2018-19 Off Season Thread

[PuckinUgly57]

Figured I'd start the annual one - anything you find that feels would benefit the readers, post it here. Not much out there with the POs still rolling but there are a few.

Unfortunately I didn't feel the need to post them because they were fan driven and wore rosy glasses or assumed real hard cash and assets are from a board game.

That said, I did find the 2017-18 Off Season Game Plan from TSN, interesting read looking back on the season.

Off-Season Game Plan: Los Angeles Kings - Article - TSN

A few things jumped out (Kopitar and Brown producing. McNabb getting picked by Vegas) but most of the other stuff was fluff. Still a good read although there were some trades mentioned here that didn't make sense to me whether it is last year or this year.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Same story on some needs I think, with the added need to sign Doughty.

Need a left winger with some speed. That would probably slot a lot of guys where they need to be.

Need a 3C, which really has been missing since Stoll left.

Still need someone who can win faceoffs consistently, which is my biggest pet peeve.

I would like a puck moving defenseman, but if we can find a 3C and top 6 left winger, that would solve a lot.

We HAVE to figure out this PP. I mean, put Doughty at forward on the PP or do whatever you have to do to have it generate momentum, because it's just not acceptable anymore.

Optimism:

1. Kopitar, Brown, Doughty with great years bounce-back.
2. Quick looked like Quick in the Playoffs.
3. Next year we'll probably have a healthy Carter, Lewis (hand), Forbort (MCL), Brown (Shoulder).
4. Likely Vilardi coming in.
5. Kings kept their draft picks again, so we actually have a Round 1 pick again/continue to rebuild the farm.
6. Campbell seems like he might be a solid backup.
7. New defensemen got experience, which shouldn't be undervalued (Ala Muzzin in 2013).
8. Defense a little more stable heading into next year (Albeit a still slow). Doughty, Phaneuf, Martinez, Forbort.
9. Blake with his 2nd summer as GM and he's shown some good stuff/willingness to make calculated risks/moves.

Pessimism:
1. Older core - Carter and Quick would be the most worrisome for me. Martinez also seems to be breaking down more.
2. Expensive core - Kopitar, Doughty, Brown, Quick close to $35mil right there if we resign Doughty now (But Doughty won't hit until 2019-2020 season if he's resigned).
3. Oilers, Avs, even Arizona will be improving.
4. Kings still one of the slower teams, with not too many options in addressing that.

Wild Card:
Coach Stevens. I personally don't see anything changing with our coaching staff being the same as it has been. The addition of Pierre Turgeon did nothing. Scoring 3 goals in 14 periods in the Playoffs was rough. But allowing only 7 to Vegas was impressive (But was that mostly Quick or not?). Stevens got unlucky with Carter getting hurt, so we'll see. My bias is I don't see it, but I am hoping fully to be wrong with that one. I believe all of the early success for LA last year was an East-heavy schedule.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Will hit your points tomorrow at some point, my brain is fried from working too much tonight. Did see this just now, interesting list.

Seattle expansion: the mock draft | The Hockey News

 

[LoCal Kings]

Seattle: Been mentioned already, but if Cal Petersen really is as good as the brass is touting, L.A. could have a goalie dilemma on them come next expansion draft. I would hate to see the repeat of the Fleury-Murray situation play out for the Kings.

As for this off-season, not sure how much Kings can do unless a Doughty contract is in place. Can probably sign a lot of 1-year deals for players. But highly doubt any big name UFA will want to pull a Hossa and come here on a 1-year deal.

Going to have to move contract(s) out in order get another forward. Still hoping one of those Toronto wingers is a possibility (Marner, Nylander, Kapanen) in a swap for a d-man.

 

[LoCal Kings]

Question(s):

• Does anyone know which Kings players (either under contract or currently RFAs), that will be eligible to move back and forth between AHL and NHL during the 2018-19 season?

• Which prospects (decent prospects) are eligible for AHL (Its NHL or Juniors for both Vilardi and Anderson-Dolan, correct?)

When Lombardi first took over, I got into following the prospects and Manchester team. Once the Kings starting winning Cups, I didn't really pay attention to farm system. Now that they are "re-building-on-the-fly" these last seasons, starting to pay attention again.
Since the Gulls came back here to SD, I've tried to go to as many games as I can when the Reign are in town. Just a lot more feasible way to get live pro-hockey here in LoCal instead for spending the $$$ and time to make it to Staples. After seeing them several times last year + AHL playoffs, only made one Reign game this season.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Going to have to move contract(s) out in order get another forward. Still hoping one of those Toronto wingers is a possibility (Marner, Nylander, Kapanen) in a swap for a d-man.

