Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Kings Rumors

Los Angeles Kings Sign Anze Kopitar To Two-Year Contract Extension

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings have signed captain Anze Kopitar to a two-year contract extension carrying a $7MM AAV. As Kopitar already has a contract through the end of next season, this deal will start with the 2024-25 campaign and will cover Kopitar’s age-37 and age-38 seasons.

The deal carries a full no-move clause, and financially Kopitar is set to be paid almost exclusively in signing bonus in year one, and entirely in base salary in year two.

Many viewed the Kings’ acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets as succession planning for when Kopitar would no longer take up the mantle as the Kings’ number-one center.

Seeing as fellow era-defining two-way center Patrice Bergeron could be calling it a career at the age of 37, it could reasonably be assumed that Kopitar, set to turn 36 years old in August, would be nearing the end of his storied career as well.

That won’t be the case, though, at least for the next three seasons.

By spending $7MM per year on two seasons of Kopitar in his late thirties, the Kings have placed a significant bet that one of their franchise’s greatest players will remain a great one even as he ages. It’s easy to see why they’ve made that bet, as Kopitar was almost every bit as brilliant at 35 years old as he was in his mid-twenties.

Kopitar scored 28 goals and 74 points in 82 games in 2022-23, and added seven points in the Kings’ six-game first-round series loss to the Edmonton Oilers. As he’s done throughout his career, Kopitar paired that offensive production with exceptional defensive play, playing the most minutes of any Los Angeles forward on the team’s penalty kill.

The two-time Selke Trophy winner might have a few more of those trophies on his resume had he not had the misfortune of playing at the same time as Bergeron, one of the greatest defensive forwards of all time, and Kopitar’s defensive game gives him a high floor in terms of the value he’s providing Los Angeles should his offense start to dry up as he gets older.

With Kopitar locked up through 2025-26 at a below-market rate compared to what he provides, the Kings have secured arguably the best set of four centers in the entire NHL. While he’s a somewhat divisive player, Dubois is certainly a great fit in a second-line center role behind Kopitar.

Having a center like Phillip Danault, who can score 50 points on offense and routinely appear in the top ten of Selke Trophy ballots, in the third-line center role is the kind of stuff coaches dream about. Even their projected fourth-line center, the energetic Blake Lizotte, might be overqualified for that role coming off of a career-best 34-point season.

With this extension, the Kings have bet on Kopitar maintaining his brilliance into his late thirties. If that bet pays off, the Kings will have secured themselves an embarrassment of riches at one of the game’s most important positions, and built the foundation for a team that could very well contend for Stanley Cups once again.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Los Angeles Kings Sign Joe Hicketts

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Los Angeles Kings have added a depth defenseman, signing Joe Hicketts to a one-year, two-way deal. The Kings have made improving their defensive depth a priority in this early stage of free agency, and Hicketts is the third blueliner the team has added in the past two days, joining Andreas Englund and Steven Santini.

Hicketts is a 27-year-old offensive defenseman who lacks size but has grown into an impactful offensive defenseman at the AHL level. While he last played in the NHL in 2019-20, Hicketts is coming off of his best season at the AHL level. He scored 48 points in 72 games for the Iowa Wild, and also wore a letter on his jersey for the first time in his pro career.

A Calder Cup champion as a rookie, Hicketts will likely play an important role on the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. He’ll get a chance to quarterback their powerplay and have another strong, productive season that would allow him to push for another NHL call-up.

Kings Sign David Rittich, Steven Santini

at CDT | by 6 Comments

Aside from the free agent deals for both Andreas Englund and Mikhail Maltsev, the team has also announced separate signings of goaltender David Rittich, and defenseman Steven Santini. Both players received one-year deals, while Rittich will make $875K at the NHL level, and Santini will receive $800K.

It was previously reported that the Kings were targeting a goalie to sign to a relatively cheap contract to pair with incumbent Pheonix Copley to complete their goalie tandem. They’ve found exactly that in Rittich, 30. Rittich spent last season as Connor Hellebuyck’s backup with the Winnipeg Jets, posting a .901 save percentage in 21 games.

