Offseason Checklist: Los Angeles Kings
The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs. For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Los Angeles.
After swinging a big trade in the offseason to bring in Pierre-Luc Dubois, expectations were high for the Kings heading into the season. However, they struggled out of the gate, eventually leading to a coaching change. While they were able to make it into the playoffs, they went out quickly in the first round, failing to meet those summer hopes. They checked one item off their to-do list when the interim tag was lifted off head coach Jim Hiller but GM Rob Blake will still have some things to accomplish this summer.
Add A Starting Goalie
The decision to add Dubois forced the Kings to not try to re-sign Joonas Korpisalo who impressed after being acquired at the 2023 deadline and instead go quite cheap at the goaltending position. Pheonix Copley was in place as a low-cost backup while Cam Talbot came on a one-year deal where he accepted $1MM in bonuses (which will count against their books this season) and they hoped a duo with a combined cap hit of $2.5MM could get the job done.
Talbot fared pretty well in his 50 appearances so that part worked out as well as they could have reasonably hoped. But Copley struggled before being injured with David Rittich coming up in the second half to serve as the backup. Rittich is already back on a low-cost one-year deal but can they afford to run it back with the same tandem? It’s not that Talbot hasn’t earned another contract but after trying to go cheap lately at that position, getting a more proven option on a longer-term agreement seems like it might be the better way to go.
However, the free agent class doesn’t have any true starters available. There are some platoon options with some question marks (including Talbot) and then some pure backups from there. Accordingly, if they’re going to add a true starter, it’ll have to come on the trade front.
The good news is that this looks like a year that could see some veteran netminders moved. Los Angeles is believed to have made a real run at Linus Ullmark before the trade deadline while many expect Jacob Markstrom could be in play again. Others like John Gibson and perhaps Tristan Jarry have been suggested as possible trade candidates as well. Getting a capable veteran who can stabilize things for a few years between the pipes should take away a big question mark that has been around for them in recent years.
Re-Sign Byfield
It took some time but Quinton Byfield took a big step forward this season, becoming an impactful top-six producer with 20 goals and 35 assists. The timing for the jump was certainly ideal as he was in the final year of his entry-level deal in 2023-24, meaning he’ll be a restricted free agent on July 1st. He is by far their most prominent player to re-sign.
The challenge here will be finding the balance between risk on both sides. It’s possible that one side will want a bridge contract to get a better sense of what’s to come. If Blake and the Kings aren’t sold this is repeatable, they may not want to pony up on a long-term agreement right away. On the flip side, if Byfield’s camp feels that the 21-year-old has another gear or two in him, they may prefer the short-term agreement now to potentially set him up for a more lucrative one when he has arbitration rights down the road. In that scenario, something in the $3.75MM range might fit, potentially back-loaded to up the qualifying offer upon expiration.
Now, if both sides are open to a long-term pact that buys out some UFA years, then there’s going to be some shared risk. For it to make sense for Byfield, a long-term agreement likely has to come in somewhere closer to double the bridge amount. For someone who came into this season with eight goals in 93 career NHL games, the Kings would certainly be taking a leap of faith. However, there is some potential upside as if Byfield is on that contract and becomes a legitimate top liner, that price tag would change to a team-friendly one quite quickly.
The other factor to consider here is what else Blake has planned for the summer. If the plan is to add multiple key veterans, they’d be hard-pressed to work out a long-term agreement with Byfield. Accordingly, if they’re big spenders early into free agency, Byfield’s path could be charted to a bridge by default. On the flip side, if they aren’t as active, then it suggests they could be open to the long-term agreement and pivot to fill another hole if they ultimately have to settle on a bridge agreement.
RFA Depth Decisions
Quite a few teams around the league have some decisions to make on the qualifying offer front and the Kings are no exception. They have some depth pieces up front that have filled regular roles in recent years but could be a bit too pricey for what they can afford which makes them potential non-tender candidates.
The first of those is Blake Lizotte. In 2022-23, he had 34 points, a pretty good return on a $1.675MM cap hit. The second and final year of that contract didn’t go so well as he dropped to seven goals and eight assists in 62 games. While he is a serviceable bottom-six forward who can play down the middle or on the wing, he also has arbitration eligibility where his 34-point output will play a factor and likely push his price tag past $2MM. Would they be better off seeing what depth options come available in free agency and put the difference in salary towards filling another opening?