TO needs a legitimate play driving defender and with their situation they will need to lose one of those players. Would love to see a Muzzin/Martinez for Nylander deal.

Don't think Marner is going to be available.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Question(s):

• Does anyone know which Kings players (either under contract or currently RFAs), that will be eligible to move back and forth between AHL and NHL during the 2018-19 season?

• Which prospects (decent prospects) are eligible for AHL (Its NHL or Juniors for both Vilardi and Anderson-Dolan, correct?)

Waivers Calculator - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

These are the guys who would be Waivers exempt as of right now. General rule of thumb is the younger you are the more time you have but you'll notice some guys on there who are 24-26 (LaDue, Fantenberg, Brodzinki, McDermid) who are still exempt. Waivers are based on when you sign your first contract - basically the older you are the less time you have because you approach UFA status more quickly.

Case in point, Fantenberg signed his first NHL contract (a SPC, not an ELC) at age 26 (Exemption at age 25+ - 1 NHL season, no matter how many games played) so this was his Waivers exempt year. In 2018-19 he will not be able to be shuffled down again without having to hit Waivers first unless he a) cleared Waivers in the prior 30 days or b) played less than 10 NHL games.

If a skater signs his ELC between 18-22 they have a combination of ranges between 3-5 years or 70-160 professional games before they are not exempt anymore. Those numbers drop to between 1-3 years and a 0-60 professional games if you sign between age 23-25+.

The exemption limits are different for goalies (ELC signing age 20 for a skater = 3 years/160 games but for a goalie = 4 years/80 games) so it all depends on position and age. For a contract year to count, the player has to play in a certain number of games and notice I said "professional", not "NHL"; the AHL, KHL, etc. all count as "professional" leagues so appearances in those leagues count towards the number of games played.

These 4 guys don't have a lot of time left to make their names on an NHL roster. Not overly concerned with that except with McDermid, the game is not built for him so he will need to work harder than most.

Regarding Anderson-Dolan and Villardi, any drafted player who plays in the CHL (this is "Juniors" - OHL, QMJHL, etc.) gets the 9 game evaluation period at the NHL level to determine whether or not they should stay in the NHL or not. The 10th game will trigger the first year of their ELC so that is the cutoff.

And you are correct - the AHL is considered a "professional" league and the agreement between the AHL and the CHL states they cannot play there because these players ar money makers at the CHL level and by not making the NHL team but not returning to Juniors, Junior teams claim they lose money and the prospect pool so that is why that agreement was made.

I have yet to go to a Reign game, which is odd for me considering I live in Yorba Linda, about 30 miles away, and my office is in Riverside, the Inland Empire and in close proximity to Ontario.

Last time I tried 2 years ago it turned into a complete nightmare with some promotional tickets I got and I haven't been back since although I want to go. Seeing the Gulls back in SD is awesome, the last time I saw them was in 2004 or so when they were part of the ECHL and not the AHL. I have a kick ass jersey I bought that night somewhere.

I keep tabs on the prospects but I've never been a huge prospect buff, they are just that - prospects - until they show something at the NHL level. Thus seeing all the Kingsters knob gobbling and penciling in Villardi as the de facto 3C already makes me laugh.

Let the kid come up, show his stuff and go from there.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Kane and his UFA status:


Granted he didn't say those were the priorities in his order - just that they are priorities for a player - but I'm not buying it, I can read between the lines. I think he will go where he gets the most money, he of the doing push ups with stacks of $100s on his back in an Instagram photo or something if I recall. I'm pretty tacky and crass at times but even that is beyond me.

Thornton had a torn MCL and ACL I think but has expressed interest in coming back in a lesser role and for less money since he will be a UFA. I don't know if the Sharks should spend money there, Graybeard has a lot of miles on him and has had an illustrious career sans a Cup win but that sure seems to me that "lifestyle" is his number one priority. I feel he will given the Marleau treatment - thanks for many years, time to move on.

Who can blame him, NoCal is beautiful and he has been there for 12-13 years, probably has kids and family established, makes a lot of money, comfortable, I get it being a dad to young kids myself - but I just don't think it would be smart on the Sharks' part to give him anything over $3 million at this stage of his career if at all. The injury, style of play, age, it all plays a factor.

That leads me to the money, if Thornton isn't signed they will have the money for Kane. I like what I'm reading about him, maybe he has matured a bit but he had issues in both Buffalo and Winnipeg so it could be a problem. And it's not like he is years removed from those issues, these are still recent.

