Speculation: Why Does Martin Chromiak Remain Unsigned?

[RossLonsberryFan]

Is anyone else puzzled why the Kings haven’t signed Martin Chromiak yet?

I’m starting to get the feeling that his agent doesn’t want him to sign with the Kings and instead would rather he re-enter the draft. I don’t think he will fall to the 5th round again. And I think he would likely go higher than the 3rd round where was projected in 2020.

I can understand that his agent is not thrilled with the idea of his client starting his professional career in a log-jammed pipeline of forwards.

At what point does Rob Blake shift gears and try to find a team Chromiak is willing to sign with and get a draft pick for him? I expect that there are plenty of teams with depleted pipelines that would be willing to trade a 2nd or 3rd round pick for the chance to nab Chromiak.

You would think that a $93K signing bonus is a big deal for a 19 year old player living with billets on a stipend in the OHL. But maybe he earned enough extra money playing in Europe where he can afford to forego the signing bonus till next summer?

Chromiak’s reserve list signing rights expire June 1, 2022. After that he would go back into the draft.

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[Statto]

It’s far from unusual not to sign a player of his age yet and he’s got lots of development still to do. He’s a long way from being a sure thing and we may need the contract slot (I’m not sure where we are at). I like him and think he will get signed but there is no rush.

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

It’s far from unusual not to sign a player of his age yet and he’s got lots of development still to do. He’s a long way from being a sure thing and we may need the contract slot (I’m not sure where we are at). I like him and think he will get signed but there is no rush.

But his signing rights expire June 1, 2022. And because he is still 19, his contract would be slide eligible so it won’t count against the limit of 50 till the 2022-33 season.

 

[Statto]

But his signing rights expire June 1, 2022. And his contract is slide eligible so it won’t count against the limit of 50 till next season.

Good point about the slide, I forgot because he’s playing out of the OHL this year… but of course he was drafted out of Europe.

As you say he probably wants to wait until he’s sure there is a path for him into the Kings lineup and there isn’t a clear one right now. If he dominates in the OHL this year I’m sure as path will open up and they will try hard to sign him. If his rights expire in 2022 though he’s not going to be in a big rush though as there are talent starved teams like San Jose, where he’d be near the top of the prospect pool and almost guaranteed a shot.

Out of interest, as he was drafted out of Europe if the Kings signed him, can they call him up out of the OHL mid-season?

 

[Telos]

I'm sure it will get done. I doubt he is someone they'll let go of. They just have a lot of youngsters and farm contracts to juggle and balance.

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

Good point about the slide, I forgot because he’s playing out of the OHL this year… but of course he was drafted out of Europe.

As you say he probably wants to wait until he’s sure there is a path for him into the Kings lineup and there isn’t a clear one right now. If he dominates in the OHL this year I’m sure as path will open up and they will try hard to sign him. If his rights expire in 2022 though he’s not going to be in a big rush though as there are talent starved teams like San Jose, where he’d be near the top of the prospect pool and almost guaranteed a shot.

Out of interest, as he was drafted out of Europe if the Kings signed him, can they call him up out of the OHL mid-season?

He wasn’t drafted out of Europe. He imported to the OHL in 2019. Therefore he was drafted out of Kingston.

And Chromiak isn’t the only prospect who seems to be leveraging the Kings. Kasper Simontaival signed for 3 years in KalPa (Liiga) in Finland. And Kim Nousiainen did not sign during the window this past June.

I still believe the Kings have leverage on Simontaival and Nousiainen, but they seem intent to take their development into their own hands and if they wait out the Kings for 4 years after being drafted they can sign 2 year ELCs at the end of the 2023 season (KN) or 2024 season (KS) and burn a year in the final weeks of the NHL season. Then they would be 10.2c eligible (similar to Kaprizov) after only one full season in the NHL.

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

I'm sure it will get done. I doubt he is someone they'll let go of. They just have a lot of youngsters and farm contracts to juggle and balance.

I am having doubts about Chromiak’s desire to sign with the Kings because he would be way down the depth chart and he doesn’t want to wind up overcooking in the AHL for 3 years (like Carter Verhaeghe did with Tampa).

He can hold out till June 1st and then go back into the draft and then sign his ELC that won’t be slide eligible and get his signing bonus on July 1, 2022.

I think the Kings should work with his agent to find a team he is willing to sign with before his rights expire.

I don’t believe Rob Blake is the holdup. I thinks it’s Chromiak’s agent.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Nothing to worry about yet

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

Nothing to worry about yet

Disagree.

 

[Basilisk]

Blake's waiting for Chromiak to post 9 and 11-point games, respectively.

 

[Fat Elvis]

You have 10 months. If it was a week, I get it. Odd to be this concerned about this.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'm confused. What's different here than any other prospect playing in European leagues?

