NHL Rumors: UFA Buyer Beware, and the Los Angeles Kings

UFA Buyer Beware

Scott Maxwell of Daily Faceoff: A look at which pending unrestricted free agents could get too much money and term and why teams should beware.

Ivan Barbashev – Vegas Golden Knights – Beware: Playoff recency bias and positional usage.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Boston Bruins – Beware: Health.

J.T. Compher – Colorado Avalanche – Beware: Weak market.

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Max Domi – Dallas Stars – Beware: Weak market and recency bias.

Radko Gudas – Florida Panthers – Beware: Playoff recency bias

Martin Jones – Seattle Kraken – Beware: Recency bias.

Alex Killorn – Tampa Bay Lightning – Beware: Term.

Joonas Korpisalo – Los Angeles Kings – Beware: Recency bias.

The Kings could use some grit and toughness

Austin Stanovich of LA Hockey Now: The Los Angeles Kings could use some grit and toughness in their lineup next season. Some potential options for them include.

Tom Wilson – Washington Capitals – Reports have the Kings kicking tires on Wilson. One issue with Wilson is, how long can he keep up being an effective power forward? He’s got one year left and then would require a big extension. The Kings would need to send out money and the Capitals may want futures as they’d be then going to rebuild mode if they trade him. Alex Iafallo or Viktor Arvidsson likely wouldn’t be of interest.

Lawson Crouse – Arizona Coyotes – He should be the Kings top target after his career-high 24-goal season. He has three years left on his deal at $4.3 million and is only 25. Salary cap and cost could be an issue. Would the Coyotes be interested in Sean Durzi and/or Samuel Fagemo? Could the Kings also try to acquire Karel Vejmelka in the deal?

NHL Rumors: Nashville Predators and the Los Angeles Kings

Bottom-six options include Adam Lowry (Winnipeg Jets), Trent Frederic (Boston Bruins), and Yakov Trenin (Nashville Predators).

Goaltending may be an area the Kings need to address first over the grit and toughness.