We heard about the issues with both Richards and Carter prior to coming to LA, and Richards was probably secretly partaking in his vices all along only to be discovered 4 years later, while it appears Carter either never had them or turned the page completely after a fresh start in LA and became a professional, solid player, leader and family man. My point: that's still a 50/50 chance things go south.

Kane's deal will be a big dollar one for sure exceeding $6 million per season and that is a huge risk to take on. Should be interesting to see what happens. Something tells me he will end up in Vegas, but that is like putting the fox into the hen house.

Probably the last place he should go but the money will speak.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Kings supposedly have interest in Jeff Skinner:

NHL Announces Selke Trophy Finalists

Interesting, not sure how that would go down - lots of options.

Carolina has a very good young defense, so I can't see them needing a defender back unless they want to send the Kings one of theirs as well and get the experience and leadership of guys like Martinez or Muffo. Slavin and Hanifin are pretty much untouchable but I could see something like this:

Hurricanes
Pesce (23/D/6'3'-200/R) - $4.025 million (6 years/$24.15 million, UFA 2023-24), 3G/16A/19 pts
Skinner (25/LW-RW/5'11"-200/L) - $5.725 million (6 years/$34.35 million, UFA 2018-19), 24G/25A/49 pts
Summary: $9.75 million for 2018-19, $24.15 million for 6 years, a T6 forward and T4 defender. Combined 68 points, Skinner would need to be resigned next summer

LA
Muzzin (29/D/6'3"-217/L) - $4 million (5 years/$20 million, UFA 2019-20), 8G/34A/42 pts
Toffoli (26/RW/6'1"-200/R) - $4.6 million (3 years/$13.8 million, UFA 2019-20), 24G/23A/47 pts
Summary: $8.6 million for 2018-19, $17.2 million for 3 years, a T9 forward and a T2/3 defender. Combined 89 points, both guys would need to be resigned in the same summer

or

Martinez (30/RD or LD/6'1"-210/L) - $4 million (6 years/$24 million, UFA 2021-22), 9G/16A/25 pts
Toffoli (26/RW/6'1"-200/R) - $4.6 million (3 years/$13.8 million, UFA 2019-20), 24G/23A/47 pts
Summary: $8.6 million for 2018-19, $21.2 million for 4 years, a T9 forwards and T2/3 defender who can play both sides of the ice. Combined 72 points, have to be resigned 2 summers apart

There are obviously things I haven't touched on (Pesce for example just signed that deal so he probably won't be thrilled to move, plus he isn't the most offensively talented defender so don't expect a lot of points from him but he can skate and move the puck) but this is just a high level overview.

Just some information to think about. I see value in both sides of the deals from LA's and Carolina's standpoint; the Kings need speed and skill while getting younger, the Canes need leadership to show their young roster how it's done and get a few Cup winners (Martinez with 2, Muzzin with 1, Toffoli with 1) either way.

 

[LoCal Kings]

Jamie Kompon is an Assistant with the Jets??? Are you kidding me?
He won with the Kings in '12 and Hawks in '13 (or should I say, both teams won despite him being a coach?).
Has a realistic shot at a 3rd cup with Winnipeg. Unbelievable.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

It's pretty unreal how some guys end up at the right place, right time.

His PP in LA was brutal in LA the last 2-3 years he was here including the 2011-12 Cup season (RS 16.9%/17th, PO 11.8%/12th of 16 PO teams) and in Chicago's 2012-13 season (16.7%/19th, PO 11.4%/13th of 16 teams).

So your assessment is correct, they won in spite of him - there was too much talent on both those LA and Hawk teams to be in essentially the bottom third of the league in PP percentage. In the 2012 Cup win for LA, they pretty much dominated teams all 4 rounds in every game so his PP was a non factor; had they needed it, they would have been dead in the water.

Some other multiple Cup winners and factoid that slip our minds sometimes:

- Sydor somehow has 2, he was brutal in LA and IMO responsible for 2 of the OT losses in the SCF against Montreal in 1993.
- Scott Gomez has 2, the last one in 2003 with the Devils. He pretty much went to hell only 5 years later in 2008 and soon after was out of the NHL.
- Chris Dingman and Daniel friggin Carcillo - essentially goons - have 2 as well.
- Brian Bickell has 3, all with the Hawks this decade. Also unreal.

There are women on the Cup as well, mostly owners' wives - Nancy Anschutz is on there twice for example in the 2012 and 2014 LA wins.

