Kings sign Phillip Danault for 6 years

[Bollocks]

LOLZ. Go ahead and make up phoney stats. Meanwhile the entire hockey world voted Hamilton 4th for the Norris while Slavin and Pesce were in the teens. Even Sarah Civian had him 4th and neither of the other Canes were on her ballot. Hamilton had the highest Corsi and RelCorsi on the Canes defense too. Highest +/-. Most hits on the defense. Hamilton finished tops on his team and 11th in the league in points shares last season. Both the old-fashioned and fancy stats illustrate that he is a top defenseman who was available for nothing but money. And he signed at market value-- less than Jones and Werenski.

He's just like Erik Karlsson?!? Aside from being 6'6" and 227 while Karlsson is average sized.

Per Dom, the Hamilton deal was the best signing of the day. And it was hands down. The Devils get an elite defenseman at market price for nothing!

All this bickering about whether Hamilton is a legit franchise D-man or not...he's a right shot and probably didn't want to sign with the Kings considering we already have DD. IF DH wanted to sign with the Kings (which is a huge question mark), the Kings would most likely have to trade DD, which is fairly problematic from several viewpoints - his NMC being the main one, along with the casual fan backlash (not many casuals would share your opinion of DH being a star - at least not yet).

So...the Kings would most likely have to overpay IF DH would even want to sign here, and in this case there would be 21 million (or more) tied to 2 right shot defensemen, of which the tradeable one has a NMC and a huge fan following.

So, all the arguing is completely pointless...DH was a bad fit for the Kings from every single viewpoint but his quality in and of itself.

 

[hokiecat]

All this bickering about whether Hamilton is a legit franchise D-man or not...he's a right shot and probably didn't want to sign with the Kings considering we already have DD. IF DH wanted to sign with the Kings (which is a huge question mark), the Kings would most likely have to trade DD, which is fairly problematic from several viewpoints - his NMC being the main one, along with the casual fan backlash (not many casuals would share your opinion of DH being a star - at least not yet).

So...the Kings would most likely have to overpay IF DH would even want to sign here, and in this case there would be 21 million (or more) tied to 2 right shot defensemen, of which the tradeable one has a NMC and a huge fan following.

So, all the arguing is completely pointless...DH was a bad fit for the Kings from every single viewpoint but his quality in and of itself.

There are 3 D pairings. Why would you trade Doughty? Other teams load up their D-- then you have the 2 top guys playing nearly 50 minutes and you only need the 3rd pair to fill in for 10 minutes against sheltered opposition. It is the same plan the Sharks had with Burns and Karlsson. Or same thing with LD Scott Neidermeyer with Scott Stevens and Chris Pronger. I wasn't aware that there was some rule that teams could only have 1 good player at a position. Or is that some sort of unique Kings fan thing where we have a Stockholm Syndrome like response from having a couple of stars and then the bargain bin filling out the roster. If anything you trade one of Roy/Walker and see if one could flip to the left side.

DH was no worse of a fit than getting Seth Jones. And once Jones was getting traded, anyone with foresight would realize that Werenski was probably NOT going to get moved. Columbus had to keep one of their star players in order to not just become the developmental squad for the rest of the league, even if it required an overpay. Any GM could read the room and realize that LD well had dried up.

The whole point with 'buy once, cry once' is it makes sense to pay DH and DD to be elite, especially with DH's contract being judged a bargain by Dom. Just pay $9M rather than pay $7M for a couple of bottom pair guys (maybe Edler is 2nd pair if last year's cave-in was an aberration).

 

[Ice24]

What defensemen will be UFA?s after next season?

 

[Bollocks]

There are 3 D pairings. Why would you trade Doughty? Other teams load up their D-- then you have the 2 top guys playing nearly 50 minutes and you only need the 3rd pair to fill in for 10 minutes against sheltered opposition. It is the same plan the Sharks had with Burns and Karlsson. Or same thing with LD Scott Neidermeyer with Scott Stevens and Chris Pronger. I wasn't aware that there was some rule that teams could only have 1 good player at a position. Or is that some sort of unique Kings fan thing where we have a Stockholm Syndrome like response from having a couple of stars and then the bargain bin filling out the roster. If anything you trade one of Roy/Walker and see if one could flip to the left side.

DH was no worse of a fit than getting Seth Jones. And once Jones was getting traded, anyone with foresight would realize that Werenski was probably NOT going to get moved. Columbus had to keep one of their star players in order to not just become the developmental squad for the rest of the league, even if it required an overpay. Any GM could read the room and realize that LD well had dried up.

