Salary Cap Deep Dive: Los Angeles Kings
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Kings.
Los Angeles Kings
Current Cap Hit: $90,180,114 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Brandt Clarke (two years, $863K)
F Alex Laferriere (one year, $875K)
Potential Bonuses
Clarke: $850K
Laferriere had a solid rookie season last year while spending a lot of time in the bottom six. This year, he’s playing a little higher in the lineup and has responded by being one of their leading point-getters. If that holds, his bridge deal (a long-term pact would be surprising) should run past $3MM per season at a minimum, potentially higher if he stays at his current pace.
After spending most of last season in the minors, Clarke is now a regular and an important part of the back end in Los Angeles. He’s already putting up solid offensive numbers and that should continue which will only push his next contract higher. A bridge agreement could be trending toward starting with a four if this holds while a longer-term pact could climb closer to $7MM. Bonus-wise, Clarke has four ‘A’ bonuses in his deal at $212.5K apiece and at his current pace, he could have a shot at all four of them (assists, points, ATOI, and blocks).
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
D Andreas Englund ($1MM, UFA)
D Vladislav Gavrikov ($5.875MM, UFA)
F Tanner Jeannot ($2.65MM, UFA)
D Caleb Jones ($775K, UFA)
F Arthur Kaliyev ($825K, RFA)
F Andre Lee ($775K, RFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($800K, UFA)
G David Rittich ($1MM, UFA)
Jeannot was acquired from Tampa Bay over the offseason with the hope a change of scenery could re-spark his offensive game. That hasn’t happened early on as he has spent some time on the fourth line. At this point, there’s a possibility that he’s heading for a pay cut; while his 24-goal, 41-point season was only a few years ago, that looks like the outlier and teams might not want to pay up for that. Kaliyev wanted a trade over the summer but one never materialized so he settled for a low-cost one-year deal and then was injured in training camp. If there isn’t a trade to be found once he returns, Kaliyev could be a non-tender candidate in the summer where he’d likely have to settle for another low-cost deal in this range.
Lewis has been on a one-year deal around this price tag for five straight years now and remains a capable fourth liner. If he wants to keep playing (he turns 38 in January), he should be able to continue that streak. Lee is holding his own on the fourth line in his first taste of NHL action. It’s likely that his next contract should be around the minimum but he could have a shot at a one-way agreement.
Gavrikov took an interesting approach in free agency two years ago, electing to sign an early extension to remain with Los Angeles but opting for a short-term agreement to allow him to hit the open market in a more favorable environment. His offensive production hasn’t returned to the peak level he had in Columbus which will limit his upside to a point. That said, he could make a case to land this much or slightly more on a long-term agreement, if not even a max-term one. With several blueliners from this class already off the market, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gavrikov wait this out a little longer to see if a dwindling market could help up his asking price.
Englund played a regular role on the third pairing last season but playing time has been harder to come by this time around. He’s someone who might best fit in a seventh role so while another one-way contract could come his way, it might have to come in slightly lower than this one. Jones spent time in the minors last season, leading to a two-way deal this time around. With very limited playing time so far, he doesn’t seem to be trending toward beating that by much next summer.
Rittich did rather well after being recalled early last season but opted to take this deal in May over testing the open market. He hasn’t fared as well early on this year, however. Even so, he’s likely still in the higher-end third-string option or lower-end backup tier which should get him another deal in this range.
Signed Through 2025-26
D Kyle Burroughs ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Adrian Kempe ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Anze Kopitar ($7MM, UFA)
D Jordan Spence ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Akil Thomas ($775K, RFA)
This is the first season of Kopitar’s cheaper deal after making $10MM per season on the last agreement. It’s supposed to reflect what should be a smaller role but that hasn’t been the case early in 2024-25 as he’s still an all-situations top-line center. Now 37, there’s some risk in terms of his age but the early returns on this contract demonstrate this could wind up as a team-friendly agreement. Another deal, if there is one, will likely reflect the expected lighter workload as well at that time.
