NHL Team Panel; Los Angeles Kings Summer Roster Moves
- Updated: August 25, 2015
Hockey season is just around the corner and with a new season comes excitement and expectations. After missing the playoffs in a very disappointing 2014-15 season, Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi was busy all summer long fine tweaking the team’s roster to hopefully help prevent another disastrous season. Of course, it is way too early to tell if he was successful or not but the CaliSports News NHL LA Kings department have reassembled to give our 2 cents about all the summer roster moves the team made. For Phil Loos’ opinions on the topic, check out his article right here.
Milan Lucic, traded from Boston for Martin Jones, Colin Miller and 2015 first round pick (13)
Lori Hultin – While no LA Kings fan is a fan of losing a solid #2 goalie like Martin Jones, the Kings needed to do something to “shake it up” and certainly, acquiring a player like Lucic is doing exactly that. Lucic is one of those players that you love to hate when you’re playing against him and I’ll admit that when I first heard he was coming to the Kings, I wasn’t exactly pleased. While he fits the big, hard-hitting, “grind you down” profile of the Kings, he also brings a distinct element of “nastiness” to the game – an element I’m not fond of. But I must admit that the prospect of having a player like Lucic on the top line with Kopitar and Gaborik is appealing. Lucic will definitely add a tough and gritty presence on the ice and may be just what the Kings need to start out the new season on a high note.
Emily Radenbach – When Martin Jones was leaving us (*sob*) for the Eastern Conference, and to a team that I team I actually like at that – I was happy for him. Then the Boston Bruins turned around and sent him not only back West, but back to our division and rival San Jose Sharks. I felt a lot better about this trade before the Kings had to play Jones five times. But onto Lucic himself. I’ve heard of his reputation for getting into fights, which is a concern for me, because this isn’t the style of play the Kings are known for, and I like that about them. But I’ve also heard that if you get the puck to him, he’ll score. So I do like the thought of having him on a line with Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik. He should make a nice fit with them.
Jeff Duarte – Milan Lucic is a natural left winger with size, who has nasty grit, can score big goals and already has championship experience (he won the Cup with Boston in 2011 and returned to the final in 2013). I have no doubt that Lucic will be a force to be reckoned with for the Kings … but only for a season. After that, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and may ask for a long-term $6 million a year deal or more. No matter how well Lucic performs as a King this year and with the salary cap already too tight as it is for them, the Kings may simply not be in any financial position to re-sign him. If so, that would be a major shame considering the Kings gave up a solid back up with Jones, another first round pick in the draft (like with the Sekera trade last season) and promising prospect, Calder Cup winning offensive defenseman Colin Miller. That is a very steep price for a one year rental. Still, whether it’s a contract year or not, Lucic should shine while playing on Anze Kopitar’s and Marian Gaborik’s left. If things don’t turn out as well as hoped or Lucic starts showing signs that he isn’t interested in returning to Los Angeles as a free agent then Lombardi still has the option to regain some assets back by dangling Lucic as bait around the trade deadline.
Re-signed RFA Tyler Toffoli ($6.5 million for 2 years)
Emily – YAY!!!!! I can’t express how much joy this gives me. I was at Toffoli’s first NHL game. Granted, he was a little green, he caused a penalty shot for the other team, but I could tell he was going to be a star. Like Drew Doughty, I’m thrilled every day when I wake up that he plays for the team I love. I also love that he was willing to do a two-year deal, rather than haggle with Dean Lombardi about a longer (and well deserved) contract. It shows he’s not just a star but a team player. This contract allowed all kinds of other moves to open up (including the Lucic deal) and put the Kings in a strong position to be a Cup contender this year. He’s got great hands, a quick release of the puck, set a record for shorthanded goals last season, and he’s part of my favorite line combination, “That 70’s Line” (with Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson). He is hands down one of my favorite players, and I am thrilled to have him back.
Lori – I don’t think you’ll hear any complaints from anyone on this deal. Frankly, I’m surprised the Kings were able to sign such a reasonable deal with Toffoli given the numbers he put up last season and how valuable he has proven himself to be. Three cheers all around for Toffoli!