The whole point with 'buy once, cry once' is it makes sense to pay DH and DD to be elite, especially with DH's contract being judged a bargain by Dom. Just pay $9M rather than pay $7M for a couple of bottom pair guys (maybe Edler is 2nd pair if last year's cave-in was an aberration).

In case you can squeeze enough TOI for both (and ignore the fact there's not enough RD TOI left for Roy AND Walker or any of the up and coming prospects to learn to play at NHL level), you still have 21+ million tied up to 2 defensemen. That's 31+ million for 3 players. Sure, Anze's contract runs out in 2024, but they will have to resign Petersen, Vilardi, Kempe and Anderson next season, and that means they would have very limited options to go for another top 6 forward, which the Kings might need...or they don't sign Danault (who is an absolutely amazing fit for this team, btw).

Basically you bank on prospects to perform because if they don't, there won't be much room to acquire established players.

Not to mention that if there's no heir to Kopitar found within, there will be a trade or UFA signing which can only be done if there's enough cap room.

The Kings would be in cap trouble much sooner than desired. Not TBL level of cap trouble, but you need to keep the long term picture in mind. It's not really the way to go if you want to build a long term contender from within.

The Kings have 2 right shot defensemen that will most likely compete for a top 4 role within 1-3 years in Faber and Clarke. There's a very good chance one of them succeeds, maybe both. If the Kings get DH that basically minimizes the chances either of them make the team and develop unless you move DD, which will be increasingly difficult as he gets older, especially if his regression continues.

Signing DH would be kinda sexy, but would also significantly reduce the Kings' flexibility and options down the line. If you have 2 very good top 4 RD potential prospects in the pipeline and 2 good, affordable ones in the team (Walker and Roy), you don't waste the opportunity to have a long term solution for RD for cheap, and use that cap room to sign or trade for players in positions of bigger need.

If the Kings were in compete mode and DH was the missing piece of the puzzle, you do it. If DD demanded a trade last season and went away, you do it. If the prospect cupboard is empty, you do it. But as is the case, you don't.

(If he'd want to sign here at all.)

 

[jt]

What defensemen will be UFA?s after next season?

https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/free-agents/2023/caphit/all/defense/ufa

1. P.K. Subban NJD 33 RD Right $9,000,000
2. Kris Letang PIT 35 RD Right $7,250,000
3. Mark Giordano SEA 38 LD Left $6,750,000
4. Johnny Boychuk NYI 38 RD Right $6,000,000
5. Darnell Nurse EDM 27 LD Left $5,600,000
6. Colton Parayko STL 29 RD Right $5,500,000
7. Nick Leddy DET 31 LD Left $5,500,000
8. Anton Str?lman ARI 35 RD Right $5,500,000
9. Rasmus Ristolainen PHI 27 RD Right $5,400,000
10. Hampus Lindholm ANA 28 LD Left $5,205,556
11. Ryan Pulock NYI 27 RD Right $5,000,000
12. Danny DeKeyser DET 32 LD Left $5,000,000
13. Morgan Rielly TOR 28 LD Left $5,000,000
14. Alex Goligoski MIN 36 LD/RD Left $5,000,000
15. Calvin De Haan CHI 31 LD/RD Left $4,550,000
16. John Klingberg DAL 29 RD Right $4,250,000
17. Josh Manson ANA 30 RD Right $4,100,000
18. Olli M??tt? LAK 27 LD Left $4,083,333
19. Justin Schultz WSH 31 RD Right $4,000,000
20. Colin Miller BUF 29 RD Right $3,875,000
21. Connor Murphy CHI 29 RD Right $3,850,000
22. Mattias Ekholm NSH 32 LD Left $3,750,000
23. Will Butcher BUF 27 LD Left $3,733,333
24. Ben Chiarot MTL 31 LD Left $3,500,000
25. Alexander Edler LAK 36 LD Left $3,500,000
26. Ian Cole CAR 33 LD/RD Left $2,900,000
27. Markus Nutivaara FLA 28 RD Left $2,700,000
28. Michal Kempn? WSH 31 LD Left $2,500,000
29. Thomas Hickey NYI 33 LD Left $2,500,000
30. Brayden McNabb VGK 31 LD Left $2,500,000
31. Mark Borowiecki NSH 32 LD Left $2,000,000
32. Marc Staal DET 35 LD Left $2,000,000
33. Ryan Murray COL 28 LD Left $2,000,000
34. Brett Kulak MTL 28 LD Left $1,850,000
35. Justin Braun PHI 35 RD Right $1,800,000
36. Troy Stecher DET 28 RD Right $1,700,000
37. Nick Holden OTT 35 LD Left $1,700,000
38. Dean Kukan CBJ 28 RD Left $1,650,000
39. Scott Harrington CBJ 29 LD Left $1,633,333
40. Robert H?gg BUF 27 LD Left $1,600,000
41. Andrej Sekera DAL 36 LD/RD Left $1,500,000
42. Robert Bortuzzo STL 33 RD Right $1,375,000
43. Ilya Lyubushkin ARI 28 RD Right $1,350,000
44. Jan Rutta TBL 31 RD Right $1,300,000
45. Kris Russell EDM 35 LD/RD Left $1,250,000
46. Nathan Beaulieu WPG 29 LD/RD Left $1,250,000
47. Joshua Brown OTT 28 RD Right $1,200,000
48. Juuso Riikola PIT 28 LD Left $1,150,000
49. Matthew Benning NSH 28 RD Right $1,000,000
50. Kodie Curran ANA 32 LD Left $1,000,000

