kingsfan
President of the Todd McLellan fan club by default
And your hearts and flowers scenario is based on picking a player (Thornton) that really isn't giving his team what it needs and has never won jack.
Just as screwed as if he takes $9M for 8 seasons, only if he takes $72M the Kings will have very few options to figure something else out.
Whether or not Thornton has won anything is irrelevant to your entire line of posting. You claim Kopitar may very well drop off significantly by the time he's 33-34. I'm showing you a similar player who is still producing at that age. Kopitar has the ability to be a winner in the playoffs until Chokin' Joe, that should only add to Kopitar's value.
And no, LA will not be "just as screwed." LA CAN win now and over the next few years. The team in place has shown they can win in the playoffs. You have no clue what will happen in 2022-2023, nor do you have any guarantee whatsoever that Kopitar will not still be a 65-80 point top line two-way centre at 33-34 or even later.