Then there’s Carl Grundstrom. When healthy, he’s a capable fourth liner who plays with an edge and can chip in with a few goals. There’s a role for that type of player but is there a role for one who would earn more than his $1.3MM qualifying offer through salary arbitration? Fourth liners can be had for less on the open market so again, are they better off going with someone cheaper (either a free agent or a younger option like Akil Thomas or Alex Turcotte, both waiver-eligible going into 2024-25) and using the savings elsewhere?
The other RFA with a question mark is Arthur Kaliyev, albeit with a different question than the other two. For him, it shouldn’t be a question of tender or not but rather should they be moving him even though his value is probably the lowest it has been in several years? Kaliyev has reportedly made it known he wouldn’t mind moving on while Los Angeles was believed to be open to moving him at the trade deadline but clearly, a move never materialized. Do they give him one more shot or take what they can get for him? Either way, whoever he’s signing his next contract with, it’s probably going to be a low-cost one-year agreement.
Add Top Six Winger
There was a piece missing from the offense for most of this season with Viktor Arvidsson being limited to just 18 games due to multiple injuries, particularly his back. He did well when he was in the lineup, notching 15 points but it seems likely that he’s going to move on.
This season, the Kings were a team in the middle of the pack offensively and probably could have landed a few spots higher than 16th with a healthy Arvidsson or Dubois not struggling as much as he did. They should be able to try to do something to augment the attack in the coming weeks. While they’re expected to talk about an extension with Matt Roy soon according to The Fourth Period’s Dennis Bernstein (Twitter link), they could opt to instead fill that spot on the back end internally with Brandt Clarke. That in turn should give them enough money to add a top-six winger while adding a goalie and keeping their options open with Byfield in terms of what type of contract they’ll want to offer him.
With the other spots they have to fill, it’s likely that they’ll be priced out of the top free agents next month. However, there are plenty of other options. If they’re looking for a medium-term addition, Jonathan Marchessault could be an intriguing candidate if he doesn’t work out a deal to remain in Vegas. Matt Duchene (who would likely be moved to the wing), Vladimir Tarasenko, and former King Tyler Toffoli all could work. Jake DeBrusk and Teuvo Teravainen will command longer-term agreements but could be in their price range as well. Adding one of those players could push the Kings a few spots higher in next season’s goal totals which could help them avoid having to squeak into the playoffs as they did this year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor Transactions: 6/5/24
While the bulk of signings in the NHL is still at least a month away, activity around the hockey world has picked up in recent weeks. Here’s a rundown of recent moves with an NHL association.
- After having his contract terminated by Minnesota last month, winger Vladislav Firstov has returned to the KHL as Torpedo announced they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 22-year-old spent most of this season in Russia on loan but once that campaign ended, he suited up in ten games with AHL Iowa, picking up two goals and two assists. However, he clearly wanted to stay at home for next season, leading to his release by the Wild.
- The Canadiens’ AHL affiliate in Laval announced they’ve signed forward Israel Mianscum to a two-year contract. The 21-year-old spent his five-year junior career with QMJHL Sherbrooke and was quite productive in his overage year, tallying 35 goals and 52 assists in 61 games, both career bests. Overall, he had 215 points in 264 major junior contests.
- The Jets have invited Cornell forward Kyle Penney to their upcoming development camp, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is coming off a strong year with the Big Red, one that saw him collect 10 goals and 18 assists along with a plus-30 rating in 35 games. Penney has one season of college eligibility remaining.
- The Panthers’ AHL team in Charlotte announced they’ve re-signed defenseman Mitchell Vande Sompel to a two-year deal. The Checkers acquired the 27-year-old at the AHL trade deadline and he was a regular for them down the stretch where he had five points in 16 games. Vande Sompel was originally a draft pick of the Islanders, spending five years in their system before moving on in 2022.
- Kings prospect Matthew Mania is on the move in the OHL as Flint announced that they’ve acquired the defenseman as part of a six-player, nine-pick trade. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick last year, going 150th overall and is coming off an injury-riddled season that limited him to just 45 games where he had four goals and 19 assists. Los Angeles has until June 1, 2025 to sign Mania to an entry-level deal or lose his rights.