In other words...nobody. Nurse will re-sign with the Oilers and Lindholm with the Ducks (or whoever they trade him to).

 

[Reg or Rog?]

https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/free-agents/2023/caphit/all/defense/ufa

1. P.K. Subban NJD 33 RD Right $9,000,000
2. Kris Letang PIT 35 RD Right $7,250,000
3. Mark Giordano SEA 38 LD Left $6,750,000
4. Johnny Boychuk NYI 38 RD Right $6,000,000
5. Darnell Nurse EDM 27 LD Left $5,600,000
6. Colton Parayko STL 29 RD Right $5,500,000
7. Nick Leddy DET 31 LD Left $5,500,000
8. Anton Str?lman ARI 35 RD Right $5,500,000
9. Rasmus Ristolainen PHI 27 RD Right $5,400,000
10. Hampus Lindholm ANA 28 LD Left $5,205,556
11. Ryan Pulock NYI 27 RD Right $5,000,000
12. Danny DeKeyser DET 32 LD Left $5,000,000
13. Morgan Rielly TOR 28 LD Left $5,000,000
14. Alex Goligoski MIN 36 LD/RD Left $5,000,000
15. Calvin De Haan CHI 31 LD/RD Left $4,550,000
16. John Klingberg DAL 29 RD Right $4,250,000
17. Josh Manson ANA 30 RD Right $4,100,000
18. Olli M??tt? LAK 27 LD Left $4,083,333
19. Justin Schultz WSH 31 RD Right $4,000,000
20. Colin Miller BUF 29 RD Right $3,875,000
21. Connor Murphy CHI 29 RD Right $3,850,000
22. Mattias Ekholm NSH 32 LD Left $3,750,000
23. Will Butcher BUF 27 LD Left $3,733,333
24. Ben Chiarot MTL 31 LD Left $3,500,000
25. Alexander Edler LAK 36 LD Left $3,500,000
26. Ian Cole CAR 33 LD/RD Left $2,900,000
27. Markus Nutivaara FLA 28 RD Left $2,700,000
28. Michal Kempn? WSH 31 LD Left $2,500,000
29. Thomas Hickey NYI 33 LD Left $2,500,000
30. Brayden McNabb VGK 31 LD Left $2,500,000
31. Mark Borowiecki NSH 32 LD Left $2,000,000
32. Marc Staal DET 35 LD Left $2,000,000
33. Ryan Murray COL 28 LD Left $2,000,000
34. Brett Kulak MTL 28 LD Left $1,850,000
35. Justin Braun PHI 35 RD Right $1,800,000
36. Troy Stecher DET 28 RD Right $1,700,000
37. Nick Holden OTT 35 LD Left $1,700,000
38. Dean Kukan CBJ 28 RD Left $1,650,000
39. Scott Harrington CBJ 29 LD Left $1,633,333
40. Robert H?gg BUF 27 LD Left $1,600,000
41. Andrej Sekera DAL 36 LD/RD Left $1,500,000
42. Robert Bortuzzo STL 33 RD Right $1,375,000
43. Ilya Lyubushkin ARI 28 RD Right $1,350,000
44. Jan Rutta TBL 31 RD Right $1,300,000
45. Kris Russell EDM 35 LD/RD Left $1,250,000
46. Nathan Beaulieu WPG 29 LD/RD Left $1,250,000
47. Joshua Brown OTT 28 RD Right $1,200,000
48. Juuso Riikola PIT 28 LD Left $1,150,000
49. Matthew Benning NSH 28 RD Right $1,000,000
50. Kodie Curran ANA 32 LD Left $1,000,000

In other words...nobody. Nurse will re-sign with the Oilers and Lindholm with the Ducks (or whoever they trade him to).

