On the Los Angeles Kings and some offseason decisions…
Dennis Bernstein: If the Kings believe Dion Phaneuf is a top-four defenseman – along with Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez and Derek Forbort – then they could look at trading defenseman Jake Muzzin for some offensive help.
If the Kings believe Phaneuf is a third pair defenseman, then they keep Muzzin and see if there is a trade involving Tanner Pearson or Tyler Toffoli that would bring back a more productive winger.
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN: Looking at some keys to the LA Kings offseason.
1. Drew Doughty – Has a year left on his deal and is eligible to sign up to an eight-year contract extension on July 1st. Does he want to re-sign or test the free agent market after next season? Earlier this year Doughty said he wanted to maximize his market value and even commented that he and fellow pending 2019 free agent defenseman Erik Karlsson could trade contract numbers.
2. Improve their offensive depth up front – The Kings will have just under $3 million in salary cap space next year. They need to add more scoring to their bottom-six.
3. Making the right call on their draft picks – GM Rob Blake didn’t want to trade any of his draft picks at the trade deadline as they’ve moved too many in recent years. Does Blake look to move some of their higher picks at the draft to add to their lineup, or does he continue to hold on to them?
Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet: It’s hard to see the Kings maintaining their same core. They are a big, physical team, but they are getting older and slower each year.
Anze Kopitar is 30-years old and is owed $60 million over the next six years. Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter and Dion Phaneuf are all 33-years old. Brown ($5.9 million) and Carter ($5.3 million) have four years left on their deal. Phaneuf has three years left.
Drew Doughty will be 29-years old when his deal expires. Are the Kings going to want to pay him $100 million for eight years or do they see how many assets they could get for him?