Coyotes Acquire Sean Durzi
The Coyotes are expected to be buyers this summer, looking to add pieces that might be around for a few years. They’ve found one of those players as they have acquired defenseman Sean Durzi from the Kings. Los Angeles receives a 2024 second-round pick (Montreal’s) in return. Arizona GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement about the move:
Sean is a reliable two-way defenseman who has good vision and contributes offensively. He will be a very good addition to our blue line and we look forward to having him on our roster this season.
The 24-year-old had a strong sophomore season in 2022-23, picking up nine goals and 29 assists in 72 games for the Kings while logging just shy of 20 minutes a night. That was good enough to finish second on Los Angeles in scoring by a defenseman behind only Drew Doughty. His production, however, dipped in their opening-round loss to Edmonton as he scored just once while seeing his ATOI drop by nearly four minutes.
Durzi has one year left on his contract with a more than reasonable $1.7MM AAV. On top of that, he has two more seasons of team control after next year, meaning that he will be under Arizona’s control through the 2025-26 campaign. He will immediately become the Coyotes’ top-paid blueliner, a sign of how much change their back end has undergone recently. A right-shot defender, Durzi could be counted on to play on Arizona’s top pairing next season, depending on what else they accomplish in the coming weeks. That should give him a chance to have a bigger role offensively which could set him up quite nicely for a significant raise on his current contract. Getting a player in that role for a future second-rounder is certainly a nice piece of business for Armstrong, especially since they still have eight second-rounders over the next three drafts. Even after the move, Arizona has some work to do to get to the cap floor let alone coming anywhere close to next year’s projected Upper Limit of $83.5MM.
As for the Kings, GM Rob Blake is dealing from a strong spot as Los Angeles has some promising offensive blueliners in their system. Jordan Spence had a dominant year at AHL Ontario with 45 points in 56 games and could be ready to make the full-time jump to the NHL. Meanwhile, Brandt Clarke, who spent the first few months of this past season with the Kings, finished up strong with OHL Barrie and could push for a full-time role in 2023-24. Both players are on entry-level contracts at about half of Durzi’s cost, meaning the move not only lands them what projects to be a decent second-rounder a year from now but also frees up some cap flexibility. With the swap, they now have a little over $9MM in cap space, per CapFriendly, with at least four roster spots to fill including a starting goaltender.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report (Twitter links) both that Durzi was going to Arizona and the draft pick return.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Joonas Korpisalo May Go To Market
- LeBrun writes that netminder Joonas Korpisalo and the Los Angeles Kings have had some initial conversations on a contract extension but given how close the Kings are to the cap they may have a tough time fitting in a big cap number on a goaltender. It appears Joonas Korpisalo will hit the open market and he could be an intriguing name for teams looking to make a move in the crease. While he was terrific this past season, Korpisalo has posted a goals saved above expected number higher than -7 every season from 2017-18 through 2021-22 and a save percentage above .915 just once. Given his track record he may be best suited in a 1A/1B tandem situation similar to the Carolina Hurricanes structure with Andersen and Raanta.
Should The Kings Pursue Pierre-Luc Dubois?
The Kings have been linked as a legitimate suitor for Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois as the middleman has made it known that he’d like to be moved this summer. Eric Stephens of The Athletic examines (subscription link) what the pros and cons would be if Los Angeles was to land the 24-year-old. He’d certainly give them a big boost down the middle alongside Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault but fitting his reported asking price (suggested as being in the $9MM range on a long-term deal) would require them moving a roster player or two at a minimum plus other young players or prospects to facilitate a swap. Making that move would also limit what they’re able to do between the pipes to find a playing partner for Pheonix Copley. In the end, Stephens feels that the Kings would be better off not making the move, we’ll see if GM Rob Blake feels the same way in the coming weeks.
Kings Could Have Interest In Pierre-Luc Dubois
- In recent reporting, it has been indicated that center Pierre-Luc Dubois will not sign a new contract with the Winnipeg Jets, and has requested a trade from the team. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reports that the last time Dubois was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Los Angeles Kings finished second to the Jets. It appears that Los Angeles still has quite a bit of interest in bringing Dubois into the mix, but with only a projected $7.3MM in cap space this summer, it will be difficult to sign Dubois to a long-term contract without moving out a significant contract.
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Los Angeles Kings Appoint Mike Buckley As Goalie Coach
The Los Angeles Kings announced today that Mike Buckley has been named the team’s NHL goaltending coach. He joins the staff of head coach Todd McLellan, serving alongside assistants Trent Yawney, Jim Hiller, Derik Johnson, and video coach Samson Lee.
Buckley replaces Bill Ranford, who had held the role for nearly two decades since his hire in 2006. The Kings promoted Ranford to a director of goaltending position, giving him more oversight and responsibility for the organization’s usage and development in the position.
