Knights made their first major acquisition (sorry, Reid Duke) by signing KHL star Vadim Shipachyov to a two-year, $9MM contract. The 30-year-old center scored 76 points in 50 games this season for SKA St. Petersburg. That was good for third in the KHL and second on SKA, behind only Ilya Kovalchuk. Shipachyov is a highly-skilled offensive player, but isn’t a big body at 6’1, 190 lbs. Vegas hopes he’ll be a marquee talent for the expansion club.
May 5 – The Carolina Hurricanes traded for Chicago Blackhawks backup goaltender Scott Darling in late April, and spent less than a week negotiating a new four-year, $16.6MM contract. Darling spent three seasons with the Blackhawks, going from a little-known name to one of this summer’s most highly sought-after goaltenders. In 32 games this season, Darling went 18-5-5 with a 0.924 SV% and a 2.38 GAA. The Hurricanes still owe Eddie Lack and Cam Ward over $6MM for the upcoming season.
May 9 – The Los Angeles Kings’ new GM Rob Blake locked up one of his team’s key young players to a four-year, $15MM contract. Tanner Pearson finished third on the Kings in scoring, with a career-high 44 points. The Kings had a disappointing season, but Pearson was one of their few bright spots.
May 11 – After a 22-goal season, Richard Panik signed a two-year, $5.8MM extension with the Chicago Blackhawks this morning. Panik caught on with the Chicago Blackhawks last season and has been a regular fixture with captain Jonathan Toews on the top line. Prior to his 44-points this season, Panik’s previous career-high was 17 points. While he left some money on the table, it was unlikely that he would find a better spot than on Toews’ wing.
Snapshots: Sharks, Florida’s Coaching Search, Sharipzianov
With a pair of long-term veterans in Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton slated to become unrestricted free agents in July and the team being ousted in the first round, CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz suggests that the time is right for GM Doug Wilson to make a big splash this offseason.
For starters, Marleau and Thornton represent a little over $13.4MM in money potentially coming off the salary cap which opens up the type of payroll flexibility the team hasn’t had in quite some time. Kurz argues that while one or both could conceivably be brought back, the team would still be competitive but also wouldn’t be favored as a threat to be a Stanley Cup contender either.
The core of the Sharks has been together for quite some time but with those two potentially set to walk as well as new deals needed for goalie Martin Jones and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic following 2017-18, the time may be right to shake things up in San Jose.
Elsewhere around the league:
- While Predators assistant coach Phil Housley is believed to be a candidate for Florida’s coaching vacancy, Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel adds another name to the mix in Capitals associate coach Todd Reirden. The 45 year old Reirden has been with Washington for the past three years and before that, spent parts of seven seasons in Pittsburgh’s organization, three seasons at the minor league level and four with the big club. Former Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien as well as Denver University bench boss Jim Montgomery are also in the mix to replace Tom Rowe behind the bench.
- Kings defensive prospect Damir Sharipzianov has been loaned to Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL for next season, the Russian team announced (link in Russian). The 21 year old recently completed the first season of his three year, entry-level contract but spent the full season in the minors, playing 38 games with Ontario of the AHL and ten more with ECHL Manchester. Although he won’t be with the Kings or a minor league affiliate, he will continue to count against their 50 contract limit for 2017-18.
Kings Expect To Start Toffoli Contract Talks Soon
Although the Kings put pen to paper on a new four year, $15MM deal with winger Tanner Pearson yesterday, talks haven’t progressed as significantly with their other prominent pending restricted free agent in winger Tyler Toffoli, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. However, he notes that talks on a new contract for him are expected to begin soon.
Toffoli is coming off a bit of a tough year as he missed 19 games due to a leg injury while playing through another leg issue during the season. As a result, his offensive numbers came in considerably lower than the past two years but he still managed to put up 16 goals and 18 assists in 63 games. However, he’s just one year removed from a 31 goal campaign and will be counted on as a go-to scorer for Los Angeles not only for next season but for the foreseeable future as well.
The 25 year old is coming off the second and final year of his bridge deal that carries a cap hit of $3.25MM. However, it’s worth noting that his salary this season was $3.9MM which sets that as his qualifying offer amount if the two sides aren’t able to work out a new deal by the end of June.
While they certainly need to get a deal done, Toffoli’s next contract will only further the cap constraints that new general manager Rob Blake will be facing. The team already has nearly $62.2MM in commitments to 16 players for next season per CapFriendly and the salary cap isn’t expected to go up much from the $73MM it was at in 2016-17. While there is the potential for Marian Gaborik to head for long-term injured reserve next season, that still doesn’t leave a whole lot of wiggle room for Blake to make many changes to their roster for next year as things currently stand.