Jeff – Nothing but good can come from this deal. At the end of last season, I predicted that the re-signing of Toffoli might become a long and painful process. After having the career season that Toffoli had, including leading the league with 5 short-handed goals, Toffoli might not be interested in a quick 2 year bridge deal and might hold out for something more long-term and lucrative, (this includes the possibility of him signing an offer sheet from another team). I am very happy that I was wrong. Instead, the re-signing of Toffoli wasn’t a hassle at all and a 2 year $6.5 million deal was easily accomplished without fuss. It’s exciting to not only see Toffoli re-join Carter and Pearson on “That 70’s Line” but for this talented young player to also show a loyalty to the Los Angeles Kings franchise. He likes it here and we love him for it.
Mike Richards – Contract TERMINATED
Lori – This move is a bit hard to comment on because we still don’t have all of the information or details. It’s an odd one to be sure and without knowing the reasons why the Kings terminated Richards beyond the “material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player’s Contract”, it’s really impossible to say whether Richards deserved termination. We all know the difficult cap position the Kings faced heading into this season given their inability to re-sign Justin Williams, the uncertainly of Slava Voynov’s situation and the high priority of resigning Anze Kopitar ahead of his contract expiration in 2016. In light of all of these factors, the cynical may view the Richards termination as an easy way to get out of the Kings’ other choice: to buy Richards’ contract out. However, the Kings surely knew the NHL Player’s Association would challenge the termination (and they have), thus setting the Kings up for a lengthy legal battle and potentially, an unfavorable decision that still requires them to pay significant dollars on Richards’ contract. The situation is certainly a distraction for the Kings right now, but until we have more information, it’s impossible to know whether the termination was a smart move or a misstep.
Emily – I have a slight bias for the number 10, and I tend to hold anyone playing with this number to a higher standard than perhaps I should. That being said, for the last couple of years I don’t feel like Richards has lived up to even my basic standards of a hockey player. Don’t get me wrong, he was a huge help in our first Stanley Cup and I will forever be grateful for that, but his play steadily declined. Perhaps the source of his decline has been answered in the reason that his contract was terminated. I have to admire what Lombardi did with showing him loyalty after the 2014 season. It’s just a pity he didn’t live up to his side of the deal, putting the Kings in a terrible position. I don’t take any joy in seeing a player fail, particularly one from my team. I would have preferred that he buckle down and show the haters why we paid so much for him in the first place. But since that didn’t happen, I am happy to see him off the Kings roster.
Jeff – The Mike Richards of 2015 isn’t the Mike Richards of 2008 or 2012 or even 2014. The simple fact is that his skill set has deteriorated to the point that his $5.75 million a year contract (until 2022) is too expensive for the Kings to justify in keeping, especially if Richards cannot even crack the 4th line and needs to be dumped into the minors. His recent legal troubles made his trade value drop to next to nothing which killed all options for the Kings to move him while getting at least a bag of pucks in return. Instead all deals were off the table and the only option left (including keeping Richards on the team which Lombardi tried already) was to buy him out and suffer the cap penalties. Of course, Dean Lombardi being Dean Lombardi found the loophole of terminating the contract completely due to a legality and this freed up some much-needed space on the cap. Whether Mike Richards deserved to have this happen to him or not or if the Kings were legally justified in doing this or not is still up for debate but the Kings made some room and dumped a player that wasn’t pulling his weight and that’s a win-win for the Kings … for now. For more on this, check out my Los Angeles Kings vs Mike Richards article.
Signed FA Jhonas Enroth ($1.25 million for 1 year)
Emily – Sadly I think he’ll always be the guy who isn’t Martin Jones to me. But since we can’t have Jones any more, I suppose I must move on. I was still a little surprised to see the Kings were in the market for a back up goalie, considering how much love the Manchester Monarchs have for J. F. Berube. I don’t love the idea of letting Berube go and I don’t love Enroth’s numbers, truthfully. I’m not sure how much of that has to do with him as a goalie or the team’s he’s been playing for (he’s a former Sabre). Even Ben Scrivens, who gave a fine performance for the Kings when Jonathan Quick was injured in 2013, hasn’t seen great numbers since he went to Edmonton. (I would also like to point out that while Enroth’s first shutout was against the Kings, the team was in one of their downswings and that was less on him and more on the Kings simply not being able to score). So I’m not particularly thrilled with his acquisition, but we have Quick, so I’m not particularly worried about it either. I look forward to Enroth pleasantly surprising me.
