2017 Offseason Thread

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

I would 100% agree that bringing back Voynov would be too Taboo, but going to see him play a few times is definitely interesting if nothing else, and makes me come off of that 100% number for sure (So still 95% he never plays in the NHL again). You also have to remember the NHL didn't even want him playing international for Russia at the Olympics.

You can almost feel the Kings weighing their options though: "Is he good enough to offset the flak we're going to get for re-hiring a convicted domestic abuse foreigner? He does move like the old Voynov who was part of our 2 cups. Another cup would make people forget real quick..."

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

No worries, everyone. Went to CapFriendly, and it looks like LA has already solved a massive need:

Oscar Fantenberg. This feels like someone's attorney lobbied for the Kings to sign him to one-day Contract and they did to honor him before the real season begins.

 

[smackdown380]

 

[smackdown380]

I agree with you on Toffoli and Pearson, those are lofty contract figures. That being said, I think we would have to look at what other people in that age range and similar skill set are making. I think that is what he used as the benchmark (just guessing)

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I would 100% agree that bringing back Voynov would be too Taboo, but going to see him play a few times is definitely interesting if nothing else, and makes me come off of that 100% number for sure (So still 95% he never plays in the NHL again). You also have to remember the NHL didn't even want him playing international for Russia at the Olympics.

You can almost feel the Kings weighing their options though: "Is he good enough to offset the flak we're going to get for re-hiring a convicted domestic abuse foreigner? He does move like the old Voynov who was part of our 2 cups. Another cup would make people forget real quick..."

Haha, no sooner do I say that this pops up. I still don't think he will return to the NHL, but I could see them doing what you're saying. It won't hurt them to look but the fallout will be huge if they actually bring him back whether that be on the roster or trade his rights.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I agree with you on Toffoli and Pearson, those are lofty contract figures. That being said, I think we would have to look at what other people in that age range and similar skill set are making. I think that is what he used as the benchmark (just guessing)

Toffoli shouldn't be making $5.5 million per season, he really went into the toilet last season even before the injury and he has been pretty inconsistent throughout his career. Goal scorers generally are, they score in bunches but that type of money is reserved for T3 forwards and while I like him he is not a T3 forward. Same could be said for Pearson as well, and I like him even more than I like Toffoli. Pearson is 24 and Toffoli is 25, I think 6 year deals should be the max on these two.

I think in this thread somewhere I mentioned Toffoli should be between $4-5 million and Pearson around $4-4.5 million if they are going to do short term deals, higher if they will go the Doughty route and pay them for future performance on a long term deal.

Doughty paid off, but for some reason I don't see Toffoli earning that contract over time. Pearson, too soon to tell although he really developed as a player this past season but it's only one season and you can't break the bank for that; way too often we have seen teams get burned for rewarding one solid year with a monster contract - visions of David Clarkson run through my head.

I also don't see Blake dishing out Dumbo Deals for some reason; ironic considering he was greedy when he was a player for LA. Then again he was a key member when he was part of the NHLPA so who knows.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Expansion Draft Tool - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Interesting thing they setup for drafting your theoretical team for Vegas. There are major assumptions with the auto-fill, but you can edit what you know and go from there.

But interesting notes. Vegas has to take 20 guys who will be under Contract through at least 2017-2018 (Makes sense), which eliminates too may Free Agents. They also have the cap at $73mil, so the players you pick up can't go over (also makes sense). Interesting exercise though.

When you auto-populate, it actually assumes Lewis is protected, which I don't think is correct based on recent news. Forbort and 3 other D likely protected and only 4 forwards.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Even though I called it, I am not taking credit for this one - it was too easy to predict.

Report: Flyers contact ex-Kings GM Lombardi - Article - TSN

 

[PuckinUgly57]

When you auto-populate, it actually assumes Lewis is protected, which I don't think is correct based on recent news. Forbort and 3 other D likely protected and only 4 forwards.

Forbort has earned his way onto the protected list, he played pretty well this season. Played in all 82 games, 2G/16A/18pts, which isn’t bad considering this was his first full time NHL season. He has the ability to skate the puck out but also be solid in his own end. I would like to see him be more physical, especially being a bigger guy, but that should come in time.

Maybe it won’t and he will be more like Martinez, who plays the body effectively but not zealously. Forbort seems like a hybrid SAH and puck moving defender, which is a good thing. His first pass out of the zone is his strength, crisp, clean and gets the forwards going into transition and his skating ability is solid.

All I do know is he was a breath of fresh air compared to McNabb, who unfortunately worked himself off the protected list. I am almost certain LA had the intention of keeping him when the season began but the inconsistency and then the injury really allowed Forbort to shine and he took full advantage of that. Forbort will also be cheaper than McNabb, which is always a plus for a cap strapped team. McNabb unfortunately will likely be exposed and if he isn’t or isn’t claimed will be trade bait.

