Speculation: 2020-21 News/Rumors/Roster Thread

[KingsHockey24]

Niklas Hjalmarsson could be a nice add if you want a veteran shut down D.

 

[Herby]

Curious to learn how far apart they are.

I wonder if it’s money or term here. Some teams might realize just how devastating it can be to have these contracts for players well into their 30’s.

Tough to climb to the top of the mountain after all those playoff failures then part ways a year later. But in hindsight I bet we wish we had done that with a lot of our cup winning players.

 

[kingsfan28]

Anyone want Pietrangelo on the Kings?

 

[kingsfan28]

Bad time to be a free agent.

Taylor Hall will probably be finding that out soon.

 

[Stimpythecat]

Anyone want Pietrangelo on the Kings?

Another 30 year old on a near $10 million contract? No thanks. We'd be top heavy like the leafs only older. And we'd have the internal cap issues without the resources the leafs have.

We should stay the course and see what players shake loose from other teams at free agency.

 

[KINGS17]

I wonder if it’s money or term here. Some teams might realize just how devastating it can be to have these contracts for players well into their 30’s.

Tough to climb to the top of the mountain after all those playoff failures then part ways a year later. But in hindsight I bet we wish we had done that with a lot of our cup winning players.

Maybe, just maybe, the days of the 8-year max contract for players in their late-20's/early-30's are over.

 

[Anguyen92]

Bad time to be a free agent.

Man, I'm just glad we managed to get Doughty's contract squared away then rather than now. Otherwise, we would be in the Blues' shoes right now and that does not look pretty at the moment.

Thankfully, I'm glad this is the offseason year that we don't need to go too crazy to negotiate a signing the size like Doughty or Kopitar back then.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Maybe, just maybe, the days of the 8-year max contract for players in their late-20's/early-30's are over.

They are for a few years at least. Flat cap will cause a significant shift in salaries and contract length.

 

[Bandit]

Anyone want Pietrangelo on the Kings?

Sure, will he take league minimum?

 

[kingsfan28]

Sure, will he take league minimum?

And a 2 year show me contract.

 

[kingsfan28]

Maybe, just maybe, the days of the 8-year max contract for players in their late-20's/early-30's are over.

It wouldn't surprise me if the new standard will be 3-4 years max until the league gets sorted out and the revenues start to come back.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Maybe, just maybe, the days of the 8-year max contract for players in their late-20's/early-30's are over.

Turns out in a roundabout way the owners may be able to save the GMs from themselves after all

 

[Sparky206]

Could work well for the Kings, adding a good player on a 3-4 year contract is a good signing that wont cause future cap issues.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

I’m looking at CapFriendly and it looks like the Kings, while having a cap hit of $64M, really only have a $46M salary/bonus outlay for next year. (Main culprits are lower salaries to cap hits for Kopi, Brown, Carts and Quick, along with the cap penalty (but no salary) on Kovi.)

I also looked at a few other teams (Ex. Vegas, TB and PIT), which are generally around $70-$75 (cap) and $70-$73 (salary/etc.). The real outlier is TOR - $75 cap and $87 salary/bonus.

Not saying LAK should take on some players’ salaries to get some add’l assets, but it does open up some possibilities that could occur given the King’s advantageous salary structure. It will all depend on AEG’s appetite to increase expenses right now.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

I’m looking at CapFriendly and it looks like the Kings, while having a cap hit of $64M, really only have a $46M salary/bonus outlay for next year. (Main culprits are lower salaries to cap hits for Kopi, Brown, Carts and Quick, along with the cap penalty (but no salary) on Kovi.)

I also looked at a few other teams (Ex. Vegas, TB and PIT), which are generally around $70-$75 (cap) and $70-$73 (salary/etc.). The real outlier is TOR - $75 cap and $87 salary/bonus.

Not saying LAK should take on some players’ salaries to get some add’l assets, but it does open up some possibilities that could occur given the King’s advantageous salary structure. It will all depend on AEG’s appetite to increase expenses right now.