Kempe turned the corner offensively in 2021-22 and hasn’t looked back since then, becoming a legitimate top-line threat. While his days of playing center are numbered which won’t help his case on the open market, he’s still positioning himself for a new deal that starts with a seven or possibly even an eight on a long-term pact. Thomas, meanwhile, is still getting his feet wet at the NHL level. He has some runway to develop and if all goes well, he should push past $1MM at least next time out.
Spence is playing on his bridge deal, one that’s slightly back-loaded and carries a $1.7MM qualifying offer. With Clarke taking on a bigger role offensively, that’s going to cut into Spence’s numbers potentially but as a right-shot player with some offensive upside, doubling the qualifying offer could still be possible. As for Burroughs, he’s in a similar situation as Englund, someone who may be best served in a reserve role. Accordingly, a small cut might be needed here as well.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Phillip Danault ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Drew Doughty ($11MM, UFA)
F Warren Foegele ($3.5MM, UFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($5.25MM, UFA)
F Alex Turcotte ($775K, RFA)
Danault has shown a bit more offensively since coming to the Kings and has played with more consistency on that front, making him a quality second-line option for them thus far. If he can stay around the 50-point range, he could beat this price tag by a bit in 2027 but if his production slows, his next deal could look a fair bit like this one.
Foegele picked the right time for a career year last season as that helped him land this contract in free agency. If he can stay around 20 goals consistently, they’ll do alright with this one while he’d be in line for a small raise. That said, 20 goals is the outlier at this point of his career (though he’s off to a good start this season on that front). Turcotte took a rare three-year deal at the minimum, guaranteeing himself a one-way salary in the last two seasons. That gives him and the Kings plenty of time to see if he’s just a late-bloomer or a lottery selection likely to be viewed in the bust category. At the moment, when healthy, he’s primarily in a bottom-six role. If that kept up over the course of the deal, he could plausibly command a seven-figure salary next time out.
When healthy, Doughty is still a legitimate all-situations number one defenseman. Price-wise, the deal holds up a little better now compared to when it was first signed as a record-breaker. Having said that, this is still on the high side, especially for a player with a lot of hard minutes under his belt and now two significant injuries in recent years. That swings the valuation of this deal back into negative territory (although his current injury has given them short-term LTIR flexibility if nothing else). Doughty will be entering his age-38 year on his next contract. Like Kopitar, there’s a very good chance the price tag at that time will be lowered by a few million per season to reflect his age and the possibility for a sharper decline at that time.
Kuemper was brought in as their new starter while shedding the Pierre-Luc Dubois contract that didn’t go well in its first year. Factoring in what they paid to get Dubois, the sequence of trades isn’t the prettiest but he gives them some stability between the pipes they haven’t had lately. He’ll be 37 when his next contract starts so this price tag might be as high as it gets.
Kraken Recall Ben Meyers
With Jordan Eberle out for the weekend, the Kraken needed some extra forward depth up front. That will be forward Ben Meyers, as the Kraken announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Coachella Valley.
Meyers is in his first season with Seattle after signing a one-year, one-way contract worth $775K on the opening day of free agency this past summer. The 26-year-old had a strong preseason showing, leading the Kraken in scoring with two goals and three assists in four games but it wasn’t good enough for him to break camp with the big club. After clearing waivers, Meyers has played exclusively with the Firebirds so far and is off to a good start to his season, collecting two goals and six assists in 11 games.
Meyers is a veteran of 67 career NHL appearances between Colorado and Anaheim and has seen action at the top level in each of the last three seasons. All told, he has six goals and two assists to his name while logging just shy of ten minutes per game.
While the Kraken got Meyers as an unrestricted free agent, they can actually gain his RFA rights if he plays in 13 games or more with them as that would take him off the Group Six UFA list back to Group Two RFA status. Seattle had two open roster spots before calling Meyers up so no corresponding moves needed to be made to add him to the active roster.
West Notes: Eberle, Ducks, Joseph
The Kraken will be without their captain for at least the next two games and possibly more as Tim Booth of The Seattle Times relays that Jordan Eberle won’t play this weekend due to a lower-body injury. The 34-year-old was injured in a collision on Thursday against Chicago. Head coach Dan Bylsma noted that while Eberle was feeling a little better on Friday, there still needs to be further testing and evaluation done; that will come early next week to determine how much longer he might be out for. Eberle is off to a decent start to the season, notching six goals and five assists in 17 games so far while playing a little under 16 minutes a night.