Olli Maatta makes over four million dollars a year? You gotta be freakin kidding. For what he does out there on the ice?

Talk about overpaid. Along with Adrian Kempe's inconsistency, I'd say Maatta's all-around play was the most disappointing aspect of the Kings season.

 

[jt]

Olli Maatta makes over four million dollars a year? You gotta be freakin kidding. For what he does out there on the ice?

Talk about overpaid. Along with Adrian Kempe's inconsistency, I'd say Maatta's all-around play was the most disappointing aspect of the Kings season.

That's his cap hit. His pay with the Kings is $3.33M.

 

[Reg or Rog?]

That's his cap hit. His pay with the Kings is $3.33M.

Okay, thanks!

But he's still not worth a bag of pucks and a used skate sharpener.

 

[Bollocks]

Okay, thanks!

But he's still not worth a bag of pucks and a used skate sharpener.

Maatta is still only 26yo. Yes, he's had his fair share of health concerns, but at the moment he's healthy.

He was a low risk move to find a stable partner for DD and a proven playoff performer.

https://www.pensburgh.com/2017/5/31/14800842/what-to-do-with-olli-maatta

Maybe the problem wasn't as much Maatta but DD who wasn't very motivated these past few seasons. And there was no playoffs for Olli to switch into his top gear.

Maybe this changes this next season if the team comes out the door swinging. If not...well, Olli is gone after this season.

 

[Helvetica]

Maatta is still only 26yo. Yes, he's had his fair share of health concerns, but at the moment he's healthy.

He was a low risk move to find a stable partner for DD and a proven playoff performer.

https://www.pensburgh.com/2017/5/31/14800842/what-to-do-with-olli-maatta

Maybe the problem wasn't as much Maatta but DD who wasn't very motivated these past few seasons. And there was no playoffs for Olli to switch into his top gear.

Maybe this changes this next season if the team comes out the door swinging. If not...well, Olli is gone after this season.

FWIW, he was terrible to start the season last year. We all saw it. But, he did seem to fall into a groove towards the second half of the season down on the bottom pairing. Maybe it was a new system, or confidence, or pressure, or likely its just that he isnt a top pairing guy that was shoehorned into playing big minutes against the other team's top players... but i suspect we see him have a decent year this season in the bottom 4. I think (hope) he'll settle in this year and may wind up playing more time on the second pairing for us. At the very least i think he'll wind up solidifying that bottom pair this season while some of the young guys figure **** out.

That's my prediction for the season... Maatta surprises.

 

[jt]

Maatta is still only 26yo. Yes, he's had his fair share of health concerns, but at the moment he's healthy.

He was a low risk move to find a stable partner for DD and a proven playoff performer.

https://www.pensburgh.com/2017/5/31/14800842/what-to-do-with-olli-maatta

Maybe the problem wasn't as much Maatta but DD who wasn't very motivated these past few seasons. And there was no playoffs for Olli to switch into his top gear.

Maybe this changes this next season if the team comes out the door swinging. If not...well, Olli is gone after this season.

Very solid post. Cody Ceci went through a similar thing where just about everyone thought he was washed up with the Leafs. Then, just like Maatta, a team took a risk on a guy just about nobody thought would be a useful top 6 D in the NHL. Ceci turned it around in Pittsburgh and now most people think he'll be a very solid top 4 D in Edmonton, maybe even replacing what Larsson did there.

Maatta was a fine pickup for the Kings. He flopped as a top 2 D but came around on the 3rd pairing. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Kings do better than Brad Morrison when they trade him to some team desperate for LD help. If they retain 50% cap hit, they could wind up with a 2nd. Maatta at $2M on a 3rd pairing could be a great deal for a Cup contender.

 

[jt]

FWIW, he was terrible to start the season last year. We all saw it. But, he did seem to fall into a groove towards the second half of the season down on the bottom pairing. Maybe it was a new system, or confidence, or pressure, or likely its just that he isnt a top pairing guy that was shoehorned into playing big minutes against the other team's top players... but i suspect we see him have a decent year this season in the bottom 4. I think (hope) he'll settle in this year and may wind up playing more time on the second pairing for us. At the very least i think he'll wind up solidifying that bottom pair this season while some of the young guys figure **** out.