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

I'm confused. What's different here than any other prospect playing in European leagues?

He was drafted out of the OHL, so technically he falls under the CHL rules for draftees. Did you read the entire thread? He was drafted in 2020. The reserve rights for CHL prospects drafted in 2020 expire on June 1, 2022. Since Chromiak will still be a 19 y/o, he will re-enter the NHL Entry Draft in 2022 and the Kings will get nothing for the 5th round pick they burned on him in 2020. They can at least try to arrange a trade with a team that he would be willing to sign with and get compensated for trading his signing rights rather than lose him for nothing.

 

[Token]

I do think there is some kind of deadline on August 15th that may influence ELC contracts, how they count or somesuch.

Chromiak still has one more season before he has to sign tho, so it’s not a burning issue from a loss perspective.

Besides, the kid already played in the OHL and has confirmed he will be back. I don’t see any big reason why this would burn him unless he really needs that signing bonus.

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

You have 10 months. If it was a week, I get it. Odd to be this concerned about this.

So, is your position that the Kings are still unsure about whether they want to sign Chromiak? Are you saying that the Kings hold the leverage in these negotiations and that Chromiak hasn’t proven to be worthy of his ELC contact and signing bonus yet?

Because my point is that he has proven himself enough to be offered a contact and signing bonus and that this should be done already.

What do you think is the holdup?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

He was drafted out of the OHL, so technically he falls under the CHL rules for draftees. Did you read the entire thread? He was drafted in 2020. The reserve rights for CHL prospects drafted in 2020 expire on June 1, 2022. Since Chromiak will still be a 19 y/o, he will re-enter the NHL Entry Draft in 2022 and the Kings will get nothing for the 5th round pick they burned on him in 2020. They can at least try to arrange a trade with a team that he would be willing to sign with and get compensated for trading his signing rights rather than lose him for nothing.

Yes--I think I get the concept and how being drafted out of the CHL before returning to Europe is different--I guess I'm just not following why we should be so worried he hasn't yet signed an ELC when he's only a year out of his draft. We have all year. I guess there's a chance ANY European approaching their term could be leveraging their way out.

I guess in short I'm asking was there an event or news or something that happened that makes us think he's suddenly a flight risk more than anyone else? Or is this just because he's front of mind because of his recent showing and he's a draftee from the CHL?

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

I do think there is some kind of deadline on August 15th that may influence ELC contracts, how they count or somesuch.

Chromiak still has one more season before he has to sign tho, so it’s not a burning issue from a loss perspective.

Besides, the kid already played in the OHL and has confirmed he will be back. I don’t see any big reason why this would burn him unless he really needs that signing bonus.

The August 15th deadline is for European players who were recently drafted in the 2021 entry draft. The Kings were very aggressive in signing Tobias Bjornfot in 2019. But they weren’t aggressive in locking up Kim Nousiainen in 2019.

In the 2020 draft the Kings drafted Helge Grans (2nd round) Kasper Simontaival (3rd round) and did not sign them by the August 15th (2020) deadline, but did sign Grans before the June 15, 2021 deadline. But they didn’t sign Nousiainen. Simontaival chose not to sign with Kings (which he was free to do so) this past offseason. Instead, Simontaival signed a 3 year contract with KalPa in Liiga.

But this year the Kings seemed to be very aggressive in getting Helenius locked up and getting him his signing bonus even though he has another year on his European contract.

It seems that as the Kings highly rated prospect pipeline grows, that players like Chromiak, Simontaival and Nousiainen are hesitant to sign ELC contracts with a team that they don’t feel they would be very high on the depth chart with. That there are better opportunities in Europe or by re-entering the NHL draft. That is the whole point of discussion in this thread.

This is not normal that a team have such a highly ranked and deep prospect pool that the Kings have too many prospects. So many prospects that they chose to trade up 3 times in the 2021 entry draft because they just didn’t have room for 7 more draft picks in their organization.

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

Yes--I think I get the concept and how being drafted out of the CHL before returning to Europe is different--I guess I'm just not following why we should be so worried he hasn't yet signed an ELC when he's only a year out of his draft. We have all year. I guess there's a chance ANY European approaching their term could be leveraging their way out.

I guess in short I'm asking was there an event or news or something that happened that makes us think he's suddenly a flight risk more than anyone else? Or is this just because he's front of mind because of his recent showing and he's a draftee from the CHL?

What do think is the reason why he remains unsigned? Because if the Kings are already signing Helenius and Clarke years ahead of their reserve rights expiration, why not Chromiak? I do believe that he has no intent to sign with the Kings. That he intends to re-enter the NHL draft in 2022, and that the Kings will ultimately wind up trading his signing rights before losing him for nothing. That was the whole point of starting this thread.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

They have a whole year to get him signed. Do you know what’s going to happen between now and June 2022? Trades will happen, players, prospects, picks will be moved or acquired, and another draft will be coming up.