More from the Western Conference:
- The Ducks issued several injury updates late Friday. After originally being classified as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, defenseman Cam Fowler will now miss the next two to four weeks because of it. A speculative trade candidate, the 32-year-old has been limited to just 12 games so far this season where he has only two points in a little over 21 minutes a night. Meanwhile, forward Mason McTavish is day-to-day with an upper-body injury while defenseman Urho Vaakanainen’s upper-body issue is being evaluated; he’s also listed as day-to-day for now. McTavish has two goals and six assists in 13 games so far while Vaakanainen has suited up just five times and has one assist and seven blocked shots.
- Blues defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph left the road trip to have his injury better evaluated but the test results were good, relays Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). Accordingly, the 25-year-old is listed as day-to-day. Joseph is in his first season in St. Louis after signing with them in free agency following his non-tender from Pittsburgh. He has played in 13 games so far this season, recording one assist while averaging a little under 14 minutes a night.
Flames Re-Assign Adam Klapka
Saturday: Klapka has been reassigned to the minors, the Flames announced. While he was on the roster for three games, he didn’t suit up in any of them.
Monday: The Flames announced Monday that they’ve recalled forward Adam Klapka from AHL Calgary. He fills the roster spot vacated by Dryden Hunt, whose reassignment to the minors evaded our coverage over the weekend.
Klapka, 24, made the Flames’ opening night roster but was sent to the AHL on Oct. 30 to make room for Samuel Honzek, who was coming off injured reserve at the time. Honzek has since been sent to the minors, as the Flames have done quite a lot of roster shuffling regarding their young players over the past couple of weeks.
During that three-week window, Klapka was rostered for nine games, playing in five of them. The 6’7″, 238-lb center/winger failed to record a point but had a +1 rating, five blocks and 18 hits while averaging 8:27 per game. It was the Prague native’s second NHL trial after appearing in six games for the Flames last season, scoring his first NHL goal in the process.
The Flames acquired the towering forward when they signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Czechia’s Bílí Tygři Liberec early in the 2022 offseason. He’s scored 37 goals, 39 assists and 76 points in 130 AHL games since, including five points through five games this season since being demoted late last month. He was a restricted free agent for over a month last summer before agreeing to a two-way deal ($775K/$100K) to bring him back to Calgary in mid-August.
Despite the recall, Klapka is expected to watch tonight’s game against the Kings from the press box, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. Ryan Lomberg, Kevin Rooney and Justin Kirkland will continue to comprise the Flames’ fourth line.
Hunt was returned to the minors on Saturday night following the team’s shootout loss to the Sabres. He did not play during his brief two-day recall. Now in his third season with the Flames organization, the 28-year-old has two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 12 AHL games this year.
Rangers Recall Jake Leschyshyn
The Rangers announced Saturday that they’ve recalled center Jake Leschyshyn from AHL Hartford. Since there was an open spot on the active roster, no corresponding transaction is necessary.
Leschyshyn, 25, comes up from the AHL for the second time this season to serve as an extra body while the Blueshirts embark on a four-game Western Conference road trip. They had 13 forwards on the active roster, but center Filip Chytil appears unlikely to travel with the club after sustaining an upper-body injury in a collision with teammate K’Andre Miller in Thursday’s loss to the Jets.
In all likelihood, Leschyshyn won’t need to clear waivers when his recall is over. He did so back in September and has only been on the active roster for two days since without drawing into a game, so he’s still got nearly an entire month left on his temporary exemption.
Leschyshyn has only appeared in 14 NHL games for the Rangers since being claimed off waivers from the Golden Knights in January 2023, going pointless with a -4 rating while averaging just 8:13 per game. The Vegas 2017 second-round pick has also been steadily declining offensively in the AHL. He has just one goal and three assists in 13 games for Hartford this season after recording 15 points in 18 games there just two seasons ago.
Maple Leafs Reassign Philippe Myers On Conditioning Loan
The Maple Leafs announced Saturday that they’ve assigned defenseman Philippe Myers to AHL Toronto on a conditioning loan.
