Nothing is done quite yet. The Kings are inching closer to naming Ken Holland as their 10th General Manager in franchise history. We’re at that awkward stage where both parties are well down the road of wrapping things up, but it’s just not official.
In the meantime, let’s advance the conversation toward five key topics he’ll need to dive into rather quickly. There won’t be much time for him to slowly wade his way into the deep end of the summer hockey pool. Instead, Holland will need to hold those knees close to his chest and hit a high-powered cannonball right off the hop.
Sure, at the introductory press conference (rumored to be Thursday), there will be the usual fare of questions along the lines of:
– What did you learn during your time in Edmonton that you can apply in your new role with LA?
– How important is the relationship and trust you have with Luc?
– What excites you most about taking over the Kings?
Listed below are the real questions, though — even though they likely won’t be answered Day 1 on the job…
1. What About the Assistant GM?
Earlier this week we noted that Holland likely isn’t long for the job. We’re not saying this is shaping up as a one-year commitment; only that the Kings are in win-now mode and their new GM will help steer that ship as quick as possible to some playoff success. The real curious part is what happens in three years? In a perfect world, Holland would hire his successor and groom him over the next few years before either retiring or being elevated to a more senior management role. Unless he’s going to pull a Lou Lamoriello and still be an active GM into his 80s, Holland needs a succession plan as soon as possible.
We’re assuming Holland will hire his son Brad in some capacity to help with the heavy lifting. He served as AGM under Ken in Edmonton and could be offered a similar role in LA. Another name to keep a close eye on is Tyler Wright; again, one of Holland’s key confidants in recent years. Where that gets tricky is he’s said to be more of an AGM who leans into the amateur scouting side. If that was to squeeze Mark Yannetti in any way, that’s not a good thing for the Kings. Yannetti has proven to be elite in his role, and one of the three best over the past 15 years by any statistical measurement. Elevating Yannetti, who also comes with an Ivy League education, would absolutely be the smarter play over diminishing his responsibilities in any way.
If another AGM was to be brought in from outside the list above — and teams can have more than one AGM — keep an eye on these AGMs currently with other teams: Ryan Martin (Rangers), Brandon Pridham (Maple Leafs), and Mark Janko (Stars).
Again, Yannetti was practically doing many of the AGM roles under Dean Lombardi, getting an opportunity under Holland almost seems like a no brainer.
And none of these even takes into consideration the face that LA actually has an AGM in Nelson Emerson — who team President Luc Robitaille pointed out last week is under contract for next season and is expected back.
Now, what about the coach too? That’s a good question, as well. Jim Hiller is the coach for mow. More on that situation here.
2. What About LA’s Trio of UFAs?
After walking a tightrope with the salary cap for many of the past few summers, the Kings are actually in pretty good shape at the moment — with about $25M to spend before making any potential trades. First up, they have a trio of important unrestricted free agents who decisions will need to be made on quickly.
There’s a myriad of ways to sort this group, including: most likely to return, importance to sign, most expensive to sign, etc.
Regardless, LA needs to get serious with their plans for Vladislav Gavrikov, Tanner Jeannot, and Andrei Kuzmenko. We projected a Gavrikov contract here. He would clearly be the most expensive of LA’s UFAs and should come with the longest term. Jeannot was clearly missed in the playoffs and brings many ‘what ifs’ when thinking about how different their recent playoff series might have gone had he been in the lineup. Translation = get him signed quickly. Kuzmenko is a wild card in all of this. Distilling it down to the easiest digestible point, the shorter the term and the lower the AAV, the more likely he is to appeal to LA’s plans.
3. What About That Bridge Deal?
Fortunately for Holland and his lieutenants, they’ll really only have one restricted free agent to really worry too much about, and that’s Alex Laferriere. The 23-year-old forward has the eighth most points scored by a player drafted outside the first round since 2020. Buffalo’s JJ Peterka leads the pack with 150 points in 238 games. He’s the only player on the list to reach triple digits in points. Matthew Knies is second with 94, Brock Faber is fifth with 76 and then there are three players nearly tied for sixth — including Lane Hutson (68), Will Cuylle (66), and Laferriere (65).
Under the prior management regime, to say Laferriere was thought of highly would be an understatement. As we reported a few months ago when trade rumors were swirling around Brandt Clarke, the Kings considered three young players as untouchable at that time: Clarke, Laferriere, and Quinton Byfield. That’s some pretty good company.
Coming off his entry level contract, Laferriere doesn’t hold any arbitration rights. So, on paper, the Kings just need to qualify him and get him to sign a one-year deal with a slight increase over his $787k base salary (a concept explained in further detail here).
There will be plenty of time to sign him to a long-term contract down the road. For now, a two-year bridge deal could be for both sides, and it should likely come in with a less than $2M AAV.
Getting this contract right would really help free up more money to spend in other areas this summer.
4. What About Kempe on July 1?
Look, let’s get right down to it. Adrian Kempe shouldn’t be going anywhere. He’s one of the best homegrown talents the franchise has produced this century. He’s already said he wants to be a King for life, so make it happen.
He’s signed for one more season at the ridiculous rate of $5.5M, truly one of the best value contracts anywhere in the league. Staring on July 1, he’s eligible to sign an extension that would begin in time for the 2026-27 season. There’s no point in waiting. Anze Kopitar’s money comes off the books next summer and these numbers could be a problem: 35, 41, 28, 35. That’s how many goals Kempe has scored each of the past four seasons. LA shouldn’t want him to add a fifth season of similar performance before getting him signed. Now is the time, get him to put pen to paper.
5. What About Using the Cap Money to Add?
With roughly $25M to spend, how can Holland improve the Kings roster? The stated goal from Robitaille at last week’s press conference was to bring in a GM that will help get the team over the hump. This is about winning playoff rounds, as in plural. Signing Gavrikov and Laferriere should still leave the Kings with about $15M to spend. This could put them in competition for big names expected to be on the market this summer, guys like Mitch Marner and Brock Boeser. They probably need to add another big, heavy depth defenseman. They could also look to trade players like Trevor Moore and Jordan Spence to create additional cap space. We’ll have to follow-up on this topic in the weeks ahead. First things first, announce Holland as GM and then get to work on the UFA contracts. Any trades and/or adds from the outside likely won’t enter the chat until later in June, closer to the Draft.
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