The 46-year-old Buckley brings a wealth of experience to the Kings but has spent the last two NHL seasons as a free agent. He did, however, spend eight seasons (2013 to 2021) with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Initially joining them as a goaltending development coach, he was later promoted to the position of head goaltending coach in 2017.
That means Buckley was a central figure in the development of Matt Murray, who helped guide the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 2016 and 2017. Murray combined for a 22-10 record, 1.95 goals-against average, .928 save percentage, and four shutouts during the playoff runs.
As the Kings note, Buckley’s track record extends beyond the NHL. He’s been recognized at the minor-league level, where the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins won three Hap Holmes Memorial Awards for the lowest regular-season goals-against average during his time in the organization.
Before his time in Pittsburgh, Buckley gained experience as a collegiate goaltending coach, first spending five seasons (2007 to 2012) with his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts, and then three years (some while already working with Pittsburgh) with the University of New Hampshire.
Discussions Quiet Between Los Angeles Kings, Joonas Korpisalo
The Los Angeles Kings made a major move to clear up some cap space on Tuesday, shipping out defenseman Sean Walker and netminder Calvin Petersen to Philadelphia. However, they immediately used nearly all their savings to sign defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a two-year extension.
That’s not to say they don’t have any cap space left to play with, and they need to address their biggest inconsistency from the 2022-23 campaign: goaltending. However, according to sources cited by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, there appears to be little ongoing dialogue between the Kings and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who is poised to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after coming over with Gavrikov near the trade deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
As the Kings set their sights on returning to perennial deep playoff runs, goaltending stability remains the organization’s largest question mark. Including Korpisalo’s sparkling .921 save percentage after his acquisition, the team’s save percentage on the season was an abysmal .889, tied for the sixth worst in the league. 31-year-old journeyman Pheonix Copley had some capable moments, posting a .903 in over 30 games, but one can’t expect that to continue from the longtimer AHLer at this stage in his career.
Korpisalo, 29, spent his entire NHL career with Columbus up until the late-season trade. He had the strongest campaign of his eight-year career, managing to post a .911 save percentage in 26 starts on an extremely weak defensive team in Columbus. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, especially in brief postseason action, but long-term inconsistency has kept him from developing into a true starter. While a viable short-term solution for the Kings, it’s that inconsistency that would make some hesitant to hand the crease to Korpisalo.
But with free agency options somewhat limited and no bona fide prospect in the system, he might be their best option. The team is projected at just north of $7.3MM in cap space remaining this offseason, per CapFriendly, but they still have a quartet of restricted free-agent forwards to re-sign in Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Rasmus Kupari, Zack MacEwen, and Gabriel Vilardi. The impending crunch to upgrade their goalie position without any real financial resources to do so makes their decision to retain just over $2MM on Ivan Provorov‘s cap hit in Tuesday’s deal puzzling.
Los Angeles Kings Extend Vladislav Gavrikov
The Los Angeles Kings and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension, as per Gavrikov’s agent, Dan Milstein. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the deal carries a $5.875MM cap hit, and will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2025. PuckPedia reports the breakdown of the contract as follows:
2023-24: $775,000 salary, $5.725MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
2024-25: $775,000 salary, $4.475MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
By signing Gavrikov, the Kings take one of the top pending UFA defenders off the board. They were able to make the transaction work by clearing goalie Cal Petersen‘s buried cap hit off the books, dealing him to the Philadelphia Flyers in a complex swap yesterday.
Los Angeles acquired Gavrikov, along with netminder Joonas Korpisalo, from the Columbus Blue Jackets in March in exchange for a first- and second-round pick, as well as goalie Jonathan Quick who was moved in the deal for salary cap purposes. Gavrikov fit right in with the Kings down the stretch, notching nine points in 20 games, averaging over 21 minutes a night, and posting some of the best advanced defensive metrics among Kings defenders post-deadline (and, especially, in their playoff loss against the Edmonton Oilers).
Columbus selected Gavrikov in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Draft after he was passed over the year prior. It took another four years for Gavrikov to head to North America, signing his entry-level deal near the end of the 2018-19 campaign and making his NHL debut in the playoffs.
It’s been a strong run for Gavrikov since, who developed into Columbus’ top shutdown defender in a short time while developing solid offensive play too. The latter half of that statement was a bit of a surprise – his 33 points in 80 games with Columbus in 2021-22 was his highest total in any documented league dating back to his junior days.
But his two-way acumen was on full display in a Kings uniform, taking on more than just a defensive specialist’s role. If he can keep up his post-March play for the duration of this contract, it’s a solid bit of business by the Kings.
It is a bit of interesting business, given the short-term nature of the deal. Two-year extensions aren’t all that common for high-caliber pending UFAs, to the point where CapFriendly notes not a single highly comparable contract to Gavrikov’s has been signed dating back to 2013.