He’s been a backup goaltender for the past three seasons, but before that point he received a greater workload as a member of the Calgary Flames.

Before the Flames’ signing of Jacob Markstrom, Rittich received 40+ games played from the Flames and performed decently well, scoring a .911 save percentage in 2018-19 and a .907 in 2019-20.

Copley managed to post a 26-6-3 record with a .903 save percentage last season, so if Rittich can manage to post similar numbers next season the Kings should be in decent shape.

They’ve got quite a bit of talent all throughout their roster and seem to be looking to emulate the Golden Knights from early in these past playoffs, wherein a cheap netminder good enough to give his team a chance to win consistently is propelled to victories by a talent-rich roster.

Conventional wisdom has stated that teams need strong, reliable goaltenders to be able to have playoff success, but the Golden Knights bucked that trend by winning a Stanley Cup behind a netminder with a career-high of 27 NHL games played in a single season. Now, the Kings look to be attempting to do a similar thing.

As for Santini, he’s a 28-year-old six-foot-two blueliner with 123 games of NHL experience under his belt. He’s played a handful of NHL games in the last few seasons but has largely been an AHL defender in that time frame. He’ll likely get a shot in training camp to make the NHL roster but will be overwhelmingly likely to play most of his games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

The Kings faced quite a few injury issues last season, so in signing Santini, Los Angeles has secured some experienced depth in case the injury bug bites once again.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Los Angeles Kings Sign Trevor Lewis

at CDT | by 8 Comments

Forward Trevor Lewis is returning to the team where he won two Stanley Cups, signing a one-year, $775K deal with the Los Angeles Kings, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The 36-year-old spent the last two seasons with Calgary and is coming off one of his better recent offensive performances, scoring nine goals while chipping in with 11 assists in 80 games.  That was his best showing offensively since the 2017-18 campaign, back when he was with the Kings.  Of course, Lewis is known more for his physicality and he provided plenty of that with the Flames, contributing 334 hits over his 162 games with them.

A 15-year veteran, Lewis has played in 892 career regular season games between Los Angeles, Winnipeg, and Calgary, picking up 90 goals and 119 assists while averaging a little over 1.8 hits per game.

While Lewis spent a lot of time on the third line in his first stint with the Kings, it’s unlikely that he’ll be in that role this time around.  He averaged a little over 12 minutes a night with Calgary but with a stronger group of forwards in Los Angeles, Lewis will likely spend most of his time on the fourth line and penalty kill.  On a league minimum contract, he should provide a reasonable return on that agreement.

Andreas Englund Signing With Los Angeles Kings

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Los Angeles Kings have signed imposing defender Andreas Englund to a two-year, $2MM contract worth $1MM per season, says TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Being a minor-league player for the Ottawa Senators for much of his career, Englund really got his first consistent taste of NHL action last season with the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche. In 36 games played for Colorado, Englund garnered only four assists but laid down a whopping 106 hits, also throwing in a few fights.

A midseason trade with the Chicago Blackhawks that landed defenseman Jack Johnson back with the Avalanche, Englund saw his ice time dramatically increase by almost four minutes on average. However, he only suited up in 11 games for Chicago, tallying one assist and 29 hits.

A defensive defenseman through and through, the addition of Englund will make the Kings harder to play against when he is in their lineup. Standing at 6 feet-3 inches and almost 190 pounds, Englund is one of the heaviest hitters in the game today. Much like he was on the Avalanche, Englund will once again join a contender as an extremely intimidating force on the back end.

Los Angeles Kings Sign Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Mikhail Maltsev

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan is returning to the Los Angeles Kings despite not being issued a qualifying offer yesterday. Per the team, he’s been issued a one-year deal worth $775K. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports they’ve also signed forward Mikhail Maltsev to another one-year, $775K deal.