The defense next year should look like Doughty, Martinez/Muzzin (if one is not moved), Forbort, Gravel and LaDue as the 6 barring something unexpected. The Kings really need another RH defender badly.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Forbort has earned his way onto the protected list, he played pretty well this season. Played in all 82 games, 2G/16A/18pts, which isn’t bad considering this was his first full time NHL season. He has the ability to skate the puck out but also be solid in his own end. I would like to see him be more physical, especially being a bigger guy, but that should come in time.

Maybe it won’t and he will be more like Martinez, who plays the body effectively but not zealously. Forbort seems like a hybrid SAH and puck moving defender, which is a good thing. His first pass out of the zone is his strength, crisp, clean and gets the forwards going into transition and his skating ability is solid.

All I do know is he was a breath of fresh air compared to McNabb, who unfortunately worked himself off the protected list. I am almost certain LA had the intention of keeping him when the season began but the inconsistency and then the injury really allowed Forbort to shine and he took full advantage of that. Forbort will also be cheaper than McNabb, which is always a plus for a cap strapped team. McNabb unfortunately will likely be exposed and if he isn’t or isn’t claimed will be trade bait.

The defense next year should look like Doughty, Martinez/Muzzin (if one is not moved), Forbort, Gravel and LaDue as the 6 barring something unexpected. The Kings really need another RH defender badly.

I think this is the consensus also because the team is up against the Cap. They're not going to find anything close to the quality of Forbort at $625K/year, and that was the main reason cited for him being protected. Is he better than a Lewis per se, maybe/maybe not (Probably not to be honest), but for sure he is more valuable in the sense that he offers cap relief relative to what he brings to the table. So it's no-brainer that they need to protect him. It would be nice if McNabb gets taken to be honest. If Bishop is signed, that works too. The big boys that would change things are Brown or Gaborik, but the more I hear about Gaborik being hurt, the more I wonder if he won't come back and be effective next year.

And yeah, I really like the D overall going into next year. The forward group/Quick's injury were the main issues this year, not the d. Silver lining was that these young guys did get experience over extended periods, and should be good to go next year.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Definitely the draft is about cap management as much as it is personnel management.

While no team wants to lose a good player if you are the Kings, taking someone definitely helps create much needed cap space but the guys they have to expose are all mostly decent players. Losing a guy like Lewis moves $2 million but then how much heart and soul and leadership is lost too? Those intangibles aren't in every player not to mention an Andreoff, Shore or Dowd are not Lewis (yet).Of those guys my money is on Dowd becoming that player (anyone realize Nick Shore has played almost 200 games in LA? Yeah, me neither).

Lewis leaves it on the ice and gives it everything 100% of the time. I think after losing all the veteran leadership he last few seasons - Mitchell, Richards, Stoll, Regehr, Scuderi, etc. - the Kings cannot afford to lose a guy like Lewis so I'm hoping they are working on a backdoor deal to not take him. This new group of leaders need those types of players around, they failed miserably at taking ownership of the room in Year 1. That's expected this past season, no more excuses this season moving forward.

Even a guy like Iginla became part of Kings culture real quick and showed the new leadership group how it's done when he and Engelland went at it after the Doughty hit as a response to Tkachuk. Guys like Doughty, Kopitar, Toffoli, Pearson, etc. all needed to see that is what a leader does and how they respond (in Pearson's defense he was the first and only King in there leveling Tkachuk after that dirty hit - Kopitar and Crew should have taken notes).

This ED will cost all teams a good player, but I guess that's what the NHL wants to make sure Vegas is competitive right off the bat and we aren't watching painful expansion teams like Tampa Bay, SJ, Ottawa, etc.

All teams have a lot of difficult decisions to make and cap space is definitely a component of that.

 

[LoCal Kings]

McNabb: I know folks want to get rid of this guy. But Kings haven't / won't trade him before Expansion, as he will likely be the only defenseman who meets the exposure requirements (assuming DD, Muzz, Marty, Forbort are all protected).

There have been comments and articles about the "grit" the Kings are missing compared to '12-'14. I think McNabb shows a good amount of grit, but the talent level isn't there to justify being in the line-up every night. Maybe not as much grit as a Matt Greene or Willie Mitchell, but more than average.

 

[Kings4OT]

If he would clear the front of the net, ok..maybe. But he gets danced around, doesn't clear the net, questionable in the defensive zone with passing and doesn't really add much in the offensive zone.....grit doesn't cut it for me. Hell I can do some of that stuff better then he can and I can throw down.....doesn't make me an NHL defender