Myers, 27, will remain on Toronto’s active roster and count against the salary cap while getting his first minor-league action of the season. He can remain on the AHL assignment for up to two weeks before he must be reinstated or placed on waivers.
The 6’5″ Myers was a surprise inclusion on the Leafs’ opening night roster after spending most of the past two seasons in the minors. He signed a one-year, one-way deal for $775K in free agency last summer after spending two campaigns in the Lightning organization, totaling 52 points in 113 games for their AHL affiliate in Syracuse but making just 16 NHL appearances in fringe action.
Unfortunately for the New Brunswick native, the roster spot hasn’t led to playing time. He’s been a healthy scratch for all but one of the Maple Leafs’ 18 games this season, logging a -1 rating and one hit in his sole appearance against the Bruins on Oct. 26 while skating 12:11.
The conditioning loan will allow Myers some AHL time without clearing waivers, but it’s still hard to imagine him avoiding the wire for much longer. Toronto will need to clear two roster spots when Auston Matthews or Max Pacioretty is ready to come off injured reserve, which will likely be achieved by waiving him and reassigning forward Alex Steeves after the latter’s recent call-up.
Interestingly, it won’t be Myers’ first time suiting up for the Marlies despite him not being affiliated with the Maple Leafs organization before this season. He had seven points in 16 games for them in 2021-22 while on loan from the Predators.
The right-shot defenseman has played 159 NHL games with Philadelphia, Nashville, Tampa Bay and Toronto, recording eight goals and 28 assists for 36 points. He’s only avoided an AHL assignment in a season once in his career, appearing in 44 of 56 games for the Flyers during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
Bruins Recall Georgii Merkulov, Riley Tufte
The Bruins recalled forwards Georgii Merkulov and Riley Tufte from AHL Providence on Saturday, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports. Boston sent center Patrick Brown back to Providence and placed defenseman Hampus Lindholm on injured reserve to open up the necessary spots on the active roster.
It’s the first recall of the season for the 24-year-old Merkulov. The Russian forward made his NHL debut last season, receiving a four-game call-up around New Year’s. He posted a +1 rating, three shots on goal and averaged 10:35 per game. The undrafted free agent signing out of Ohio State struggled in the faceoff dot, only winning six of his 28 draws (21.4 FO%), and recorded four blocks and two hits.
While he may not have drawn much attention from his first NHL showing, the 5’11” Merkulov has been a spectacular diamond in the rough signing for the Bruins’ front office, if for no other reason than his minor-league play. Merkulov was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team in 2022-23 and represented the Atlantic Division at last season’s All-Star Game, producing 136 points in 154 total appearances for the P-Bruins.
Eleven of those points (2 G, 9 A) have come in 12 games this season, tying with Vinni Lettieri for the team lead in scoring. The Bruins hope that’s a sign that Merkulov can provide more of a scoring punch than he did last time, helping jumpstart their 28th-ranked offense (2.50 GF/GP).
Merkulov is in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer. He will remain waiver-exempt for the rest of 2024-25 but must clear them to return to Providence at the beginning of next season if he doesn’t make the opening night roster.
Meanwhile, it’s the second recall of the young campaign for the more veteran Tufte. The towering 6’6″, 230-lb left-winger made the Bruins’ opening night roster after signing a one-way, league minimum deal in free agency but played in just two of their first eight games before landing on waivers, clearing and heading to Providence.
Tufte, 26, had a -1 rating, no shots and three hits in his pair of appearances for Boston in October, averaging just 8:08 per game. The 2016 first-round pick of the Stars has three goals and an assist in six games for Providence since being sent down. He scored a career-high 23 goals and 45 points in 67 games for the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate last season while under contract with Colorado, earning his first minor-league All-Star Game nod.
It’s unclear whether either Merkulov or Tufte will draw in for this afternoon’s game against the Blues. None of the 14 forwards on the active roster carry an injury designation. However, recent UFA pickup Tyler Johnson sat in the press box for Thursday’s game against the Stars and could sit again while Merkulov or Tufte enters the lineup.
