You know the deadline isn’t for another couple weeks right? If Blake moves Toffoli and Martinez at the trade deadline and lets Lewis walk in the offseason, the Kings would have five players from their cup runs left on the roster: Kopitar, Carter, Brown, Doughty, and Quick.
First and foremost, next season is already a lost year. With Kovalchuk’s $6,250,000 and Phaneuf and Richards’ almost $5,000,000, the Kings have $11,000,000 just in dead cap.
But next year is an interesting opportunity, because next year, Brown and Carter will only have one more season on the books, and they become MUCH more palatable for teams looking to acquire veteran players at the deadline.
When all is said and done, the Kings will be looking to make the playoffs in 2021-22. Guys like Vilardi, Turcotte, Kaliyev, Grundstrom, and Anderson-Dolan will hopefully be on the team. Fagemo, Thomas, and Kupari will be knocking on the door. Bjornfot, Clague, and Anderson, same thing.
Doughty and Kopitar will be the veteran leaders - Kopitar will have two seasons left on his contract by then - and we may even have some assets to move for some game-changing guys by then, like the Richards and Carter trades.
Long story short, we’re stocking up on draft picks, prospects, and young talent. Don’t expect anything to improve drastically next year either, unless prospects force their way onto the team. As long as the majority of our cap is being spent on aging wingers and a backup goalie, there’s not a lot going for us.
On the plus side, we have the best prospect pool in the league! Another top five pick will certainly help, too! Come on Laf, Byf, Rossi, Drys, or Stutzle!