Lori – Well, after giving up Martin Jones for Lucic, then watching him get traded to the Pacific Division rival San Jose Sharks, it was clear the Kings needed a new back-up for Jonathan Quick. Let me first say that I’m totally biased for Enroth because he’s Swedish and this will make my Swedish husband very happy because while there are tons of great Swedish players in the NHL, most of them play for Detroit and not L.A.! We do have Adrien Kempe waiting in the wings to make his NHL debut, but now we have an actual Swede on the roster! Though I only recall watching Enroth play a couple of times when he was in Buffalo (one of them, a shut-out against the Kings), a quick look at his stats say that he’s a solid back up. His career stats show a 2.88 goals against average and a .909 save percentage which includes five shut-outs. We’ll take it. Valkommen till Los Angeles, Jonas!
Jeff – I liked Jones, and even got to meet him in person which was very cool but I never understood the hoopla surrounding him or even Jonathan Bernier before him. Sure they are both talented goaltenders with massive potential but both barely played for the Kings overall so therefore never really proved that they had what it takes. Jonathan Quick is the winningest goaltender in Los Angeles Kings history and was clutch in 2 Stanley Cup victories, plus countless other games and playoff series. Sure Quick doesn’t save them all but who does? He saved more than legendary Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist when it mattered the most in those two Stanley Cup finals and those 2 goalies are considered the best technical goaltenders of this generation. Quick has proven time and time again to be clutch and to be honest, Jones didn’t even look that solid in the few games he did play last season (the awful games against Nashville, Montreal, Anaheim and Edmonton come right to mind) but it is what it is. Jones wanted to be a number 1 goaltender and who could blame him for that? He has every right to live out his dream and now he will get that opportunity with the Sharks (but be careful what you wish for) while Enroth on the other hand, wants to be a back up and considering he played for the awful Buffalo Sabres, his numbers actually weren’t that bad! Enroth is an experienced goaltender who is now going to have a greater defensive and overall team playing in front of him for a whole season while the Calder Cup winning prospects Jean-Francois Berube and Patrik Bartosak have another year on the farm to develop and gain experience. I say welcome to the team Jhonas and thank you for being open to whatever role is needed of you because you actually wanted to play here.
Re-signed FA Jamie McBain ($600,000 for 1 year)
Lori – I’m a McBain fan and this seems like a deal for the Kings. At the same time, it’s a low-risk, one-year contract that lets the Kings ensure they have several alternatives on defense – an area that is currently suffering given the uncertainty of Slava Voynov’s situation, the retirement of Robyn Regehr and the loss of Andrej Sekera to Edmonton (Sekera, we hardly knew ye and you seemed such a perfect fit…sigh). McBain is not the answer to the Kings’ defensive issues, but he’s good on the power play and has shown he can hang with the team when called upon. That said, as Jon Rosen, LA Kings Insider has pointed out, there will be stiff competition at both the NHL and AHL levels for defensive spots and McBain’s two-way contract suggests that he may spend time with the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario.
Emily – I don’t know why Sutter doesn’t use McBain more. I loved having him on our team last season; the Kings stats were usually much better offensively when he was in the lineup (15-7-4.) With Voynov most likely out (there’s still a chance the NHL lifts his suspension but from everything I’ve heard I find that unlikely) I’m not sure he’ll be able to step up into his shoes (or minutes), but with the market for defensemen being what it is, to be able to find someone like that that the Kings can afford is another unlikely possibility. And with Andrej Sekera leaving us for Edmonton (seriously?) I think this was a good move. He’s already shown he has chemistry with the team; keeping him is a solid play.
Jeff – No one knows how the Slave Voynov legal situation is going to play out but re-signing McBain for another year is definitely not going to hurt the team. I thought McBain played very well considering the limited action he got to see last season and he makes a fine insurance policy in case the injury bug bites down on the team or if Voynov doesn’t return at all. I say the more depth on defense the better!