Kompon should gamble huge every time he goes to Vegas, his accomplishments are well above his pay grade.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I'm not a major go green guy (although I have improved on that as I have gotten older - paperless receipts for example) pretty cool to see LA led the charge on this new sheet process and it has benefits for the teams, players and fans.

How California’s drought helped Kings go green and create harder, faster ice in the process | The Hockey News

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Looking like Kane may be a Pacific Division permanent resident for a while, all signs pointing to 7 years/$49 million.

Kane, Sharks close on seven-year extension - Article - TSN

Lots of bucks to commit to a guy who has had some locker room issues, hopefully that is in the past. He fit in well with the Sharks, this means he will become a familiar face to all of us in the Kings/Sharks rivalry. I expect Quick to have some "meetings" with him like he does Perry, similar type player who will crash the net and we know how Quick loves that.

This also pretty much means Joe Thornton is not in their plans even if he were to take a reduced role and money. I can't see him taking anything less than $3-4 million, which honestly I wouldn't spend the money or roster space on him considering his age, mileage and severity of recent knee injuries (ACL/MCL) in both knees the last 2 years albeit in separate years.

Old Man Time has caught up to him, he should save himself the embarrassment and either hang them up or look elsewhere for work, which he doesn't seem to want to do because of family reasons in SJ. He will be yet another HOF player who will never win a Cup, crazy considering how talented he was and how he made others better around him. How he turned Cheechoo into a 56 goal scorer is still one of the world's greatest mysteries.

And how that guy screwed me in a deal with DataCloud in the FHL one season will remain one of the board's greatest mysteries of all time.

=)~~

 

[PuckinUgly57]

What say you?

Los Angeles Kings: Was 2017-18 a success or failure?

My .02 (long read): Incomplete Grade. This season was neither success or failure because it was a transition year with a lot of new, younger faces, shedding the conservative offense approach.

I stated earlier in the year a big problem was these guys have been so ingrained with Sutter's heavy mentality they are almost robotic, and one season is not going to unlearn that. While I saw a little bit more creativity, that same grind the wall play was prevalent for a lot of the season. Hopefully after a year of having the leash loosened a little but they will feel more comfortable next season playing a little more wide open than this season.

I did like the fact that they didn't sacrifice their defense, which is really amazing considering the back end. You have Martinez, Muzzin and Doughty and Forbort as the T4 and prior to Phaneuf coming over there was a significant drop off in talent in numbers 5-7. Phaneuf really turned it into a solid T4 which relieved some of the pressure on the bottom 3 defenders, but I still wasn't as confident in the third pairing no matter who you put in of Folin, LaDue or Fantenberg with one of the other 5.

Obviously that changed near the end of the season with Forbort getting hurt but overall the bottom 3 defenders aren't as solid although Folin made me the most confident but I'm not sure what the negotiation status is (GIII UFA - 2018). I've read on Teh Blog that they have decided to part ways, but I have not seen anything official from the Kings' brass or Folin himself. I don't think he will be back with guys like Brickley and LaDue (GII RFA - 2018)) around but he had a solid season IMO and will parlay that into a decent contract worth at least $2.5-3 million per season. The Kings don't have that type of money or room.

Gravel (GVI UFA - 2018), I am pretty sure he is gone especially after his extremely poor showing in his one and only PO game against Vegas (responsible for both goals against - one on the PP, one in OT because of the wrong read, both times on the wrong side of the puck). He is 26 and showed some flashes of being a 5-7 defender last season but when Fantenberg - a guy who had zero NHL experience and also 26 - takes what should have been your spot on Opening Night that is telling. Gravel is a big guy, a jack of all trades, master of none, and for a good skater, big guy and puck mover I would expect a lot more than 1G/9A in 70 career NHL games at 6'4"/212 more physical than he is. I can see him signing somewhere as a depth defender and getting some time on a PP for a team. Wish him well, just tough luck with the defense situation as it is in LA.

The article was written before Fantenberg resigned (5/14/18, 1 year/$650,000, GIII UFA - 2019) so right now as it stands we have 8/27/6/3/24 as the 5 every night defenders and Fantenberg will most likely round out that group. He is not Waivers Exempt in 2018-19 so he was signed with the intention of staying in LA. If he is waived, I have no doubt some team will pick him up so the Kings obviously feel comfortable with him being on the Opening Night roster.