The deal also allows the Kings to make room on their blueline for their large group of young prospects, many of whom should be ready for larger roles upon Gavrikov’s expiration in 2025.
Vladislav Gavrikov Seeking Two-Year Contract
Today’s cap-shedding trade by the Kings has sparked speculation that the move was made to make room for an agreement with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. That deal isn’t in place and if it does get done, it might be a shorter-term deal than expected. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Gavrikov’s camp has told Los Angeles that they’re looking for a two-year contract. Considering that Gavrikov is 27 and in his prime, it feels like this is the right time to look for a long-term agreement. However, the blueliner is coming off a bit of a quiet year and the salary cap is expected to start going up more after next season so Gavrikov could be positioning himself to have a shot at a bigger payday in a couple of years compared to what he could get this summer.
Offseason Checklist: Los Angeles Kings
The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams that still have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. It’s time to examine what those eliminated squads will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Los Angeles.
The Kings bolstered their offense with the acquisition of Kevin Fiala last summer and he helped improve their attack from the 20th-best team in 2021-22 to ninth in the league in scoring this season which also helped them surpass the 100-point mark for the first time since 2015-16. However, they were once again by Edmonton in the first round. Slow and steady improvement is rarely a bad way to go and their checklist for this summer is based on the idea of them staying on their current trajectory.
Kopitar Extension Talks
Anze Kopitar has been a fixture in the lineup for the Kings since 2006, a year after being the 11th overall pick. He sits third in franchise history in points and should be able to move into second place about a month or so into the season. The two-time Selke winner has one year left on his contract and accordingly, he is eligible for a contract extension as of July 1st. Kopitar’s current deal carries a $10MM AAV, one that seemed a bit steep at the time but he has certainly lived up to it. However, he’s also 35 and by the time his next contract starts in October 2024, he’ll be 37.
With the center depth that Los Angeles amassed in recent years – including top-five selections in Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte – it looked as if their plan was that they would be able to replace Kopitar by the time his deal was up. That doesn’t seem likely to happen though; Byfield spent time on the wing this season while Turcotte has struggled in the minors at times and isn’t ready for NHL duty. Phillip Danault was a nice addition in free agency in 2021 but he isn’t a prototypical top center either.
Accordingly, it seems likely that GM Rob Blake will look to sign his captain to an extension. It’s almost certainly going to be a short-term deal (somewhere between two and four seasons) where the longer the term, the lower the AAV. Kopitar won’t be eyeing a $10MM price tag again on that next agreement but he’s coming off a 74-point effort, his highest since 2017-18. As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see an extension check in somewhere around the $7.5MM mark, allowing him to remain with the only NHL franchise he has ever known while keeping some stability down the middle while they hope for their prospects to eventually move into a more critical spot in the lineup.
Re-Sign The Columbus Rentals
At the trade deadline, the Kings did their shopping in one move, picking up goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov from the Blue Jackets. Both players are pending unrestricted free agents and with how they performed with their new team, the Kings would certainly like to keep them around.
Korpisalo signed a one-year deal with Columbus last summer coming off surgery in the hopes that he could show he was healthy and rebuild some value. Mission accomplished on that front. He did well with the Blue Jackets and then after the trade, the 29-year-old took over the starting role quickly with a 2.13 GAA and a .921 SV% in 11 starts. Because of his more volatile track record, Korpisalo won’t be able to command top dollar on the free agent market which works in the Kings’ favor but he is still in line for a significant raise on the $1.4MM he made this season. It shouldn’t need to get to Calvin Petersen-type money but getting Korpisalo signed should give them some upside at the goaltending position for next season.
As for Gavrikov, the 27-year-old took a step back from his 2021-22 performance with Columbus but found another gear following the trade, notching nine points in 20 games following the swap. He’s a legitimate top-four defenseman in a UFA market that doesn’t have a lot of them. While Gavrikov’s AAV over the last three seasons was $2.8MM, his salary this season was $4.2MM, a figure that’s likely to stand as a reasonable starting point for extension talks. It’s worth noting that a report last month had the two sides making progress on a new deal although clearly, that hasn’t gotten across the finish line yet.
New Deal For Vilardi
Staying healthy was a challenge for forward Gabriel Vilardi early in his career with lingering back troubles being problematic. Even this season, while his back wasn’t an issue, he had multiple injuries that caused him to miss 19 games in the regular season plus the first game of the Edmonton series. However, when he was in the lineup, he made an impact. After notching just 18 goals on his entry-level deal, the 23-year-old bested that total in 2022-23, picking up 23 goals and 18 assists in 63 games, giving them a pretty nice return on a one-year, $825K contract.