Hurricanes, Jaccob Slavin Begin Extension Talks
While the Hurricanes still have many pending UFAs to juggle this offseason, they’ve already turned their attention to 2025 and beyond. High on their list of priorities is getting number-one defenseman Jaccob Slavin signed to an extension shortly after becoming eligible on July 1, and The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports those talks have already started.
Slavin, 30, is entering the final season of a seven-year, $37.1MM extension signed by former general manager Ron Francis in July 2017. He costs only $5.3MM against the cap, a bargain price for a player who finished top 10 in Norris Trophy voting twice since 2020.
Unfathomably, Slavin saw the lowest usage of his NHL career in 2023-24. After Carolina stocked up their already elite blue line with the addition of Dmitry Orlov in free agency last summer, head coach Rod Brind’Amour utilized his three pairings roughly equally, leading to an ice time reduction of more than a minute per game. His 20:56 average checked in three seconds fewer than his previous career-low, set during his rookie season in 2015-16.
That didn’t stop him from remaining one of the best possession-control defenders in the league. His 37 points in 81 games this year were the second-most of his career, and he logged an expected rating north of +10 for the fifth time in the last six seasons. With Slavin on the ice at even strength this season, the Hurricanes controlled 56.2% of expected goals and 60.2% of shot attempts, the latter of which was a career-high.
The 6’3″, 207-lb defender would be one of the top defenders available in free agency in the summer of 2025, but the chances of him reaching the open market are infinitesimal. With the Hurricanes seemingly more aggressive about extending him than pending UFAs Jake Guentzel, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei, it even seems unlikely he’ll remain without a new deal past next month.
There’s good news for Hurricanes interim GM Eric Tulsky as he navigates negotiations – comparables for Slavin don’t favor a premium price tag on a long-term deal. In fact, Evolving Hockey projects a $6.5MM cap hit on a seven-year extension for Slavin if signed next month, and while his market value will likely push the final number a bit higher, it’s a reasonable price to pay, especially considering the deal could very well present a negative value proposition as he enters his mid-to-late 30s.
All three of the Hurricanes’ defenders currently signed to one-way deals next season – Slavin, Orlov and Brent Burns – are all set for UFA status in the summer of 2025.
John Gibson, Trevor Zegras Still Drawing Trade Interest
Ducks starter John Gibson and developing center Trevor Zegras are still the subject of trade inquiries, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun during the ongoing scouting combine.
Both players have been the subjects of trade rumors in the past, especially Gibson, who seems to be on the block nearly every summer since his eight-year, $51.2MM extension began in 2019. Zegras also found his name in trade speculation last year after a lengthy contract battle that saw the restricted free agent miss most of training camp and preseason, finally putting pen to paper on a three-year, $17.25MM deal on Oct. 2.
Gibson, who will be 31 next month, has likely never had a lower trade value. In 2023-24, he posted career-worst numbers with a .888 SV% in 46 appearances while conceding 9.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.
He’s long been given the benefit of the doubt due to the paper-thin defense in front of him for most of the Ducks’ recent rebuild, but he was significantly outplayed by the younger Lukáš Dostál this season. There’s a strong argument that Gibson wouldn’t even be Anaheim’s opening-night starter in October.
To be fair, Gibson’s numbers were tanked by a horrid end to the season that saw him fail to put up an SV% above .900 in any of his final eight showings. The beginning of the season was some of the best hockey we’d seen from him in quite some time, logging a .904 SV% in 24 games before New Year’s Day.
While Gibson was once considered one of the best young goaltenders in the league, he hasn’t had an above-average season since his extension kicked in, even considering Anaheim’s porous defense. His last season saving more goals than expected was 2018-19, the first season of the Ducks’ current playoff drought, when he logged a .917 SV% in 58 games for 13.3 GSAx.
With three seasons left at a $6.4MM cap hit and a 10-team no-trade clause in place, it’s fair to wonder if the Ducks would even net a first-round pick in return for his services. Especially in a summer when the trade market is dominated by names with much better recent history, such as Jacob Markström, Juuse Saros and Linus Ullmark.