Re-signed RFA Nick Shore (two years, $600K AAV)
Emily – I like Shore. With Jarret Stoll‘s contract up the Kings needed someone to step up into his role, and I think Shore could be the guy. He’s incredible at faceoffs. He won 84 of his last 137, which is an important and underrated skill. We have our top two lines figured out with Gaborik, Lucic and Kopitar, then “That 70’s Line” of Carter, Toffoli and Pearson. Shore is young and ready to be a third or fourth line center; plus Dustin Brown seems to enjoy playing with him. He was an integral part of the Monarchs winning the Calder Cup, so I’m confident he’ll play his part well this season. And if he still needs some time to grow into a great NHL player, there’s no penalties to send him back down to the AHL for the first year.
Lori – I can’t say anything bad about Nick Shore except for the fact that he’s young and still developing and the Kings really need to hit the ground running this season. Shore could clearly be the Kings’ new face-off guy, given Jarret Stoll has moved on to the New York Rangers. Shore won 53.8% of his face-offs last season –a team high – and seemed to get better in that regard as the season went on. Upon his return to the Manchester at the unfortunately quick conclusion of the Kings’ last season, Shore became a major contributor to the Monarch’s Calder Cup win. Shorely (sorry, had to do it!), he can step up and fill Stoll’s spot this year on the third or fourth line, right? Fingers crossed, but I think this deal was necessary and cost-effective for the Kings.
Jeff – I fully expect Nick Shore to take over for Jarret Stoll as the team’s permanent 3rd line Center. The kid has all the tools, already got a taste of the NHL with the Kings last season and gained even more experience by contributing greatly to the Manchester Monarchs in winning the 2015 Calder Cup. The Kings are looking to get back in the Stanley Cup race this season so there is going to be a lot of pressure on Shore to produce to the levels (or more) that Stoll and Mike Richards provided but all signs seem to show that he is up and hungry for the task. Competition from Andy Andreoff, Jordan Weal and maybe even Trevor Lewis might be the spark needed to get Shore going.
Re-signed RFA Jordan Weal (one year, $632.5K AAV)
Emily – He’s untested in the NHL but he was the MVP of the Monarch’s last season, which says a lot about him. It’s a one way deal, so he can’t be sent down to the AHL without anyone snatching him up, so I can see the confidence that Lombardi has in him to compete at the NHL level. He was the leading scorer for the Monarch’s two seasons in a row. His plus/minus is impressive (+28 the last season) with a reasonable PIM (42.) He has a great forecheck. His size could work against him but I’ve never seen that as a problem for Toffoli. I think he’s going to be a great asset for this team.
Jeff – I have to be honest. I’m very excited to see what Weal can do for the Kings. Short in size at 5’10 but incredibly talented, Weal was the Calder Cup MVP last season and showed a speed, hustle and work ethic in those playoffs that must have made the Kings management salivate. Weal has a great shot at cracking at least the fourth line this year and like Johnny Gaudreau for the Calgary Flames last year, he may make a lot of noise when the hockey world catches on to what he can do. This player has huge potential.
Re-Signed RFA Nic Dowd (one year, $600K AAV)
Emily – Truthfully I don’t know a lot about Dowd but I hear good things. He’s been called a playmaker, much like Kopitar, and that’s high praise. He’s relatively untested outside of college so while I don’t see him in the lineup for the Kings but more for the our new AHL affiliate the Reign I think he’ll be a boon for them. I like the depth we have in this organization; Dowd is surely a good contract to keep.
Jeff – A smart re-signing by Lombardi but I don’t see Dowd getting many opportunities with the Kings this season unless there are roster spots available due to injury. I expect Dowd to stay in the minors and continue developing with the Ontario Reign. He also gained experience as a part of the Calder Cup winning Manchester Monarchs so the future looks bright for the young Dowd. It’s just not his time yet.
Re-signed RFA Vincent Loverde (two years, $575K AAV)
Emily – Again, I don’t know much about him except that he’s a defenseman that consistently establishes himself as an integral part of the team, constantly striving – and attaining – for a higher level of play. The Kings consider themselves a defensive team first and foremost so it’s nice to see a defensive contact in the mix. Perhaps Drew Doughty could mentor him.
Jeff – Chalk this one up to defensive depth for the future. Loverde will most likely spend most of his time in Ontario.
