They didn't go for the big fishes.
But what Dean Lombardi did was even better.
The Kings went into the free agency period, perhaps stinging from the loss of Milan Lucic, but still had business to take care of. With Right-handed defensive depth lacking, with some perhaps questionable forward depth, and needing a back-up goalie, the Kings knocked out maybe 2.5 of all 3 in the first few hours of free agency.
Let's run through them quickly in order they happened. Then we will get to thoughts on each signing afterwards.
The Kings signed RH veteran D-man Tom Gilbert to a one-year, $1.4 million dollar contract.
Gilbert is coming off knee surgery that really limited his playing time last season with Montreal, and he is also a ripe age of 33.
Then shortly after that the Kings made an astute move, picking up another right handed defenseman in Boston's Zach Trotman.
The 25-year old signed for one-year at 650K.
Trotman played 38 games with Boston last season and has 67 games NHL experience overall. Again, more on each deal after the deals are pushed through.
Then the Kings moved away from defensive depth and went out and brought back former homegrown back up goaltender Jeff Zatkoff on a two-year deal.
Zatkoff played intermittent back-up/starter with Pittsburgh this season and is 29 years old. Drafted in 2006 by LA, Zatkoff played four years in the Kings minor league system before moving on to Pittsburgh where he eventually would make the NHL as a backup.
And finally, the Kings brought aboard Washington Capitals forward Michael Latta for one year at 600K.
Whew. Did you get all those? Again, it was not the big fish that the Kings pulled in here in the first few hours of free agency but several really good moves that help the team moving forward. How do they help the team? Let's break it down!
Tom Gilbert
Gilbert is perhaps an underwhelming signing, given that he is definitely not a young defenseman anymore. However, the Kings were really looking at right handed depth to fill out the roster.
With Matt Greene going on waivers (Although not bought out in the end) and Jamie McBain heading to Arizona, the Kings had zero right handed defenseman past Drew Doughty. That was an altogether scary thought if the Kings want to preserve balance.
Gilbert is very far removed from his days of putting up 30 points and moving his team into positive expected goals range.
However, he does provide more mobility (You would hope) and puck moving upside than a Matt Greene or Rob Scuderi. The $1.4 price tag seems lofty for a player with so many negatives, but given his track record and experience that was probably the going rate.
At worst Gilbert is a one year depth plug in until the Kings are fully comfortable moving ahead with another right handed defenseman in another role.
Enter the next signing...
Zach Trotman
Trotman is an excellent pick up for the Kings, and one that really has a low cost, mid reward upside to it.
The 25-year old has just 60+ games of NHL experience, but the returns have been altogether positive thus far.
Also, at 6'3" 220, Trotman has the NHL size package with him. Plus he posted fairly positive possession numbers, despite getting buried in terms of defensive zone starts.
View post on imgur.com
Notice the productive possession metric.
Alongside Chara, Trotman was hit with the highest ratio of offensive to defensive zone starts, (27.7 O zone to 36.2 D zone) and also got the highest quality of competition (Corsica is acting up at the moment so forgive me on not having those). So it is altogether understandable if his offensive numbers looked meager and his possession numbers were nearly break even in terms of team relative statistics. That actually is not bad considering his usage.
He also has some offensive potential that could be untapped. He twice went over 20 points in NCAA hockey, and had a scoring rate of and was starting to get a very good scoring pace with Providence before being summoned to the NHL.
Did we also mention he is a right handed D? This gives the Kings a ton of options on their bottom pairing and with their 7th D rotation. If Trotman takes they could even push him into a 2nd pair role in order to move Martinez down in the lineup with one of the younger players ala Gravel or Forbort.
Trotman averaged over 18 minutes of average ice time last year, so he is used to playing those kind of minutes.
Jeff Zatkoff
Simple goaltending depth. The Kings needed it, and they got it.
With Jack Campbell also in the fold, the Kings have four signed goaltenders now where they originally had three and one on an expiring contract (Enroth). The questions are now, where do they go. Does Zatkoff play backup? Does Budaj play backup? Who gets the AHL starting job? Is it possible we see Budaj again get the majority starter role in Ontario with Campbell backing him up? Is a split starter role in the books? These are minor musings, but the point is the Kings now have goaltending options.
Michael Latta
This and the Trotman deal are neck to neck for best deal of the day thus far.
You want to talk about a sneaky good signing? Latta was outstanding defensively for the Caps last season. His chance suppression was very very good, and he also logged the third lowest xGA per 60 on the Caps.
He did so playing alongside Brooks Laich, whom he traded faceoff duty with at times. Latta CAN play center, but had adjusted to playing right wing with the Caps in order to stay in the lineup.
While we have highlighted his defensive numbers, there is also an untapped offensive side to him. Three goals in 43 games is by no means sexy, but that comes simply from not shooting! Latta shot at a nice 10.3%, after having a dismal 2014-15 where he did not score a single goal. Nevertheless, his problems stems from his limited shot attempts. In 43 games this year, Latta took just 29 shots on net and a team low 34.62 Fenwick for per 60. His 5v5 shooting percentages at fenwick shooting percentages are not altogether bad, he just simply does not shoot the puck enough. In a Kings system that preaches pucks on net, perhaps we see more out of him offensively, and at 600K for one year...why not?
Regardless of offense, he now jumps into the bottom six and should pressure the likes of Nolan and Andreoff to up their game. A 4th line combining one of Shore, Lewis, Clifford, and now Latta could be one of the best 4th lines in the league IF....IF...Shore can put up something more than a league low shooting percentage and Clifford can have a bounce back year. It is not impossible.
Overview
Overall these are four moves that immediately address needs within the Kings. Two of them are very astute low-risk, mid-reward, signings on younger players that could turn into something. With the cap space there, the opportunity there, and a clear gap between pipeline talent and NHL talent, the Trotman and Latta signings are great.
With Gilbert and Zatkoff, no one should be expecting much outside of depth reinforcement and insurance policies. It has been pretty well stated that the job on defense is perhaps Kevin Gravel or Derek Forbort's to lose, and Gilbert is there just in case they do actually lose it. The real battle will be between Forbort, Gravel, and Trotman as to who has the staying power and who perhaps elevates in the Kings lineup.
There is risk involved with any signing, but Dean Lombardi has taken some measured shots here that could pay off. If they do not? It is no big deal. One year terms at minimum money do not hurt if they fall through. The Kings kept themselves out of the muck of overpayment on bigger names, despite the cries for a "Legit" top 6 wing and top 4 D. While the Kings may still get those in one way or another, today was a good start to free agency from the LA brass. Depth moves are often overlooked in favor of bigger names and bigger dollars, but they can make a huge difference.
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