That deal is now up this summer and Vilardi will once again be a restricted free agent. The big difference this time around is now he’ll be arbitration-eligible and obviously has a much better platform year to work from. Given their desire to re-sign Korpisalo and Gavrikov, it’s reasonable to think another bridge contract will be coming Vilardi’s way if they’re able to ink those two. A shorter-term agreement should see the AAV fall somewhere in the mid-$2.5MM range but if they work out a pact that buys some extra years of club control, it could creep closer to the $4MM mark.
Trade From Defensive Depth
There are going to be a lot of teams looking for defensive depth this summer. That’s great news for Los Angeles as they project to have a blueliner available. Assuming Gavrikov re-signs, that would give them a top-three of him, Drew Doughty, and Michael Anderson that are signed for multiple seasons. Top prospect Brandt Clarke could be ready for full-time NHL duty as soon as next season. That’s a nice top-four to work with.
Meanwhile, they have Matt Roy and Sean Durzi who will be entering the final year of their respective contracts next season. They also have prospect Tobias Bjornfot who was shuffled to and from the AHL frequently this year but is now waiver-eligible. Additionally, prospect Jordan Spence has lit it up with AHL Ontario the last two seasons and is probably ready for a long look with the big club as well. Kevin Connauton and Jacob Moverare are pegged to be in the minors but also have NHL experience. All things considered, their depth is pretty strong.
There’s nothing wrong with having extra depth but there’s a case to be made to move one of them even after trading Sean Walker earlier today. Durzi’s just 24 with three years of club control remaining and should bring back a nice return and a bit more cap room (he has a $1.7MM AAV) while making room for one of Spence or Clarke. They could try to move Spence and cash in on his rising value. There’s still room to move one more defender and with demand for blueliners being high, that should work in Blake’s favor should he opt to make another move.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kings Trade Cal Petersen, Sean Walker To Columbus As Part Of Three-Team Deal
Philadelphia trades Ivan Provorov and Hayden Hodgson to Los Angeles in exchange for Calvin Petersen, Sean Walker, Helge Grans and the Kings’ 2024 second-round pick. Columbus acquires Kevin Connauton from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall) and conditional second-round pick in either the 2024 or 2025 NHL Draft. Columbus acquires Provorov from Los Angeles in exchange for Connauton.
The Kings are retaining 30% of Provorov’s deal, meaning he’ll cost $4.725MM against the cap for Columbus for the next two seasons.
For the Kings, the motivations behind this deal seem relatively clear. First and foremost, creating cap space was an important priority, and is something the Kings have done by sending Petersen and his $5MM AAV deal to the Flyers.
Petersen once looked like a potential successor to Jonathan Quick for the Kings, posting a solid .911 save percentage in 35 games in 2020-21. Since that point, though, Petersen has declined sharply and this season spent most of the year in the AHL as he had a grisly .868 save percentage in his 10 NHL games. Now Petersen will get a fresh start in Philadelphia while the Kings clear his hefty cap hit off their books, save for any money they retain. (which will be revealed when the official trade details come in)
Cap space is of importance to the Kings as they are looking to sign an extension with Gavrikov, their mid-season trade acquisition. ESPN’s John Buccigross on Twitter cited a conversation with a Kings executive who pegged the cost of Gavrikov’s contract extension to be in the “$6-7 million” range, with the team preferring to keep the number as early in the $6MM range as possible. If the Kings do end up finalizing that sort of contract extension with the 27-year-old Russian rearguard, this trade of Petersen is an essential one.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports that Gavrikov is “only interested in a two-year contract extension with the Kings,” which could contribute to the higher price tag Buccigross is reporting, as the conventional wisdom is that short-term contracts for coveted players who are in their prime would carry higher average annual values than the more traditional long-term commitments.
Meanwhile, the trade of Walker (reportedly to Philadelphia) is no surprise seeing as the Kings have been long expected to deal from their surplus of right-shot NHL-ready blueliners. With Sean Durzi a breakout talent and 22-year-old Jordan Spence clearly ready to take on the challenge of the NHL, it seems Walker was the odd man out in the team’s right-shot defensive picture.
They’ll also get Connauton, a 33-year-old defender with 360 games of NHL experience on a $762.5k cap hit for next season. He scored 15 points in 63 games in 2022-23 for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, and it was his first season since 2013 spent without a single NHL game played. He’ll likely play with the Ontario Reign in the AHL and add to the Kings’ defensive depth.
For Philadelphia, this deal is all about adding as much draft and prospect capital to further their rebuild under new GM Daniel Briere. Getting a first-rounder in a highly-regarded draft is a solid return for Provorov, and the additional two second-rounders are a great bonus. Grans has had an uneven time in the AHL with the Kings organization, but he’s still just 21 years old and was the 35th overall pick at the 2020 draft. He’s a talented prospect who could quickly put himself in the Flyers’ blueline mix.