They also wouldn’t be dealing from a position of strength with Zegras. He was plagued by injuries this season and mustered just six goals and 15 points in 31 contests.
There’s obviously less of a long-term fit for Zegras as their prospect pool continues to bolster itself, especially after they acquired 2022 fifth-overall pick Cutter Gauthier from the Flyers this season and signed him to his entry-level contract. But there’s still a solid chance for rebound potential in Anaheim next season, and given he’s a restricted free agent at the end of his current deal, there’s no lost trade value by holding onto him for another year. Even if they decide to pull the trigger on a Zegras deal, they’re much better off waiting for a better platform season preceding the deal.
Of course, receiving trade interest in players and actively shopping them are two completely different beasts. If Verbeek’s being transparent, only the former is at play here. With no rush to recoup value for either, as their signing rights are controlled for at least a few more seasons, this summer doesn’t seem to be the right opportunity for a move.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Kings, Andre Lee Agree To Two-Way Deal
The Kings re-signed forward Andre Lee to a one-year, two-way contract, per a team release. His minor-league salary for next season wasn’t disclosed, but he’ll earn the minimum $775K salary if on the NHL roster.
Lee, 24 next month, was the Kings’ seventh-round pick in 2019 and is one of the bigger forward prospects in their pool at 6’4″ and 205 lbs. After he was drafted, he played three seasons of college hockey with UMass-Lowell, accumulating 64 points in 87 games there before signing his entry-level deal with Los Angeles in 2022.
He’s yet to make his NHL debut but has slowly worked his way up the organizational depth chart during his two seasons suiting up for AHL Ontario. Lee can play both left wing and center and is coming off a strong end to his season, scoring four times in eight playoff games for the Reign. However, he’s totaled just 14 goals and 24 points in 105 regular-season games with Ontario since beginning his professional career on a tryout to close the 2021-22 season.
Lee isn’t a likely candidate to make the NHL roster next season, but even getting minor-league games out of a seventh-round pick is a decent bit of work. He won’t require waivers to return to Ontario if cut from the roster during training camp, but that will change if he re-signs for 2025-26 or beyond. Lee was slated to be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next month, and he’ll have the same status when his deal expires next offseason.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 6/5/24
PHR’s Josh Erickson hosted his weekly live chat today at 2 p.m. CT! Readers can view the transcript using this link.
Canucks Promote Yogi Svejkovsky To Assistant Coach
Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský will join the Canucks’ bench next season as a part of Rick Tocchet‘s coaching staff, the team said in a release Wednesday. The former first-round pick of the Capitals fills the role vacated by Mike Yeo, who mutually parted ways with the club last week. The Canucks also said that Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin will take on more responsibility next season from their existing development roles and will have more day-to-day involvement with the NHL and AHL coaching staff.
Svejkovský has been with the Canucks organization for three seasons in skills coaching roles, working with their AHL affiliate in 2021-22 before being promoted to the NHL staff for the past two campaigns. The 17th overall pick in 1996 never managed to stick around as a full-timer in the NHL and had his playing career end at age 24 due to concussions. He finished his major-league career with 23 goals and 42 points in 113 games with Tampa Bay and Washington across four seasons.
He began his coaching career in the Vancouver area with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants as an assistant in the 2006-07 season and has remained there since. Svejkovský served as an assistant and skills coach through 2018, taking a few years to head coach academy teams in British Columbia before joining the Canucks.
Canucks’ Ian Cole Expected To Test Free Agency
The Canucks are not expected to come to terms on a new contract with defenseman Ian Cole before he reaches unrestricted free agency next month, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports.
Cole, 35, is one of four blue-liners headed toward UFA status that Vancouver had on its NHL roster at the end of the season. With Tyler Myers and Nikita Zadorov positioned as higher-priority targets to re-sign, as well as a big-name pending UFA up front in Elias Lindholm, it’s not terribly surprising to see Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin turn his attention away from Cole over the next few weeks.
That’s not a knock on the season Cole had in British Columbia, though. He may have ended his Canucks tenure with a disappointing stretch of postseason play, but he gave them solid bottom-four minutes throughout the regular season after signing a one-year, $3MM pact in free agency last summer.
