2023 Off Season Thread

[PuckinUgly57]

Rangers sign goalie Jonathan Quick in hopes of filling ‘mentor’ role

The Rangers’ new backup goalie is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and a future Hall of Famer.

nypost.com

Forgot to comment on this one, Quick can earn $25,000 performance bonuses for each of the following ($100,000 total if he meets or exceeds these metrics):

- appears in 40 games
- .915+ SP
- 20 wins
- Stanley Cup winners

Those sure seem like difficult marks to hit at this stage of his career but I wish him the best. Kings legend.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Gibson demands trade. Yikes.

"Not playing another game for Anaheim Ducks": John Gibson vows to never return after 10-year stint

In a recent episode of the Nasty Knuckles podcast, NHL insider Frank Seravalli dropped a bombshell, revealing that goaltender John Gibson will not be returning to the Anaheim Ducks next season.

www.sportskeeda.com

So apparently he didn't request a trade or make that statement?

John Gibson’s agent says goalie has not refused to return to Ducks

John Gibson’s agent says the veteran goaltender has not told the Anaheim Ducks that he will refuse to play another game for the hockey club, denying a report made over the weekend by Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

www.sportsnet.ca

Frank Seravalli is pretty reputable, little surprised he would make that public if it weren't true.

The whole thing smells funny.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

That Gibson situation is weird. His agent is going to war saying he never said what he said, but Seravalli is doubling down citing times he was actually right in the past and was doubted. Kind of fun as a 3rd party observer.

This all being said, sucks for Gibson. I was watching Kings run 2014 and he had already taken the lead over Jonas Hiller as starter. That's damn near a decade ago. So he should to a team that can compete. It's sort of ironic that LA is right up the 5 and needs a goalie to become a cup contender. But I'd put that at close to zero percent chance Ducks help LA chase a cup.

But Gibson is in the Hellebuyck camp, where he might be really good, or he might just benefit from being pretty good on a not as great team. Hellebuyck fans will get at me, but wanting whatever he wants ($9mil a year) is crazy to me. You either want to win, or you want $9mil/year. Kings are only about $8mil off on that ask. Haha.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Problem with wait and see is the pieces that where solid have a chance to break or wear down. Its a fragile balance to success and having your vets (Kopistar, Doughboy) take up your cap and then having to wait and see on your crown prospects as they erase their cheap years "learning to play pro" kills franchises and sets them back over and over. Sure you can have some success, but you want to win on the upswing of $$$ on top youth, not keep juggling after they've been paid and not won a thing (Leafs, Mcjesuses) and hope something clicks

I am not really disagreeing with you, but you just have to sort of take what's there and you can't force it sometimes. The young guys haven't taken those steps, so what choice is there?

If LA were going full win now mode, they would've still done the Petersen move to shed cap, but then would've gone for Saros or Hellebuyck instead of PLD. The problem was also that they couldn't afford, or didn't want to afford Villardi. So this team is hard to picture with how it would've played out. By the way, Villardi is still not signed, so I really do want to know what he is going to end up being paid. Saros would've been my move. Probably as big of a package as we gave up for PLD but looking different. For win now trades you're not moving current roster players, and are mostly looking to move draft picks and prospects. Plus who knows what Nashville is doing. They traded their top center, bought out the other one (Johansen and Duchene), so it looked like they were going for rebuild mode. But then offer up Askarov, their prime prospect goalie and look to be committing to Saros. Then they sign O'Reilly, Luke Schenn, and Gustav Nyquist. So are they trying to be a playoff team?

I guess the part I am struggling with is LA signs Gavrikov for 2 years only, and they opt to keep Arvidsson over Iafallo. Those seem like short term moves vs big picture moves. Unless they just value Arvidsson that much more than Iafallo. But getting PLD and completely neglecting goaltending for the current season seems like LA has bigger plans for after this season.

 

[Kings4OT]

That's pretty much what i've been saying about all of their moves this off season. Completely understand why they are waiting, Problem is it's much more likely Unknown things will go wrong versus Your plan coming together properly

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Bingo - a lot of things have to pretty much go to plan 100% for this to work out. That's a lot of ifs considering the moves Bowlby has made.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Interesting read on the projected line up so far:

Early July: LA Kings 2023-24 Roster Projection and Salary Cap Update

mayorsmanor.com

They have Arvidsson as 2RW with PLD and Fiala, but from what we've seen with McLellan is he loves his veterans and he generally doesn't tinker with his lines. The 12/24/33 line has been kept together essentially since Jan 2022, so I can't see him breaking that up.

That leaves Kaliyev as either the 2RW or 4RW, it's make or break time for him. I also have my doubts about Fagemo on that fourth line. The Kings are really betting on these younger guys/prospects to make a big leap this season.