That leaves LaDue or Brickley as the #7, and with LaDue I think what we see is what we get, I don't see a whole lot of upside there - good offensive skills, good skater, seems more like a rover than a defender, needs to gain strength to handle full size NHL guys. Brickley is bigger and somewhat of the same mold, but has more upside at the NHL level. LaDue holds the advantage being a RH shot vs Brickley's LH shot, which the Kings have a ton of, not to mention LaDue will also not be Waivers Exempt in 2018-19 where as Brickley will. I can see LaDue taking the last spot with Brickley first in line for a call up barring something in camp much like the Gravel/Fantenberg situation.

Definitely agree on the playing from behind thing, they were terrible this season giving up the first goal of the game and it seemed it was early - less than 3-5 minutes in - every time. I didn't realize it would end up being 50 times this season and it's hard to play your game when you're playing catch up almost immediately.

I will say I was a bit disappointed in Pierre Turgeon and his "Offensive Coordinator" position because he didn't seem to have any influence over that considering the Kings finished 16th on offense. I wasn't expecting some major goal explosion but with the talent the Kings have up front I don't think closer to 10th is being unrealistic. Granted guys like Carter were gone for most of the season, Toffoli and Pearson didn't produce as expected, Kempe dired up, Reider didn't produce, etc. so who knows how many goals would have been scored there but I have to believe my 10th rank isn't off much.

Blake as a whole did well considering what he inherited and I think made some good deals and signings in his first year with the exception being Reider, I expected way more offense from that guy. It wasn't a "bad" move because Keumper was going to be moving on anyway so at least they got a young potential T9 player but he disappointed for sure.

Going forward I think we will see a big move near the draft to address the forward situation for a guy with speed, skill, who is young and will be part of the long term plan.

 

[Psych3man]

Excellent article and comments, Puck.
I would just add that their power play was horrible for all the talent they have on the ice. It ranked 17th in the NHL but was even more ugly to watch live. So many games, including vs Vegas in PO, could have gone their way with a clutch PP goal here and there. They cannot enter the zone without dumping and chasing, probably due to lack of speed and continued Sutter influence. Here's to better offense next year with improved creativity and skill.

 

[davnlaguna]

Lots of Kovalchuk speculation today.
This is the only one that mentions the Kings
Top five destinations for Ilya Kovalchuk | The Hockey News

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Wouldn't mind seeing him in an LA uniform even at 35 years old.

The KHL is an elite league, arguably the second best behind the NHL and he is putting up goals at a consistent basis. When he was here last, the league was more like LA but with the change in the way the game is played I think he would have no problem returning to the NHL no matter who he signs with. He still has some game although not in his prime, big guy at 6'3"/230 and wouldn't cost anything in term of assets.

He was smoke and mirrors with Dumbo, if I recall essentially entertaining LA for a free trip to CA and probably leveraging LA's offer back to NJ, but maybe Blake could have a conversation with him because they both played in the NHL during overlapping years and have that player to player bond. Dumbo struck me as having more attorney talk during conversations as opposed to Blake who would have player talk during conversations.

Some concerns I see however are he is 35 so any contract he signs in the NHL would count against the cap if at any time during it he decides to pull a 2013 again, and term is also something to discuss. I wouldn't want to give him more than 2-3 years based on his age and potential to leave again. Money would be interesting, at 35+ he is eligible for bonus incentives but he would probably want a higher base rather than a low deal with the "opportunity" to hit bigger bucks.

Regardless, intriguing nonetheless. He is a good player and would immediately ignite some offense into LA.

 

[Fox4Kings]

Perfect addition to the team, exactly what we need. I like the thought of him more this go around because he won't be THE guy. Don't need him to be. Just need his offense. Him and Kopi together would be pretty cool to watch, two big guys with elite level skills and hands. Brown can go in there and just crash the net.

Curious as to his price tag, and I agree with Puck, 2-3 year deal MAX. Even though he is older, on a shorter term deal I imagine he is going to want and probably fetch Evander Kane money, around $7M per year. $22M over 3 years is my bold complete stab in the dark guess. Or $16M over 2 years. Not sure if it helps or hurts the Doughty situation. If Doughty truly is about winning, this would definitely be a sign that the team is making strides to compete for a cup.

 

[LoCal Kings]

1 year deal, no problem. 2nd year gets into Doughty's increased cap hit.

 

[davnlaguna]

I was on the kings cruise that year.
Kelly Cheeseman was saying how the talk with Kovy went well. I saw on Twitter that he said no way he would exempt what Dean was offering in money.
“Five fingers waving goodbye to Dean” was the post.