What you outlined is why I think Mirtle was a bit off base in his answer to a question about the Kings in his recent mailbag on The Athletic, particularly the underlined:

Question 7: Thoughts on the Kings prospect pool, and chances of accelerating the rebuild next year into a wild-card spot?
The prospect pool is good, for sure. But as Corey Pronman explained recently, a lot of it isn’t yet ready for prime time, which means a surprise jump into a playoff spot isn’t likely coming.
The Kings are one of several teams that had a lot of success over the past decade and overcommitted to that core, rewarding the players who won them championships with long-term deals.

The problem is that the NHL is becoming more and more of a young man’s league, with the average age continuing to drop. They have $38 million committed to five players who will be 31-plus by the time next season starts — and they’re all under contract for between two and seven more years.

The bigger issue is almost all of them seem to be declining already.

Jonathan Quick has a .896 save percentage over the past two seasons, which is dead last among goalies who’ve appeared in 50 or more games. Drew Doughty had a rotten year. Jeff Carter and Dustin Brown have a lot of hard miles on them at this point.

The smart play is going to be moving out some of those deals, however they can, and preparing to contend again in two or three years when the next wave of talent comes. But that’s a painful process for teams to undergo, given what those players mean to the franchise. And there may be buyouts or trades for net negative assets involved.

But the hard truth is that’s the best path forward.
No kid is coming who can save them from what they’ve become, six years after their last Cup run.

The Kings really have no need to do that at all with the advantageous salary situation they’re now in, not to mention that about $10 million in dead cap hit will be coming off the cap before any of the young crop will be getting big RFA deals (assuming they develop and perform).

 

[Johnny Utah]

Brown and Carter have only seasons left on their deals. I don’t see a market for those two until the second year of the deal, when they are pending UFA’s - some team might take them for a playoff run.

Kings won’t likely move Kopitar or Doughty - so besides those four not much to talk about or move out.

Quick is the wildcard. He has three seasons left.

I agree with the article and the truth is the top prospects are too young - the only kid who is going to make an impact and demon high money soon is Cal Peterson.

 

[Telos]

The good thing about Carter and Brown is we don't need the cap space yet. Carter at least can still chip in goals, hopefully on the bottom 6 soon, and Brown should probably start his transition to the third line as well, but honestly, I would be surprised if there weren't a market for him if we offered retention. He is still a veteran leader that can show up in the playoffs and play with his heart on his sleeve and is still productive.

To be honest though, Brown is someone I want to see retire as a King and, while I can't read his mind, he's given no indication that he ever wants to leave LA or go to some team for a last run. He is this generation's Dave Taylor and has even played more games, his jersey is going up into the rafters, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had a position with the team after his skates are hung up. While the Kings probably learned a valuable lesson about loyalty, he is someone I would be pretty upset to see traded or cast away.

 

[KINGS17]

Brown and Carter have only seasons left on their deals. I don’t see a market for those two until the second year of the deal, when they are pending UFA’s - some team might take them for a playoff run.

Kings won’t likely move Kopitar or Doughty - so besides those four not much to talk about or move out.

Quick is the wildcard. He has three seasons left.

I agree with the article and the truth is the top prospects are too young - the only kid who is going to make an impact and demon high money soon is Cal Peterson.

I don't really see how, given the current state of the salary cap, the Kings could move Kopitar or Doughty. Contending teams simply don't have the cap space, and there would be no point in a non-contending team to acquire either one of them.

Kopitar and Doughty will likely be with the Kings for the duration of their contracts, and during that time the Kings may improve due to the addition of young players, but I doubt they will seriously contend.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Maybe, just maybe, the days of the 8-year max contract for players in their late-20's/early-30's are over.

But not because anyone got smart. The guys that get those bad contracts will still get those bad contracts. It's part of the business. The demand for talent exceeds the available supply, especially on July 1st. If you're not tanking, you have to go and get someone, unless you want to be ripped by the fans and media for not trying to win. Everyone knows these contracts are horrible the moment they're announced, but in big name UFAgency, you want years 1-2, but you have to pay for years 5-8. Some GM/owner will be desperate enough to do it, so that means everyone has to be willing to do it if you want to play the game.

You could say, alright, that one crazy GM does it, but we'll be smarter, and so will we, and us too, and we'll hold off until next month. Then you get accused of collusion, and the entire system falls apart if that's the case.