They have Bjornfot in yellow, but he is no longer Waivers exempt so he will most likely be the 3LD no matter what; he may not be solid but I don't think the Kings are going to risk losing a former 22nd overall defender with 115+ NHL games experience for nothing - I feel someone would definitely claim him. My choice would be Englund because he is a physical, shut down defender and at his contract and flat cap, he has a better chance of clearing and going to Ontario than Bjornfot does so the contract he got was structured to play a role in this.

Some of these players needed to be evaluated much more quickly and shipped off for assets rather than marinate them for so long and now facing losing them for free. It's weird looking at that depth chart and seeing an empty spot because they can't field a traditional 14/7/2 team. Yikes.

Thoughts?

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Our good old buddy Bernstein...

LAK Summer: It’s Winning Time — The Fourth Period

TFP’s Dennis Bernstein reviews the LA Kings’ off-season, moves they’ve made and what’s to come.

www.thefourthperiod.com

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Our good old buddy Bernstein...

LAK Summer: It’s Winning Time — The Fourth Period

TFP’s Dennis Bernstein reviews the LA Kings’ off-season, moves they’ve made and what’s to come.

www.thefourthperiod.com

*You posted something from Mayor's Manor, so this was in response to that article, not the Bernstein one*

Interesting stuff on the cap. That whole early road trip scenario seems like it could go sideways....which means it probably will.



I didn't totally follow the money for next year. I understand how performance bonuses get pushed out a year and will be reflected in the 2024-2025 cap but the author makes a ton of assumptions. He assumes Arvidsson and Roy get big raises, which I would question. Also not sure what Byfield and some of the other performance bonuses even are. Talbot get $1mil just for playing ten games, so I'd assume that's a given.

This all seems to fall in line with my initial thoughts the other day that this is a "See what we have" kind of year and not a true push to try to win a cup right away. I like the forward group, and defense is better than last year just with Gavrikov. My fear is with a guy like Clarke, he maybe comes in and he's Jack Johnson 2.0 where we see his immense talent, but defensively he's just a fat liability or something. I base that on nothing right now, but you can't pencil a true rookie in and expect to make a run as the cup. Look at the goaltending tandem, and you also can't really argue that they are primed to make a cup run.

So the realistic expectations for this year are see what you have in Clarke, Spence, Bjornfot, Kaliyev, BYfield, Grundstrom, and maybe even in Turcotte and JAD. Let's be honest, we're also going to see what we have in PLD too, and how his chemistry works or doesn't work with certain players. They had Fiala on their de facto 3rd line all last year, and we'll see if they push him up. Byfield was absolutely exposed from the 2nd period of Game 4 on through Games 5 and 6, so I am also curious to see if he can still be on the top line with Kopitar and Kempe.

So many things to watch next year, and it'll be exciting to see how the team develops, but I have real cautious expectations and an assumption we're going to see some growing pains for sure.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Man. Watching "Locked on LA Kings" with Eddie Garcia. He just mentioned Kings signing Andreas Englund, and Englund is the dude who knocked out Turcotte and was suspended for it. So now, unless one of them makes the big team, they are going to be teammates on The Reign.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Yup, he's the dude who laid him out. Wasn't a clean hit at all and suspension worthy for sure.

Guys have had bad blood before though and buried the hatchet once they become teammates though so I expect that from these two as well. I'm not expecting Turcotte to make the roster honestly, but every camp there is a surprise so who knows.

If you look up Englund videos, he's very physical and isn't afraid to fight, decent 3LD. I'd much rather have him on the roster than Bjornfot but Waivers will play a role. Bjornfot has not really established himself as offensive or defensive at either the AHL or NHL level, time for him to seize the opportunity and take charge.

Hopefully one of them is assigned to Ontario before the last waivers hit right before the season.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Nailed it - earlier in this thread I said he is headed to arbitration because he wants to get paid.


Since he filed, Jets control term (1 or 2 years). He's going after money, which honestly he doesn't deserve based on durability. Really curious what he will get whether they come to terms before the hearing or what the arbitrator awards. Also makes me believe even more his health is in the back of his head no matter what he says about being healthy.

I'm excited to see PLD here, not happy with how much LA gave up, but it's clear Vilardi priced himself out of LA on a decent 63 game season.

Ps - you can't math dude.

 

[Kings4OT]

I also wonder what Vilardi ends up with. Interesting that the Kings never even approached him. I really think it was a good time to move on from him even if he becomes a star. We've already touched on 6 that are complete ??? If they will even be NHL worthy, 1 of that bunch has never had an injury free season or close to one but made a little splash with some Gs....gotta get something from the pool of "who knows". Look st the roster without the trade....Gavrikov (who i like) and Talbot would be the big changes from last season....pretty sure everyone here would be disappointed in that.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I'm actually very disappointed "the best prospect pool" in the NHL hasn't really delivered.

Pre Cup the Kings seemed like they hit on everything. Post Cup they're lucky to hit a center divider.