A first-round pick of the Blues back in 2007, Cole has settled in as a useful third-pairing or complementary second-pairing shutdown defender for teams as he enters the twilight of his career. He put up two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 78 contests for the Canucks this year, averaging 18:41 per game while doing well to control the majority of quality scoring chances despite playing difficult defensive minutes. Vancouver controlled 53% of expected goals with Cole on the ice at even strength, his third straight season with an xG% above 50.
Now a true journeyman, Cole has suited up for five teams in the past four seasons and could make it a sixth in a few weeks. He’s now eligible for a 35+ contract, allowing a team to sign him for a reduced initial cap hit while awarding him additional compensation via performance bonuses, but they would need to have the cap space to accommodate those bonuses if he hits them to avoid a penalty the following season. Evolving Hockey projects him to land a one-year, $2.5MM commitment on the open market.
Maple Leafs Add Lane Lambert To Coaching Staff
The Maple Leafs announced Wednesday that Lane Lambert has been added to incoming head coach Craig Berube‘s staff as an associate. He’ll be replacing assistant Dean Chynoweth, who the team said won’t return next season.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reported earlier this week that Lambert would likely join Berube’s bench in Toronto. The 59-year-old spent parts of the last two seasons as the Islanders’ head coach before being fired in January. He’s long been a disciple of Barry Trotz, serving under him as an assistant or associate for the better part of the last 15 years during his coaching tenures with the Capitals, Isles and Preds, but that trend is officially broken with today’s move.
The Leafs didn’t specify Lambert’s responsibilities as an associate. He held the title under Trotz in New York for four seasons before being promoted to head coach after his departure in 2022. The nomenclature implies that he won’t be a direct replacement for Chynoweth in terms of job responsibilities. Chynoweth, 55, had been with the club for the past three seasons.
Berube still needs to finalize the rest of his staff. There’s already one opening created by former assistant Manny Malhotra, who departed the organization last month to take a minor-league head coaching job with the Canucks. The future of assistant coach Guy Boucher, who was in charge of their power play with a 4.8% success rate in their first-round loss to the Bruins, is also in question. Former Flames assistant Marc Savard, who parted ways with the club last month, is a strongly speculated candidate to join Berube’s staff after previously working with him during his days as head coach of the Blues.
Kraken Begin Extension Discussions With Matthew Beniers
The Kraken have begun preliminary contract discussions with top pending restricted free agent Matthew Beniers, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Their first draft pick in franchise history just completed the final season of his entry-level contract and is in need of a new deal this summer.
Beniers, still 22, turned pro to end the 2021-22 campaign after returning for his sophomore season with the University of Michigan. After ending the season on a tear with nine points in his first 10 NHL games, he took over first-line center duties entering 2022-23. His 24 goals were second on the team, his 57 points ranked fourth, and his +14 rating and 17:09 average time on ice helped him win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
This year, Beniers endured a bit of a sophomore slump. Most of his underlying metrics remained the same, as he actually had more individual shot attempts than last year and maintained a CF% in the 51% range, but his production dropped to 15 goals and 37 points in 77 games. He was one of many affected by a major team-wide swing in shooting percentage, finishing at just a 9.1% rate this season compared to 11.6% in 2022-23.
It’s still unclear if he has the offensive upside to carry a team to a championship as their first-line center, but those concerns have persisted since his draft day. His floor as a high-end, defensively responsible pivot has already been realized, and he’s projected to again hold down first-line minutes next season with the team stating its preference to keep top goal-scorer Jared McCann on the wing.
Notably, Pagnotta says Kraken general manager Ron Francis isn’t yet sure if he wants to ink Beniers to a bridge deal, allowing them to sign him once again as an RFA in a few years, or go long-term immediately in hopes of getting a discount on his market value through his mid-20s. Evolving Hockey projects an eight-year extension for Beniers to cost $7.2MM annually, which could pay dividends if he can be a consistent 60-to-70-point player. If not, though, that’s a bit pricey for a player better served as a matchup second-line center. A three-year bridge deal, however, projects to cost just $5MM annually.
Either way, Pagnotta indicates negotiations are expected to kick into high gear after the scouting combine wraps up next week. There’s no huge sense of urgency to get a deal done before July 1, but it would give Francis a higher degree of cost certainty as he looks to improve his roster in free agency.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.