The Kings are one of several teams that had a lot of success over the past decade and overcommitted to that core

But that’s a painful process for teams to undergo, given what those players mean to the franchise

It has to be one or the other. You can't get on the team for overcomitting to players that won, and then say it's difficult to let players go that won for you.

The smart play is going to be moving out some of those deals, however they can

No? Not however they can. Move them all, I don't care, but there has to be a limit to what you'll do to get rid of them. Trade the #2 pick with Kopitar to get rid of 100% of his contract? Ok, so then it's not "however you can", is it Mirtle? The only contract that's a problem at this point is Doughty anyway. There's pretty much no scenario that gets him out though. He's almost 31 with a million miles on his body, signed until 2027. Unless the Leafs get insanely desperate, or if there's a compliance buyout with whenever the CBA ends(does it end in 2052 now? I don't even know anymore), the Kings will just have to find a way to work around that $11m in cap they can't use. It is what it is.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

The good thing about Carter and Brown is we don't need the cap space yet. Carter at least can still chip in goals, hopefully on the bottom 6 soon, and Brown should probably start his transition to the third line as well, but honestly, I would be surprised if there weren't a market for him if we offered retention. He is still a veteran leader that can show up in the playoffs and play with his heart on his sleeve and is still productive.

To be honest though, Brown is someone I want to see retire as a King and, while I can't read his mind, he's given no indication that he ever wants to leave LA or go to some team for a last run. He is this generation's Dave Taylor and has even played more games, his jersey is going up into the rafters, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had a position with the team after his skates are hung up. While the Kings probably learned a valuable lesson about loyalty, he is someone I would be pretty upset to see traded or cast away.

I agree with everything except the bolded item - Brown has two years left @ $4M salary ($5.8 cap). Not much to retain, nor should we unless there’s some unseen reason why we’d be in a cap issue.

Carter is even better - $2M salary on $5.2 cap hit. That’s some major value to a team wanting to save some $$.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

For being in hockey’s mecca, these Canadian journalists sure are clueless.

 

[Telos]

I agree with everything except the bolded item - Brown has two years left @ $4M salary ($5.8 cap). Not much to retain, nor should we unless there’s some unseen reason why we’d be in a cap issue.

Carter is even better - $2M salary on $5.2 cap hit. That’s some major value to a team wanting to save some $$.

Perhaps, but some teams are looking to compete, not just their owner's pocketbook. Dustin Brown at 50% retention isn't a salary cap dump, that is an attractive addition to just about any bottom 6 lineup in the NHL. He was on pace for another 20 goal season before COVID. I am not saying that he is going to attract 1st round pick offers or anything, but to say you can't find a GM to bite on 50% retained Dustin Brown is a little crazy to me. The deal would likely not even be worth it for the Kings, but if you had to move him, there would be someone to take him in some way, shape, or form.

 

[KINGS17]

Perhaps, but some teams are looking to compete, not just their owner's pocketbook. Dustin Brown at 50% retention isn't a salary cap dump, that is an attractive addition to just about any bottom 6 lineup in the NHL. He was on pace for another 20 goal season before COVID. I am not saying that he is going to attract 1st round pick offers or anything, but to say you can't find a GM to bite on 50% retained Dustin Brown is a little crazy to me. The deal would likely not even be worth it for the Kings, but if you had to move him, there would be someone to take him in some way, shape, or form.

I was thinking a team like Tampa Bay would have been a good fit for him heading into the playoffs this season, if the Kings had retained 50% of the cap hit.

 

[Telos]

I was thinking a team like Tampa Bay would have been a good fit for him heading into the playoffs this season, if the Kings had retained 50% of the cap hit.

Toronto is another I can think of who is looking for cheap options that can play middle 6 if need be. They've always had an eye on Brown and love his compete, hitting, and penalty draws. In the end, there would definitely be a market for him with only two years to go at 50%. He isn't putting up 20 points and dragging ass on the fourth line. He has been on the top 6 putting up ~20 goals and ~40 points+ a season with intangibles. Covid be damned, if Brown was on the block at 50% there would be some calls from somewhere.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

If Brown was on the block for 50% every competitive team would be in on him.

That's a guy with leadership, intangibles, has captained a team to SCFs, hits, elite on the PK, and can play anywhere in the lineup and will fit right in and be productive. He gets a lot of shit around here but be honest.