2022 Offseason Thread

I haven’t seen Clarke play other than seeing him in highlight reels… Therefore I can neither agree nor disagree with your belief.

Best of luck to the kid at camp. Hope he is the real deal. But I do remember concerns expressed about his defensive game when drafted and when he was omitted from the Canadian WJC roster.

In any case, it seems the right side of the defense corps is the least of the team’s worries. And that wealth of assets should help bring the needed return.

I really like Clarke, but with the higher expectations that the Kings have for next season I'd be surprised if he makes the team, at least initially, past a 9 game stint. Honestly rushing a player into the lineup doesn't seem to be the Kings style, and there is not an urgent need to add him until he is truly ready and able to outplay a current roster player.

Side note, Clarke was invited to Team Canada's WJC Selection Camp the second time around:

https://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/arti...m_canada_wjc_selection_camp/s1_16886_37596711
 
Roy and Walker don't do what Durzi does. Trading Durzi instead of Walker or Roy does nothing to keep teams guessing. Maybe I'm in the less popular vote, but Durzi brings a bit of unpredictability. Why sit back and hope for a LHD to do that instead of finding a Greene/Mitchell/Schuds etc... to hold it down on the left?
 
Clarke will be given every opportunity during the first 9 games before they decide to keep him or send him back to Juniors. And IMO, they will end up keeping him. And if that happens, Durzi is completely expendable. Frankly, I'd look at trading Durzi now, as even if Clarke has issues, Spence can do the job.

Your statements are based in hope rather than fact. Clarke has barely even played in training camp, let alone on NHL ice. I have high hopes for him too but he's far from a sure thing. And Spence got blasted out of the playoffs by heavy play while Durzi was able to hold his own.
 
Your statements are based in hope rather than fact. Clarke has barely even played in training camp, let alone on NHL ice. I have high hopes for him too but he's far from a sure thing. And Spence got blasted out of the playoffs by heavy play while Durzi was able to hold his own.

Obviously it can't be based upon fact as the kid has yet to be in a NHL locker room. But everything I read about the kid is positive. And I trust Yanetti's judgement. But as I said, he's going be given every opportunity to stick with the big team. And I think he will. As for Spence, sure he's not as advanced as Durzi in some areas, but he is two years younger than Durzi. And he was almost a point a game guy in Ontario as a rookie. So there is a lot to like.
 
An observation on the Kings' salary cap situation,

Capfriendly shows us with $4,438,333 in cap space. They are using the contracts of 21 players to come up to that number, including Spence, Andersson and Moverare. (If you look at the Kings' page on Capfriendly, it shows the roster as being 19 players, but that is only because Doughty and Walker are listed in the injured reserve section.)

Assuming Mikey Anderson, Durzi, Vilardi and JAD all sign and are retained, using Capfriendly's calculations would put our roster size at 25. And that is before the possibility of a UFA signing or two tomorrow. So to determine what salary space we really have, we need to drop two players that our currently being counted. The two most likely ones are Spence and Andersson. Dropping their contracts from the calculations puts our cap space at $6,008,333 currently with 4 roster spots to fill.

If we add UFAs, then other players being counted will have to drop off the list. For example, if Edler is re-signed, then Moverare's $762,500 contract would be subtracted. If a UFA forward is added, then another forward has to be dropped, perhaps Kupari's $863,333 contract since he is still waiver exempt.

So we have some more cap space to work with than it might appear.
 
I saw this today on https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2022/07/phrs-2022-top-50-nhl-unrestricted-free-agents.html

Gavin Lee predicts that this might happen. Big LT side D who has the size to be able to clear out the front of the net. Interesting

20. Ben Chiarot – Los Angeles Kings – 3 years, $10.5MM ($3.5MM AAV)

It’s safe to say that the Florida Panthers might regret paying a first-round pick (and more) for Chiarot at the deadline, given he ended up averaging just 17 minutes a night for them in the postseason. That doesn’t mean his market will be limited this summer though, as teams look at the length, mobility, and frankly the meanness of this 31-year-old defenseman. Chiarot can be brutally effective in front of his own net, is coming off a career-high 26 points, and has the experience of a Stanley Cup run under his belt. Even if Florida wasn’t a perfect fit, teams will be calling.
 
Matt Roy seems like the most likely candidate to be moved. He had a good 2nd half of the season and a very solid playoffs. There should be a market out there for a steady hand on a fair contract for 2 more seasons. Moving his 3.1M cap hit because you're stuck with Walker is a tough swap but the organization has a glut of right shot d-men that are nearly ready to get NHL minutes.
 
If they were to bring in Chiarot, then Bjornfot probably starts the season in Ontario, with Walker on the third pairing LD. If Walker is able to re-establish his value, you can move him at the trade deadline and call up Bjornfot then.
 
Matt Roy seems like the most likely candidate to be moved. He had a good 2nd half of the season and a very solid playoffs. There should be a market out there for a steady hand on a fair contract for 2 more seasons. Moving his 3.1M cap hit because you're stuck with Walker is a tough swap but the organization has a glut of right shot d-men that are nearly ready to get NHL minutes.
They can't afford to trade the only D-man (player?) they have with any sort of physical presence at this stage. They need to get tougher at the back end, not softer.
 
Chariot would be as epic a blunder as Kovalchuk

Did not want Chariot at the deadline, definitely do not want now.

Hoven says Soucy from Kraken could be a trade target. Now that I really like. 6’5” and over 100 hits. Chips in a few EV points. Didn’t shoot much but scored at a 10% rate - maybe there’s a little more to be extracted there. Also +7 on that team.

Cap hit is less than 3M a year and wouldn’t think he’d require blue chip assets. Francis loves those character guys. JAD+?
 
Chariot would be as epic a blunder as Kovalchuk

Bigger.

There is zero way I see this happening. Blake is not an idiot. The Kings need all of their current space to bring back Mikey and Durzi and find a big tough guy winger. Chiarot is fools gold. He seems like a big tough defenseman who can move but he gets caved in when playing top 4 minutes.
 
AA to the Hawks. He was a nice bridge for us. Too bad he couldn't stay healthy. Fiala will be a nice upgrade.
 
Stetcher to AZ. Maatta to Detroit for 2.25 million. Yzerman makes a rare mistake.
 
Brendan Lemieux resigned, one-year contract worth $1.35MM! I like it!!
 
Brendan Lemieux resigned, one-year contract worth $1.35MM! I like it!!

I thought his qualifying offer was 1.3 mil and the Kings passed on it. Not sure I understand.

However, I'm glad he's staying.

jom
 
I thought his qualifying offer was 1.3 mil and the Kings passed on it. Not sure I understand.

However, I'm glad he's staying.

jom

It said that this was a little lower than his qualifying offer.
 
Not overly happy with Lemieux signing. The roster is overly crowded as it is. he was a turnover machine when he came back from his injury .
 
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