Why did we ever trade Martinez?

[2-4 Slashin]

You’re correct in all these statements. I probably just feel bad for the guy. He definitely did not want to leave LA. Or atleast that’s what it seems.

I was at a karaoke bar in Culver City and AM was there with friends. I told him how much my family loved him as a King and that we hoped the trade rumors were just that. When i told him we wanted him to retire a King, he got very somber and said that he also really hoped that would be the case. Sadly it wasn’t. But at least he got to compete in the post season while we started a rebuild.

 

[Telos]

It is just a necessary evil. There is nothing that could be done about it. We couldn't hold onto and enshrine everyone. Martinez was/is fantastic, but there is no way that you can hang onto him and not get value when you can with the rebuild.

The Kings already had more than most teams that were locked in core guys with Quick, Doughty, Kopitar, and Brown. Even then, we aren't 100% sure that they will all be given the same opportunity to retire as Kings as Brown did. That also requires a bit of luck in contract timing pairing with the decline of play and lastly the player having the wherewithal to accept the writing on the wall and choose to hang them up. Kudos to Brownie for being the big man in the room and pulling the cord himself and not dragging it out and forcing a kid to hit waivers this year, etc.

Dealing Marty, Muzzin, Toffoli, etc. are just something you cannot and should not avoid. These are mistakes that Lombardi made. It is a business, we want to remain competitive and get back in the race, and showing loyalty of that level can bite you. They can always come back later in another capacity. Jarett Stoll didn't retire a King...

It also should be noted that the trade helped us get Lias Andersson and Francesco Pinelli and also gave us the flexibility to use Toffoli's picks to leverage for Brock Faber ---> Kevin Fiala.

 

[kingsfan28]

Too old...

 

[apadilla]

That's what rebuilding teams do. Martinez isn't worth that contract he has now, and he'll be turning 35 soon.

Don't know if you've paid any attention, but Martinez also missed a ton of action this past season and only appeared in 26 games, and he's clearly on the downside of his career at this stage.

This isn't the same player from 8 years ago.

True, his contract with Vegas now is bloated. Plus, his contract (6 x 4m) when he was a King, was a good one.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

True, his contract with Vegas now is bloated. Plus, his contract (6 x 4m) when he was a King, was a good one.

We were so tight on cap space after 2014. Before his extension, I think I remember arguing a bit that he should be traded. Much of his early success was on the “third” pairing with warhorses taking the harder minutes and I wasn’t convinced he’d be all that great further up the lineup and worth the contract he’d get.

Then 14/15 started and Voynov did his thing and LA’s future blueline situation became kind of desperate. Marty got his extension just before Christmas. I love Martinez, but I’m not convinced he would have remained a King past that trade deadline if Voynov - the superior mid pairing dman, was still on the roster at the time.

 

[apadilla]

We were so tight on cap space after 2014. Before his extension, I think I remember arguing a bit that he should be traded. Much of his early success was on the “third” pairing with warhorses taking the harder minutes and I wasn’t convinced he’d be all that great further up the lineup and worth the contract he’d get.

Then 14/15 started and Voynov did his thing and LA’s future blueline situation became kind of desperate. Marty got his extension just before Christmas. I love Martinez, but I’m not convinced he would have remained a King past that trade deadline if Voynov - the superior mid pairing dman, was still on the roster at the time.

Voynov's absence sure did influence the Kings here. They might just of tried to move AMart if he was seeking a 4M a year deal. But chit happens. I thought the deal at the time was fair as the prior year Muzzin signed his 5 X 4M deal. Though Muzzin carried a bit more value with his hard hitting style.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I thought it was interesting how the already-versatile Marty transformed his game to be more of a defensive d-man and league-leading shotblocker. Should have seen the injuries coming with that kind of wear and tear though, he wasn't made to be banging away like that.

 

[KingsFan7824]

We were so tight on cap space after 2014. Before his extension, I think I remember arguing a bit that he should be traded. Much of his early success was on the “third” pairing with warhorses taking the harder minutes and I wasn’t convinced he’d be all that great further up the lineup and worth the contract he’d get.

Then 14/15 started and Voynov did his thing and LA’s future blueline situation became kind of desperate. Marty got his extension just before Christmas. I love Martinez, but I’m not convinced he would have remained a King past that trade deadline if Voynov - the superior mid pairing dman, was still on the roster at the time.

You're crazy. DL was still in charge. If 14-15 goes more the way it was expected to, the Kings make the playoffs and they're the just get in threat that they were the 3 previous years, so they're not moving Martinez. They obviously don't get Sekera either, so they either have their 2015 pick, or use it to get someone else, probably a forward. Regehr retired after that year, and there's your Martinez raise. Stoll was a UFA, but maybe they bring him back too, just cheaper. There's more Martinez money if needed.

The first guy DL traded from the Cup teams was King in 2017. He wasn't starting with Jazz Hands.

 

[kingsholygrail]

People forget we lost Mitchell after 2014 too. We were down Mitchell AND Voynov.