Me thinks you’re reading too much into nothing. These are the signs that we are in mid-August. Only two more months for puck drop.

 

[Fat Elvis]

So, is your position that the Kings are still unsure about whether they want to sign Chromiak? Are you saying that the Kings hold the leverage in these negotiations and that Chromiak hasn’t proven to be worthy of his ELC contact and signing bonus yet?

Because my point is that he has proven himself enough to be offered a contact and signing bonus and that this should be done already.

What do you think is the holdup?

My opinion is that the organization knows he's going back to the OHL this season and they have 10 months to sign him. He can't play in Ontario this season. He will not make the NHL roster this season. I don't see the urgency to sign him. I'm sure they really like the player and he'll get signed within the next 10 months.

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

They have a whole year to get him signed. Do you know what’s going to happen between now and June 2022? Trades will happen, players, prospects, picks will be moved or acquired, and another draft will be coming up.

Me thinks you’re reading too much into nothing. These are the signs that we are in mid-August. Only two more months for puck drop.

I don’t believe it’s nothing. I honestly believe that if the Kings had a chance at signing Chromiak they would have by now. Nothing is what the Kings stand to get if they don’t trade him to a team that Chromiak is willing to sign with.

Chromiak was ranked as the highest value draft pick of the 202o draft because he was projected to be gone in the 3rd round and wound up falling to the 5th round. And let’s not forget that the Kings traded up to select him in the 5th round.

So if sound asset management is nothing? Then just go ahead and ignore that the Kings burned two draft picks on a player they cannot sign.

There is no good reason for him not to be signed with a $93,000 dollar bonus check in his pocket already.

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

My opinion is that the organization knows he's going back to the OHL this season and they have 10 months to sign him. He can't play in Ontario this season. He will not make the NHL roster this season. I don't see the urgency to sign him. I'm sure they really like the player and he'll get signed within the next 10 months.

But they sign Helenius whose reserve list signing rights weren’t going to expire for 4 more years?

Not buying your logic. There is something up with Chromiak’s agent and it is not good for the Kings. It’s obvious that he doesn’t see a fast track to the NHL by signing with the Kings and that he would be a top 5 prospect on half the other team’s prospect pools. Chromiak has all the leverage. If he forces a trade, he could wind up in an NHL training camp this season and possible getting a 9 game cup of coffee this year before returning to the OHL.

Why else would he turn his back on the signing bonus?

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

He wasn’t drafted out of Europe. He imported to the OHL in 2019. Therefore he was drafted out of Kingston.

And Chromiak isn’t the only prospect who seems to be leveraging the Kings. Kasper Simontaival signed for 3 years in KalPa (Liiga) in Finland. And Kim Nousiainen did not sign during the window this past June.

I still believe the Kings have leverage on Simontaival and Nousiainen, but they seem intent to take their development into their own hands and if they wait out the Kings for 4 years after being drafted they can sign 2 year ELCs at the end of the 2023 season (KN) or 2024 season (KS) and burn a year in the final weeks of the NHL season. Then they would be 10.2c eligible (similar to Kaprizov) after only one full season in the NHL.

Nousiainen and Simontaival are making the good,mature move.They know they need to develop more and play more on their respective teams and then see what the NHL has in store! No one dreams of playing in the AHL!

 

[bland]

Looks like we found the next andys.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Is anyone else puzzled why the Kings haven’t signed Martin Chromiak yet?

I’m starting to get the feeling that his agent doesn’t want him to sign with the Kings and instead would rather he re-enter the draft. I don’t think he will fall to the 5th round again. And I think he would likely go higher than the 3rd round where was projected in 2020.

I can understand that his agent is not thrilled with the idea of his client starting his professional career in a log-jammed pipeline of forwards.

At what point does Rob Blake shift gears and try to find a team Chromiak is willing to sign with and get a draft pick for him? I expect that there are plenty of teams with depleted pipelines that would be willing to trade a 2nd or 3rd round pick for the chance to nab Chromiak.

You would think that a $93K signing bonus is a big deal for a 19 year old player living with billets on a stipend in the OHL. But maybe he earned enough extra money playing in Europe where he can afford to forego the signing bonus till next summer?

Chromiak’s reserve list signing rights expire June 1, 2022. After that he would go back into the draft.

Didn't know that Martin Chromiak wasn't signed! Someone needs to get on Blake's case and get the youngster signed,sealed and delivered! I gather that Chromiak is destined to play this coming year in Juniors, I just hope he considers playing Pro in Europe for 1-2 seasons before making his way to the NHL,the AHL is no big deal gateway to the NHL there are many avenues! Besides the Kings could use the kind of talent he possesses on the RW/LWing!