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Who Stays and Who Goes? Article in Athletic

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The Kings have big decisions to make this offseason, so who stays and who goes?

There’s little to no doubt that there will be changes for the Kings next season — potentially major ones.

This isn’t lost on a core that has mostly been together through two Stanley Cup runs and some of the greatest moments in franchise history.

“That’s not going to be the same team that’s out there,” defenseman Drew Doughty said comparing the 2018-19 group to the eventual 2019-20 squad. “You can almost guarantee that, but I don’t know what we’re going to be looking for. I don’t really know exactly what we were lacking. That’s up to the guys upstairs. Rob Blake, he’s been in the league for such a long time and been in the game for such a long time. He knows what he’s doing up there and we’re just going to trust whatever he does and just individually go home and be ready for next season.”

So really, the question is simple: Who stays and who goes from the team that finished 30th in the NHL?

“There’ll be player transactions, don’t get me wrong. We understand that,” Blake said. “We’re going to incorporate younger players. There could be any range between eight and 10 new pros. Where they fit in our organization, I’m not 100 percent sure. And that will play out going forward. Some of the young guys you saw in the lineup near the end of the season will definitely compete for jobs.”

Blake has said in the past he doesn’t want to specifically rebuild the team, but there are a lot of issues within the Kings that need work. A lot of work. They have some big contracts on players who didn’t perform, and Blake needs to decide how to handle them.

So let’s take a look at who probably stays and who is most likely to not be on the team.

The Tradeables
Jonathan Quick

The Kings are set in goal. We’ve mentioned this in the past. That’s a good thing for them. But their situation may not include Quick, their longtime starter and defensive backbone.

Quick wants to stay in Los Angeles. However, he doesn’t have trade protection and both Jack Campbell and Cal Petersen outplayed him this season. Then again, Quick didn’t quite have the same motivation as the two other netminders, who were trying to show off their NHL chops, and that could have factored into why he didn’t perform.

“As far as goaltending, Jonathan Quick, when he’s healthy and he’s ready to play and the games are meaningful, he’s the best there is,” Blake said. “It’s really difficult to play when the games aren’t meaningful and I put him in that spot. That’s a tough spot for me to put him in.”

When asked about the prospect of leaving L.A., Quick noted that there is a certain comfort in the area for him.

“I’ve been here for over a decade, so it’s obviously home for me and my family,” he said. “We’d prefer not to have to move. So yeah, I’d love to be here.”

Our guess is that Quick gets dealt, but the Kings will have to eat some of his salary. His contract is a decent size, at $5.8 million through 2022-23, and his performance of a 3.38 goals-against average and .888 save percentage in 2018-19 didn’t add up. Some team in its window of opportunity and in search of a goaltender will want him. As The Athletic player poll showed, Quick is still seen as one of the game’s best money goalies.

Jeff Carter

If you want to go younger and faster, trading Carter is probably a good idea, but his value is pretty low at the moment. In all honesty, he probably works best for the Kings at the wing spot and for them to retain his services.

Considering his devastating 2017-18 ankle injury and the amount of skating it takes at center, Carter was playing out of position last year. But at wing, he can use his strength along the wall and get open for a playmaker to find him to use his wrist shot.

Our guess is the Kings do not trade him and see if he can show some value along the boards.

Jack Campbell

It’s pretty weird seeing Campbell on this list along with Quick, but he may actually have more value in a deal. Los Angeles allowed 263 goals, which was 22nd in the NHL, but Campbell, who played 31 games, held a 2.30 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. Also, he’ll make $675,000 next season and when he gets his new contract, it probably won’t be that large.

Campbell is ready to start in this league. Some team could offer the Kings a decent amount for his services, maybe more than Quick.

Adrian Kempe

The pending restricted free agent has tantalizing speed and skill. In pro hockey, he has never hit his offensive potential, but he could end up being a throw-in by Blake in another trade.

Kempe certainly has value and won’t be all that expensive either, for a team looking to sign him to a new contract. If his numbers catch up to his talent, he’d be a dangerous player. Unfortunately for him, that hasn’t happened yet in L.A.

Tyler Toffoli

Toffoli’s 13 goals represented a full-season career low. This season was also the first time he was a minus player, at minus-16.

But Toffoli’s inability to finish certainly didn’t have anything to do with lack of chances. His high danger 5-on-5 CF% was 11.82, which far and away led Kings regulars. He’s generally had the ability to finish (two 20-plus goal seasons and a 31-goal season), but for whatever reason this year it didn’t happen.

Toffoli has two years left on his contract at $4.6 million and he’s just 26 years old. He’s certainly not an unattractive candidate, by any stretch, for a team looking for someone who could be motivated to get back to form. Or the Kings can hold onto him and hope he plays well next season since teams likely will try to buy low on him.

“I think for myself, it’s just one of those things where you can’t be looking over your shoulder waking up every day. If changes are made, then they’re made,” Toffoli said. “There’s nothing that we can do about it. It’s just one of those things where you get away from the game a little bit and then just get back to work and start preparing for next season.”

Trevor Lewis

Want a player with two Stanley Cup rings who still has some speed at age 32 and can play solid two-way hockey? And all of that at the lower price of $2 million? That would be Lewis, a fan favorite.

He only played 44 games last season and was a minus-9, but he probably has some value on the open market thanks to his skill set, age, salary and Cup credibility.

The Buyout Candidate
Dion Phaneuf

The 34-year-old Phaneuf has said he wants to play the next two years of his deal. The Kings are on the hook for $5.25 million per season.

He had just one goal and six points and was a minus-21 while averaging 15 minutes per game. The coaching staff made him a healthy scratch down the stretch. You can make an argument that interim coach Willie Desjardins marginalized him, but it appeared Phaneuf’s game had fallen off far before the coaching change was made.

If Phaneuf was making between $1 million to $2 million next season, he probably wouldn’t be in this spot. His leadership is noticeable and his practice habits are exemplary. But his salary makes his presence a tough pill to swallow.

“There will be a discussion going forward, what your role will be, because that’s the role that you’re going to want to accept and go forward with and then obviously look at our options also,” Blake said when asked about Phaneuf.

“Just met with him for a long time. He was terrific in his attitude. It’s difficult when you get pulled out of the lineup for sure. We had some young defensemen that were playing well and they wanted to get in there, but he stayed after practice. He did his work there, he did his work in the gym and when he got back in the lineup he came, but he’s very, very professional and got a real sense of what things were going on around.”

Per Cap Friendly, Phaneuf’s buyout will be high for the first two years, but L.A. will be retooling with a younger lineup over the next couple of seasons and probably won’t be worried about the salary cap. The hit will be lower when the team will be back in its competitive window and closer to the cap.
 
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