Re-signed RFA Andrew Crescenzi (inked a one-year deal)
Emily – This may be the only contract I don’t quite understand. The analysis of him isn’t incredibly positive. He’s a center who doesn’t score a lot and had a -7 in Manchester. He didn’t play in any of the playoff games, so I’m not sure how useful he is to the organization. In Dean we trust, but I do have to wonder if he know’s something that we don’t.
Jeff – Chalk this one up to depth for the center position. Crescenzi has tremendous upside but if he doesn’t step up from a talented crowd, he may be moving elsewhere by next year.
Re-signed RFA Andy Andreoff (2 years, $1.175 million)
Lori – On the positive side, Andreoff’s price was reasonable. On the down side, he hasn’t played enough to show he deserves to stay in the line-up and the minutes he has played haven’t been extremely memorable. Andreoff is a “wait and see” for me and I wouldn’t be surprised if he, again, spent a good deal of time in the AHL, fighting for his spot with the Kings.
Emily – I know if you ask The Mayor John Hoven or Tyler Tofolli, they’re thrilled to have Andreoff back. I don’t love him but I don’t dislike him. He didn’t do a lot in the NHL last season but is that because he wasn’t given a chance to? Or because he isn’t living up to his potential? If I’m not mistaken when he did play for the Kings he grinned like a child after every fight.
Jeff – With Jarret Stoll and Mike Richards gone, Andreoff will get a giant opportunity to crack the team’s main roster. He seemed to have struggled with his hockey identity last year but with a long summer off and a fresh start at training camp (and some strong competition), maybe the real Andy Andreoff will finally stand up and show what he can do. If not, then expect him back down in the minors while Nick Shore and Jordan Weal get stronger opportunities instead.
Signed FA Christian Ehrhoff (1 year, $1.5 million)
Emily – My initial reaction was “Yay, a defenseman!” As Daryl Evans told me, “we have Drew Doughty but I think as we saw last season he was taxed a little bit.” With Voynov’s status still unclear (but unlikely to return) it’s clear the Kings need a solid defenseman to pick up the slack – Doughty can’t play 60 minutes (though Lord knows he’d love to try). We lost Robyn Regehr to retirement at the end of last season, and Willie Mitchell the year before, so a veteran defenseman makes a very sensible sign. It’s a 1 year, $1.5 million dollar contract so even if he doesn’t work out the Kings won’t have lost much (say, if injury plagues him again), and if it doesn’t the Kings have gotten exactly what they need to complete a solid team. He’s versatile, can absorb strong minutes and has a strong shot. Dean Lombardi, will you always be our general manager?
Jeff – If he isn’t a sorcerer then I truly believe that Dean Lombardi is some kind of brilliant galactic alien brought down to Earth to run the Kings. How else can you explain him signing this talented defensive veteran to just $1.5 million for one year? There is no other explanation! This is a genius of a deal, as long as Ehrhoff stays healthy (he suffered a season ending concussion last year for the Sabres). If so, then the Kings defense just improved by a mile and this is without the troubled Voynov returning to the team. If things don’t work out with Ehrhoff then the Kings don’t really lose anything. They still have McBain, Jeff Shultz or young prospect Derek Forbort to fill in the gaps. Like the Toffoli deal, nothing but good can come from this deal. Remind me to send a strong donation to the Sorcerer’s union or whatever popular charity they have on Lombardi’s home planet, they deserve it!
Whether these summer roster moves by Dean Lombardi are going to be great or will greatly fail, this 2015-16 season is going to be an interesting one for the Los Angeles Kings. Do you agree or disagree with any of Lombardi’s decisions or on any of our opinions? Please feel free to let us know in the comment sections below.
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4 Comments
About Jeff Duarte
KC23
August 25, 2015 at 3:12 pm
Enjoyed the takes. Better than I expected. Well done.
Jeff Duarte
August 25, 2015 at 7:18 pm
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
ginadblasck
December 15, 2015 at 7:07 pm
Didn’t the NBA also fine Dallas for their actions prior to free agency starting? The league made a nice chunk of change off of DJ….
lenadanderson
December 21, 2015 at 10:34 am
Didn’t the NBA also fine Dallas for their actions prior to free agency starting? The league made a nice chunk of change off of DJ….