You guys have known me for so long and I've never wavered from my belief, a prospect is just that until they show at a consistent level they can be NHL regulars. I don't buy the koolaid at all, show me what you can do. Apart from Kempe, Roy and Anderson not much has panned out since 2014. Same thing happened in 2003 when LA won this "award" and not many players panned out.

Of that group Vilardi probably had the best chance to become a Kings core, but it sure sounds like there was stuff brewing behind the scenes that was going to lead to a split.

I think Blake's comment of we need to see a full season from him didn't settle well with The Legend camp but for as much grief as I give Bowlby I think he did cut bait at the right time with him. It was a matter of time before Vilardi left LA whether on his own or not.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I completely forgot he won two Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Solid player, never had a problem going to the net. I remember the Kings always had to game plan for him crashing the crease when he was with Nashville.

Not a bad career at all Mr. Irrelevant. Enjoy the family and your accomplishments.

Veteran winger Patric Hornqvist announces retirement after 15 NHL seasons | TSN

Patric Hornqvist is hanging up his skates. The 36-year-old winger who won back to back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017 confirmed on Wednesday he's retiring after 15 NHL seasons to Swedish publication Sportbladet.

www.tsn.ca

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I didn't totally follow the money for next year. I understand how performance bonuses get pushed out a year and will be reflected in the 2024-2025 cap but the author makes a ton of assumptions. He assumes Arvidsson and Roy get big raises, which I would question. Also not sure what Byfield and some of the other performance bonuses even are. Talbot get $1mil just for playing ten games, so I'd assume that's a given.

I can't see Arvidsson staying in LA after this season, he will be a GIII UFA (which is probably why he wasn't included in the deal for PLD but Iafallo was, he still has 2 years/$8 million left on his deal) so depending on what the Kings' PO position looks like come the TD, he could either be kept for a run and then allowed to walk on July 1 or if the Kings are looking bad he could be moved for a late draft pick or something. My belief is that the Kings are expecting big things from guys like Kaliyev, Fagemo, etc which would eliminate Arvidsson moving forward.

I think Roy will get a long term deal, he is a solid shut down defender - arguably the best one LA has. He will be 29 in March so not over the hill but creeping towards his 30s, if he is effective again I can see a 4 year/$18 million deal. Around $4-4.5 million seems to be the going rate for shut down defenders, but with Mr. Check Happy sitting at Staples and the cap perceived to go up $5-5.5 million wouldn't surprise me one bit especially considering he will be a GIII UFA and they'll need to overpay.

Regarding Byfield, per Cap Friendly and then I'll break it down:



Those Performance Bonuses ($2.65 million), on ELCs are comprised of what are A and B Level bonuses. Being a 2020 draft pick, his A Level are worth a maximum of $850,000 (any 4 of the list below x $212,500 each). Starting with 2022+ draftees, these are worth a maximum of $1 million (any 4 of the list below x $250,000 each):

-20 goals
-35 assists
-60 points
-Top six in Time on Ice among forwards (in total and/or per game) on team (minimum 42 games)
-Top three in +/- among forwards on team (minimum 42 games)
-0.73 points per game (minimum 42 games)
-End-of Season All Rookie Team
-All Star Selection
-All Star MVP

I'm sorry but I do not see Buster hitting any 4 of these except maybe top 6 in ATOI among forwards and .73PPG (31 points, and even that is a leap seeing how the dude cannot score).

For his 2020 draft class, B Level bonuses are worth a maximum of up to $2 million ($2.5 million for 2022+ draftees). If any of these are achieved, the full bonus is paid out:

-Forwards: Top Ten in NHL Forward Goals, Assists, points, or points per game (min 42 GP)
-Defensemen: Top Ten in NHL Defensemen Goals, Assists, points, ice time or points per game (min 42 GP) for Defensemen
-Win any of the following trophies: Hart, Selke, Richard, Conn Smythe, Norris
-1st or 2nd team All-Star

I don't see Buster eating too much of the available cap space in 2024. For his class, the first $850,000 of his possible $2.65 million bonuses are A Level, which means his B Level bonuses are worth $1.8 million if he hits any of the 4 above. I do not see him hitting any of those either. So basically his cap hit will range between $1.106 and $1.319 million for 2023.

Talbot, I think you're right, he will have no problem attaining that extra $1 million.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Kopitar extension. 2 years at $7mil/year

Kings sign Anze Kopitar to 2-year extension

Kopitar led the Kings with 74 points last season, notching 28 goals and 46 assists in 82 games.

theathletic.com

 

[Kings4OT]

One hundred percent they are shooting for the next two years After seeing what they have this next season

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Was sort of hoping for $6mil or even less. Use the cap to really bolster the roster. But this is pretty much in line with what people thought and I can't hate on it too much.

 

[Kings4OT]

Was sort of hoping for $6mil or even less. Use the cap to really bolster the roster. But this is pretty much in line with what people thought and I can't hate on it too much.

I was hoping 4 or five.... But it's hard for me to say don't pay the guy haha