In case you missed it yesterday, Jordan Nolan inked a 3-year extension with the Los Angeles Kings that will cost the team 950K a season.
Nolan, 25, was on his way to being a restricted free agent this summer. However the Kings decided it best to lock up the big brutish forward.
Was it the best idea though?
Honestly, it is such a minor contract it is hard to be too critical of it. Nonetheless he is one of MANY Kings forwards who need to be inked. The list of restricted free agents without Nolan now looks like this: Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli, Martin Jones, Kyle Clifford, Andy Andreoff, Nick Shore.
Also let's not forget that the Kings have three big unrestricted free agents up for contract in Robyn Regehr, Jarret Stoll, and Justin Williams.
The Kings are looking at an extremely tight budget next season, as they have $61 million dollars tied up already, and the cap may or may not be going up from its current $69 million dollar limit this year. Essentially the Kings will have around $8-10 million dollars to sign six RFAs and three UFAs if they choose to keep them.
With Nolan re-signing, and Toffoli, Pearson, and Shore almost certainly getting new contracts, the likelihood that the Kings will be able to keep even half of these players is questionable. Especially when you consider what Justin Williams would command on the open market, likewise with Jarret Stoll. That's an easy $6 million dollars at the least. Very tight financial times indeed.
Let's go back to this on a more micro level though. Jordan Nolan, surprisingly, is the first of the three very similar bottom line players for the Kings to be signed. Andreoff and Clifford are still waiting to get deals done, and this may be a shot to their hopes to some degree with such a tight budget. While the three are similar in style, being hard hitting, physicality first players, Nolan has shown a touch more skill with the puck than the other two. The Kings have seemingly recognized this as well, as Nolan has been far less willing to engage in fisticuffs. He has left that entirely up to Kyle Clifford this season. Nolan has just one fight this year.
And it was probably the most lackluster fight of Nolan's career
and he hasn't had much of a positive trend in his play this year...
With the potential for a 3rd line wing spot being open next season, what this move means is that the Kings may be experimenting with Nolan in the near future. A 3rd line wing spot will be a bigger role with the team, and the pressure for him to perform will be increased. Honestly, it isn't the worst option. If they can't clear cap space via trade, it is a cheap in-house promotion that could pay off. Of Nolan, Andreoff, and Clifford, Nolan shows the best possibility of morphing into that player. It also rewards Nolan, and is praising and promoting the skill that he does have. If they Kings are looking at him to be more of a goal and offensive threat and less of a fighting 4th line thug, this is a push in the right direction. If he fails in his increased role he falls back to a 4th line player. It isn't the worst thing, but it is a bit of a gamble considering it is giving a contract to an overall replaceable player in the NHL.
While Nolan's overall numbers aren't incredibly promising, it is a cheap enough contract to not warrant any big freak out. Does it make the likelihood of the Kings moving cap space or letting some free agents walk higher? I would definitely say so.
Regardless of the Kings standing in the conference this is probably going to be a fairly interesting trade deadline. Jordan Nolan can now sit safely in the comfort of his home in L.A. sipping coffee and watching TSN instead of wondering if his name will pop up on the board or if he will receive a phone call.
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