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Austin Wagner signs a three year extension. Grundstrom also signs for 2 years! Update: Walker signs

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That's a great deal. During the course of that contract he'll either prove himself to be a solid contributor in a bottom six role or be expansion draft fodder.

And that also takes care of the only significant RFA forward to sign. The only other RFA of note to lock up next will be Sean Walker.

The rest of the RFAs are mostly minor league talent, with Carl Grundstrom and Matt Luff headlining that group.
 
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Nice signing. Security for him, and it could work out as a steal for us.
 
i like this

he's getting more comfortable for sure, seems like last season he was more willing to get involved in the rough stuff too which is nice to see from a player of his type

never gonna see me complaining about a ~$1M contract
 
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Bandit said:
Nice deal, plus he fills the void that Kyle Clifford left of "guy who's contract we can complain about even though he's making barely more than league minimum."
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Clifford was reportedly a real leader in the locker room .

I don't know how the other player view The Ging, hopefully he is like EF Hutton
 
I've already pumped him up before but I'll put it out there again:

- Led the team in hits while averaging the lowest minutes per game of any regular besides Clifford (4 second difference).
- I like Clifford, but Wagner had 55 more hits in 12 more games. Wagner averaged more than one hit per game more than Clifford.
- The forwards with more shots were 77/23/73/9/19/11. All guys with more minutes and PP time. This is a good thing.
- That also means he had the worst S% of any regular forward at 4.8%. That's bad.
- Season before, he was at 17.9%. Amazing. Unsustainable.
- League average is like ~9%. That would put him in the 10 goal range based on his 2020 totals. That's good.
- He can legit challenge anyone in the league to a fastest skater competition. That is a special skill.
- He has good size to go along with that special speed and will also scrap. These are all things the team lacks except for good size.

We can joke about his poor breakaway results from last year but he also had 12 goals the year before. The mere fact that he can get a breakaway should be applauded when looking at the roster the last few years. He isn't great in the defensive zone but I feel that he doesn't get hemmed in there too much. When he gets to play with some other speedsters, I feel like the puck is going the right way most of the time and he is getting in on the forecheck.

I'd hate to lose him in the expansion draft as I really like the idea of him being a good 4th line LW once this team is good again. His combination of grit and breakaway speed is a real nice thing to have on a 4th line. He'd be even more valuable if he could turn into a strong PK guy with his breakaway speed.

Good signing. Good number on the contract.
 
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cyclones22 said:
Contract probably is attractive to Seattle as well.
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He'd be one of the players Seattle will mull over taking for certain as he won't be protected unless he scores 20 goals which is slim to no chance and Slim just left the building
 
BigKing said:
I've already pumped him up before but I'll put it out there again:

- Led the team in hits while averaging the lowest minutes per game of any regular besides Clifford (4 second difference).
- I like Clifford, but Wagner had 55 more hits in 12 more games. Wagner averaged more than one hit per game more than Clifford.
- The forwards with more shots were 77/23/73/9/19/11. All guys with more minutes and PP time. This is a good thing.
- That also means he had the worst S% of any regular forward at 4.8%. That's bad.
- Season before, he was at 17.9%. Amazing. Unsustainable.
- League average is like ~9%. That would put him in the 10 goal range based on his 2020 totals. That's good.
- He can legit challenge anyone in the league to a fastest skater competition. That is a special skill.
- He has good size to go along with that special speed and will also scrap. These are all things the team lacks except for good size.

We can joke about his poor breakaway results from last year but he also had 12 goals the year before. The mere fact that he can get a breakaway should be applauded when looking at the roster the last few years. He isn't great in the defensive zone but I feel that he doesn't get hemmed in there too much. When he gets to play with some other speedsters, I feel like the puck is going the right way most of the time and he is getting in on the forecheck.

I'd hate to lose him in the expansion draft as I really like the idea of him being a good 4th line LW once this team is good again. His combination of grit and breakaway speed is a real nice thing to have on a 4th line. He'd be even more valuable if he could turn into a strong PK guy with his breakaway speed.

Good signing. Good number on the contract.
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We started to see some of his peskiness last season as well, which is a part of his game I hope we get to see more of next season.

I don’t expect him to intimidate anyone, but getting under the opponents skin and irritating them with his constant buzzing and fore checking is what this team needs more of.

Even Kempe seemed more engaged in the post whistle scrums this season. It’s a welcome attitude that this team needs more of, and something that’s been missing since losing out on guys like Richardson and Stoll who were great at that aspect of the game.
 
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Blake/team have been busy getting these deals done. Also sets the price for some upcoming RFAs that might be comparable to Wags or Gunds. Get these guys on “prove it” deals, then if they keep progressing, they’ll get the next deal/higher salary.
 
Walker's contract is going to be telling. It'll let us know if he's a candidate to be protected or unprotected in the expansion draft. Although conceivably, he could play his way off the list during the season.
 
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cyclones22 said:
Walker's contract is going to be telling. It'll let us know if he's a candidate to be protected or unprotected in the expansion draft. Although conceivably, he could play his way off the list during the season.
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Walker had a hot start to the season but cooled off quite a bit as the season progressed and had some struggles in the latter half. Whereas Roy had a rough start and then got better as the season progressed, and he'll be due for a new contract next year.

Also, Walker is already 25 and will be turning 26 by the time next season starts, which has me thinking the Kings may try to get him to sign a three-year deal in the $2M range.
 
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cyclones22 said:
Walker's contract is going to be telling. It'll let us know if he's a candidate to be protected or unprotected in the expansion draft. Although conceivably, he could play his way off the list during the season.
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I know I am probably by myself on this one, but I'd rather lose Walker than Wagner.
 
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Grundstrom struggled with Todd's system last year early on. He needs to improve his defensive coverage, his main issue. He has good structure to his game, and should be a solid 3rd of 4th line LW in the NHL. He's almost a sure thing on the roster this year since he's no longer waiver-exempt. Congrats on his new deal. Kings will have to make a decision or two on which forwards will be protected in the expansion draft at the end of the season. It will be interesting. Big year for a lot of the 22-24 year olds.
 
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