That's my prediction for the season... Maatta surprises.

I agree with the sentiment but the only way Maatta plays on the Kings is if Bjornfot is in Ontario or Anderson or Edler gets hurt. Those three have got to be the starting LD.

 

[jt]

What defensemen will be UFA?s after next season?

IMO, the only way the Kings acquire a dynamic LD other than the draft or college signing is trading for a guy another team gives up on. Like the Rangers did with Fox and VGK with Theodore. But anyone they get like that will be unproven. IMO, the best they can hope for is some team is willing to trade a young LD because they desperately need young centers. Maybe Ottawa trades Chabot, Philly trades Provorov, Colorado trades Girard to make their cap work with other guys, or the Rangers trade one of their young LD like Lindgren or Miller (but they're really unproven as "dynamic" NHL D). IMO, the only way Chychrun is traded is if Arizona just doesn't want to pay him his big salary in years 5 & 6.

 

[Helvetica]

I agree with the sentiment but the only way Maatta plays on the Kings is if Bjornfot is in Ontario or Anderson or Edler gets hurt. Those three have got to be the starting LD.

I dont really have high hopes for Edler, and Bjornfot is still likely to have some stints of poor play. Anderson is definitely staying with Doughty. I sort of see Bjornfot, Edler, and Maatta playing musical chairs on that left side. But I agree, its going to take some luck (good and bad) for Maatta to play on that 2nd pairing. It's a bold prediction, not necessarily a smart one

 

[jt]

I dont really have high hopes for Edler, and Bjornfot is still likely to have some stints of poor play. Anderson is definitely staying with Doughty. I sort of see Bjornfot, Edler, and Maatta playing musical chairs on that left side. But I agree, its going to take some luck (good and bad) for Maatta to play on that 2nd pairing. It's a bold prediction, not necessarily a smart one

I'm not sure what "high hopes" would be and while I agree with you that they'll probably rotate the LD based on needs for a specific game and also who's playing well at the time, I fully expect Edler to play top 4 minutes for long stretches. The hockey people I listen to (including goofballs but real NHLers like Ryan Whitney and Scottie Upshall) love the signing and the way he plays smart hockey, very solid defense, and great getting the puck out of the D zone. At the beginning of the season, I expect Edler to rotate with Clague and Bjornfot to play in Ontario with Maatta locked in the press box (except for games to showcase him to trade him). At least until they can make a deal (or someone gets hurt) and bring Bjornfot up. I'd put Strand in the equation but I think there's a good chance they lose him on waivers unless they put Maata on waivers and either lose him or send him to Ontario.

 

[hokiecat]

JT, you're an old time Caps fan right?

Sorry for the necropost but my concern on Danault is whether he is really an elite shutdown center or if he's an above average shutdown center who got to center a great defensive line. Think Halpern between Konowalchuk and Dahlen. I hope we didn't pay 5.5 million for Halpern or Kono. We shall see shortly and then over the course of this long contract.

 

[jt]

Yeah, but I put my Fandom on hold when I found out Ovi's a huge Putin supporter.

Anyway, I don't think Halpern ever played 1st line and always belonged on the 3rd or 4th line. Danault has proven he can be 1C on a Cup finalist...so there's that.

But I get what you mean. OTOH, Danault doesn't have to get a bunch of points to be a legit 2C (or worth his contract as a 3C). Gourde scored 10g & 20a in 2019-20 and was worth every penny of his $5.1M.

 

[sonnyboy11]

Yeah, but I put my Fandom on hold when I found out Ovi's a huge Putin supporter.

Didn't he even come up with his own Putin booster club at some point - Putinteam, or something? Wish I could go back to a time before I found that crap out. I was a big fan.

/ignorance, bliss, etc

 

[jt]

Didn't he even come up with his own Putin booster club at some point - Putinteam, or something? Wish I could go back to a time before I found that crap out. I was a big fan.

/ignorance, bliss, etc

Yeah. Ovi, Malkin, Merzlikin, Bure, and others. It's disgusting and I'm with you...I wish I never knew.

 

[What party?]

Yeah. Ovi, Malkin, Merzlikin, Bure, and others. It's disgusting and I'm with you...I wish I never knew.

*cabin pressure dropping* Time before I knew Bure was on that list, five seconds ago. gawd damn it, jt.

[Cher song playing in my head now]

So before the ALLCAPS win your only joy for Washington was the cup run with Coach Wilson (right?) and Esa Tikkanen? oof. That's commitment.