Anderson-Dolan has been with the Kings since he was drafted by them 41st overall at the 2017 draft. In 2021-22 Anderson-Dolan took a step forward in the AHL, scoring 24 goals and 47 points in 53 games. That earned him a long look at the NHL level, and he got into 46 regular-season games scoring seven goals and 12 points.

With this affordable contract extension, Anderson-Dolan is likely to once again be in place for a depth role in Los Angeles, though as he’s set to turn 24 he won’t be waiver-exempt as he was in earlier seasons.

Maltsev, 25, is a speedy winger who, like Anderson-Dolan, has been a quality scorer at the AHL level but hasn’t quite found his footing yet in the NHL. He’s got just nine points in 56 career NHL games but 91 points in 134 games at the AHL level.

While he’ll have to clear waivers to be sent to the Ontario Reign, the Kings’ affiliate, should he clear he’d boost their offensive attack while also serving as a call-up option should some injury issues hit the Kings’ lineup.

Cam Talbot Expected To Sign With Kings

at CDT | by 7 Comments

It appears that the Kings have their backup goalie.  Early this morning, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported there was a chance Cam Talbot would wind up with Los Angeles and it appears that will be the case as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that the veteran will sign a one-year deal with the Kings.  Friedman also reports the deal is worth $1MM plus performance bonuses. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun clarifies the base salary is $775K, plus a $225K signing bonus and a $1MM bonus if Talbot plays 10 games.

The 35-year-old spent last season with Ottawa after indicating he wasn’t thrilled about the possibility of playing in a timeshare situation with Marc-Andre Fleury.  Unfortunately for Talbot and the Sens, things simply did not go well for him.  He battled injuries throughout the season and when he was healthy, he didn’t put up his best numbers, posting a 2.93 GAA along with a .898 SV%, numbers that are considerably worse than his career averages of 2.65 and .914 respectively.  When the Senators acquired Talbot, they hoped it could be the beginning of a longer-term relationship but after early extension talks went nowhere, they eventually declined to offer him a contract after the season.

Despite the poor showing last season, there’s reason for optimism for Los Angeles as Talbot posted a save percentage no lower than .911 in the previous three campaigns.  Accordingly, they feel that this could be just a blip on the radar.

They will be counting on Talbot to play a bigger role than he has had in recent years.  At the moment, Pheonix Copley is the incumbent backup after signing a one-year, $1.5MM deal back in February.  However, Copley’s career high in NHL games played in a single year is 37, set last season.  For most of his career, he has been a backup or even a third-string option.  As a result, the Kings will be counting on Talbot to be the strong-side option of their platoon.

While Talbot has long wanted to be a true starter, that opportunity hasn’t come along too often since leaving Edmonton back in the 2018-19 campaign.  Since then, he has only reached Copley’s 37-game mark once.  Barring another NHL goalie being signed, Talbot will have the opportunity to push for the true number one job in the hopes of creating a strong market for himself next summer.  At a minimum, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Kings add a veteran third-string option to play the role that they originally envisioned for Copley last season, giving them an experienced third netminder to turn to if need be.

In the meantime, this pushes Joonas Korpisalo, who played a key role for them down the stretch and in the playoffs, to the open market where he’ll be one of the top options on the board.

Los Angeles Kings Re-Sign Taylor Ward

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings have also re-signed an AHL prospect after not qualifying them a few hours ago. Per PuckPedia, the team has re-signed 25-year-old forward Taylor Ward to a one-year deal worth $775K in the NHL and $95K in the minors.

Ward, 25, just completed his first full pro season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. The son of longtime NHLer Dixon Ward played in 71 of the team’s 72 regular-season games, recording nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points.

He was brought into the organization last year as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he registered 39 points in 38 games during his senior season. Ward then impressed in the minors on an ATO with the Reign to end 2021-22, recording 10 points in 16 games. However, he was never able to earn a recall to the NHL roster this season.