Kings Sign Tanner Pearson To Four-Year Extension
It has been a busy day for the Los Angeles Kings and new GM Rob Blake. After trading impending free agent goaltender Ben Bishop to the Dallas Stars for a fourth round pick earlier, the Kings have announced another shrewd deal no more than an hour later: young winger Tanner Pearson has agreed to a four-year, $15MM extension to stay in Los Angeles. An impending restricted free agent, Pearson had only limited leverage, but will carry a $3.75MM AAV for the next four seasons which is a number that both sides are likely very happy with.
In a season that was an overall disappointment for the Kings, Pearson was one of the few bright spots of the campaign. The 24-year-old posted a career-high 24 goals and 44 points and took on a much larger role on the team. Pearson led the team in shorthanded scoring and shooting percentage, finished behind only stars Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar in points and just Carter in goals and his 20 assists, +5 rating, and 124 hits ranked in the top ten as well.
Yet, with just 44 points on the year and only 101 career points through four seasons, the Kings still held a significant degree of control in negotiations and were able to lock up a valuable young asset for a very reasonable rate. Pearson, who still shows signs of growth, will be a King until he is 28 at under $4MM per year. While he will make more than fellow youngster Tyler Toffoli next year, Pearson will likely be the fifth highest-paid forward on the team despite performing like the second or third-best in 2017-18. On the other hand, his contract compares to those of New York Islanders center Anders Lee and Dallas Stars forward Cody Eakin, whose play and skill set compare favorably to Pearson as well. It appears to be a good compromise all around for Pearson and Los Angeles, and the Kings can now turn to helping Pearson and his teammates out more by adding some more speed and skill to the forward corps this off-season.
Ben Bishop Traded To The Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have acquired Ben Bishop from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Bishop is a pending unrestricted free agent and is still not under contract for next season. The pick originally belonged to Montreal, and was acquired by the Stars in the Jordie Benn deal from earlier this year.
After being dealt mid-season from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles, Bishop is heading into free agency coming off just 39 games played and a .910 save percentage. Neither of these numbers show the lofty heights that Bishop is capable of, as prior to this season he received Vezina votes two out of the last three years. If Dallas could get him signed, he’d easily become the best goaltender in town, even if it is a quite crowded crease.
The Stars already have Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi under contract for next season at a combined cap-hit of $10.4MM, meaning at least one goaltender will have to be either bought out or traded before the start of the season. The pair put up very substandard goaltending this season, a big reason why the Stars dropped right out of the playoff picture just a year removed from leading the Western Conference.
Bishop represents a potential huge upgrade in the crease, but doesn’t come without his own warts. He’ll turn 31 this season and has a lot of leverage now that Scott Darling has been taken off the market. Bishop would hit free agency as the clear #1 available goaltender even after his down year, and likely demand a contract in excess of $5MM per season on a multi-year deal. If he were to repeat the season he had this year the Stars would be in exactly the same situation but with a longer term deal on their hands.
In the end though, the Stars had to do something to improve the situation as they start a new era under a familiar face. Ken Hitchcock is back behind the bench and the team will be expected to have some immediate success as they continue through the primes of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. The latter is only under contract for two more seasons, after which he could legitimately bolt for a cup contender if there isn’t any improvement on the ice in Dallas.
For Los Angeles, they recoup some of the value they sent to Tampa Bay at the deadline and move Bishop out before he left for nothing. Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times reports that former Kings GM Dean Lombardi had been interested in keeping Bishop, though that would have been difficult considering Jonathan Quick is firmly entrenched as the starter. The team will now look around at other backup options for next season, including Jack Campbell a former Stars’ prospect that has had a renaissance of sorts with Ontario of the AHL.
Multiple reports have the two sides ready to start talking contracts over the next few days, though they haven’t actually discussed anything yet. Had Bishop hit the open market, Dallas would likely have been an attractive landing spot given their recent success and lack of goaltending competition—despite the big salaries. John Shannon of Sportsnet seems to confirm this, reporting that Bishop told the Kings that he preferred certain teams including Dallas. If they can get a deal done, the biggest losers of this deal may be much further north as both Calgary and Winnipeg (among others) would have likely had interest in the 6’7″ netminder. Unfortunately Calgary was on his no-trade list, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t have been interested. They’ll now have to look elsewhere to find an upgrade in net, and with options dwindling in free agency, perhaps it will have to be through trade.
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News was first to hear about the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images