Brown’s first recall of the season ends after two days on the roster. He drew in against Dallas for Johnson, posting a -1 rating with two shots on goal while centering the fourth line between John Beecher and Mark Kastelic, skating 12:42 and going 2-for-4 on draws.
The defensively sound right-shot center had seven points in 12 games for Providence before the call-up. After clearing waivers last month, Brown can remain on the NHL roster for up to 28 days throughout subsequent call-ups or play nine NHL games before he needs them again to return to the minors.
An IR placement does not affect Lindholm’s timeline for a return. Today’s transaction was purely for roster management purposes. He’s still week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will likely remain out of action through the rest of November.
David Perron Returns To Senators
Senators winger David Perron had been away from the team for a better part of a month for a personal reason. Speaking with reporters today including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, the veteran revealed that his newborn daughter had to undergo surgery to remove a tumor. However, things have improved enough to allow the 36-year-old to return to the team.
Perron signed with Ottawa on the opening day of free agency back in July, inking a two-year, $8MM contract with a partial no-trade clause. The Sens reshaped part of their forward group over the offseason with Perron being the most notable addition alongside Michael Amadio, Noah Gregor, and Nick Cousins.
Perron got off to a slow start, certainly understandable given the circumstances. He was held off the scoresheet in his first five appearances while averaging just 13:26 per game, his lowest ATOI since his rookie campaign back in 2007-08. Nonetheless, his return will be a welcome one.
While Perron made the trip to Carolina, it’s not a guarantee that he will suit up as the Sens could elect to wait one more game, allowing him to get a couple more practices in before officially returning to the lineup. He remained on Ottawa’s active roster during his absence so the team doesn’t need to make a roster move when he is indeed ready to play.
Prospect Notes: Halttunen, Port, Pridham
Despite a solid start in the AHL, the Sharks have decided that prospect Kasper Halttunen is best served playing in junior. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve loaned the winger to OHL London. The 19-year-old was the 36th overall selection back in June following a strong first junior season with the Knights, one that saw him record 61 points in 57 regular season games plus 26 more in 18 playoff contests. Halttunen played in six games in the minors with the Barracuda, collecting two goals and two assists and will now go back to a top junior program.
Other prospect news around the NHL:
- Ducks prospect Vojtech Port is on the move as WHL Lethbridge has acquired him from Moose Jaw, per a team release. The 19-year-old blueliner was drafted by Anaheim in the sixth round in 2023. Port had 15 points in 42 games last season between Edmonton and Moose Jaw but is off to a quiet start this season with just three assists in 19 games so far. The Ducks only hold his rights until June 1st, 2025, so Port will need to be an impactful piece for his new team if he wants to earn an entry-level contract in the coming months.
- Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham is changing teams and leagues as OHL Kitchener announced that they’ve signed the forward for the remainder of the season. Chicago drafted the 18-year-old in the third round (92nd overall) back in June and he started the season with BCHL West Kelowna (collecting 10 points in 12 games) while waiting to go to Boston University next year. However, now that CHL players can play in the NCAA starting next season, Pridham will play the rest of the year with Kitchener and then likely make the jump to college hockey as planned for 2025-26.
Wild Recall Liam Ohgren On Emergency Basis
With winger Mats Zuccarello landing on injured reserve for the next few weeks and center Joel Eriksson Ek’s availability for tomorrow in question after exiting Thursday’s victory over Montreal, the Wild needed an extra forward. They’ve now made that move, announcing the recall of Liam Ohgren from AHL Iowa on an emergency basis.
The 20-year-old broke camp with Minnesota and has played in seven games with them so far this season. However, he was held off the scoresheet and his playing time dwindled quickly; he failed to reach eight minutes of playing time over his last three games. As a result, they elected to send him down to the minors at the end of October in the hopes of getting him more minutes.
Ohgren got into four games with Iowa while on assignment, scoring four goals, three of which came in his last game back on Saturday against Rockford. If he does get into Minnesota’s lineup, it’ll likely be a short-lived recall as they undoubtedly would prefer him playing in a top role in the minors over spot duty with the Wild so once Eriksson Ek is able to play, Ohgren will probably be sent back down soon after.