Ward left his career at Nebraska-Omaha as one of the top scorers in the program’s history, accumulating 57 goals and 58 assists for 115 points in 131 games. It’s been a sharp rise for Ward, who recorded just nine points in 56 games with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees in his draft year, the 2015-16 season – numbers that may not have even put him on the NHL Central Scouting mass list.

He’ll now have another chance to try and climb up the Kings’ ranks before becoming a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next offseason.

Kings Looking For Cheap Backup Goaltender

at CDT | by 13 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings have been busy over the last couple of months, shipping out Calvin Petersen and Sean Walker to the Philadelphia Flyers, as well as acquiring and extending Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets most recently. After those moves, the Kings have a little over $4.5MM in cap space, with only 15 roster spots filled, according to CapFriendly. Due to the nature of their cap situation, it is more than unlikely that trade deadline acquisition, Joonas Korpisalo, will be retained by the team.

Los Angeles, who currently only has Pheonix Copley under contract to mind the net, will be looking for another goalie to pair with him next season. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period has shed some light on how exactly the Kings are looking to fill that hole in their lineup, reporting that Los Angeles is looking for a goalie in the $1MM-$1.5MM range. It is unknown at the time if the Kings are planning on using Copley as their main starter next year, but it will be tough to find a goalie better than him at that price.

Many teams still have time to qualify their eventual restricted free agents, so Los Angeles may have some options available to them after that list is more well-known. At the time, in that range of salary, the Kings will likely be looking at goalies such as Alex Stalock or David Rittich, and even a potential bounce-back candidate in Alex Nedeljkovic.

[SOURCE LINK]

Los Angeles Kings To Acquire, Extend Pierre-Luc Dubois

at CDT | by 59 Comments

Perhaps the first true blockbuster deal of the offseason has finally materialized. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports the Los Angeles Kings are acquiring center Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets, who receive a significant return in Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round draft pick in 2024, originally belonging to the Montreal Canadiens. Per NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston, Dubois is signing an eight-year extension (technically with Winnipeg before the trade) worth $8.5MM per season.

Dubois arrived in Winnipeg over two years ago in a star-for-star trade that saw Patrik Laine head to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The two players were selected third and second overall, respectively, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. It looked like a rather disappointing trade for both sides at the time – Dubois had just 20 points in 41 games down the stretch with the Jets in 2020-21 and played a decidedly middle-six role, barely averaging over 15 minutes per game.

Things took a dramatic turn for the better over the following two seasons, though. Fresh off back-to-back 60-point seasons for the first time in his career, Dubois is now entering his prime and much closer to the player everyone thought he could be. He won’t impress anyone defensively, but he’s a very high-end play driver and is a good weapon on the power play.

It’s a fresh start for Dubois on the West Coast. He’s long been posturing to get himself traded to a larger market, although most had assumed until recent weeks that it would be the Montreal Canadiens. With Winnipeg looking to retool on the fly, though, the Kings’ package of NHL-ready talent was a much more appealing return.

That being said, this is a lot to give up (and an awfully rich extension) for Dubois, who’s a good top-six center but not a bonafide first-line pivot. Vilardi, the 11th overall pick in 2017, finally broke out this season in a big way after multiple serious injuries derailed his development. The 23-year-old notched 41 points in 63 games, played a great possession game, and could very well replace Dubois’ role in the Jets lineup on his own. With the addition of Iafallo, who’s a very strong middle-six two-way winger, it seems those two on their own might have been enough value to land Dubois. He had 36 points in 59 games last year, on pace for a career-high of 50 in a full season.

Add in Kupari, who doesn’t have a terribly high ceiling but is an established NHLer who appeared in 66 regular-season games and six playoff games this year, and Winnipeg’s got three fresh pieces to help kickstart a significant retool. The 2024 second-round pick is also a very nice addition for the Jets – it finds its way to them via the Canadiens and Coyotes, switching hands in the Christian Dvorak and Sean Durzi trades.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Athletic’s Murat Ates was first to report the package was in place.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top