Earlier in the day it broke through John Hoven at the Mayor’s Manor that the Kyle Clifford deal looked to be on the horizon.
And later in the day the team made it official through LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen that he has signed a two-year deal worth $1.075M AAV.
So with the signing of Clifford, the Kings will have 25 players under contract and will most likely be over the $64.3M cap. The catch though is that the Kings will have until opening day to get cap compliant and under the allotted amount of players which stands at 23.
Do you smell a tense preseason and training camp? I do. Theoretically the Kings should, at this point, have at a minimum three roster spots up for grabs. Those three roster spots are in my opinion the entire fourth line. Last season the Kings used a rotation of Brad Richardson, Jordan Nolan, Trevor Lewis, Kyle Clifford, and Colin Fraser on the fourth line. Along with those players who will all likely be fighting for a spot (Sans Richardson) you can toss into the mix already NHL players Dan Carcillo and Dwight King and young guys like Andy Andreoff and Tanner Pearson.
As you can see that’s a lot of competition and a lot of potential combinations for a fourth line. If you want to go with big bodies you got King, Fraser and Clifford. If you decide to go with agitation you’ve got Andreoff, Clifford and Carcillo. How about skill? You could even throw a Pearson, Lewis and Clifford line together.
Let’s not even get started on the defense either, which I have touched on previously in this article
breaking down the Kings' defensive depth chart
While the King lineup looks intact for the most part, there is actually a pretty big question mark on at least three to five positions. One defensive slot, and three to four forward slots are anyones for the taking.
In the past the Kings have also, at times, rewarded players for very good training camps and preseasons that no one saw coming. Alec Martinez in 2009-10 was a surprise addition to the opening day roster, and young players like Clifford and the now Flyer Wayne Simmonds played their way into roster spots on the bottom lines in their respective rookie seasons with somewhat low odds.
After a playoff run that saw the King bottom lines struggle considerably there should be no name written in as a secure fit at this point. Also consider that four players mentioned (Fraser, Lewis, Carcillo, King) have one year remaining on their current deals.
Who do you think makes it? Who do you think is cut? Is there a Wayne Simmonds or Alec Martinez waiting to surprise us to start the 2013-14 season?
One thing for certain, keep an eye on preseason. Also make note of the training camp stuff that the Kings normally hold in around mid-September. Those details will be posted as soon as they emerge later in the summer.
Follow Jason on twitter at @SirJDLfor general news and notes and some hockey stuff I guess. 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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