The Los Angeles Kings are the 2014 Stanley Cup Champions!
Yes! Woohoo! Congratulations! Well done!
....oh shoot the draft is in less than two weeks.
That was quick wasn't it? For a team that plays late into June, the time to celebrate for the front office is pretty short. Lombardi probably had a solid two days there where he wasn't worried about anything except the fact that his team just won a cup. That's gone in an instant though it seems, as the Kings now have to prepare to restock the cupboard and move into the building mindset.
Then after that the fun begins with the free agent market opening up.
All things considered the Kings have a pretty quiet summer ahead of them.
In terms of drafting the Kings have eight picks this year. That is the most they've had since 2009 when they had 10 draft picks and were still in the twilight stages of rebuild mode. If you recall, the 2009 draft was after a season in which the Kings finished 26th overall. It was also the year that the Kings drafted Brayden Schenn, who would turn into the key piece in the blockbuster Mike Richards trade.
There are plenty of directions the Kings could go this year with this many picks. They could stick to restocking the pipeline, which is starting to fill up with some older players. They could also opt to trade around a few picks, which Lombardi has done in the past quite frequently.
Who knows what they do, but it's going to be the start to a summer where the biggest question marks are going to come in re-signing and UFA's.
I am of course talking about the big three that the Kings have to either re-sign or let walk away; Marian Gaborik, Matt Greene, and Willie Mitchell.
Gaborik is the big one. What happens with him likely shapes where the Kings go with a few players.
As Greene and Mitchell age and become more and more injury prone, it's worth it to note that Marian Gaborik is no spring chicken and has also dealt with his fair share of injuries.
What should #CBJ should do with #Gaborik? Re-sign or trade? Check it out on @puckrant http://t.co/ikWZNEWOQf #Jackets pic.twitter.com/vqLkUTw8W4
— Neil H (@NeilThinks) February 6, 2014He has also been very well paid over his career, and one of the reasons the Kings were able to afford him this year was because the Blue Jackets ate half his cap hit in the trade. Next year they won't have that luxury. While there are numerous reports around that the Kings had a verbal contract in place with Gaborik and that he is open to signing a cap friendly deal to stay with the Kings, nothing is for certain. Gaborik was getting paid $7.5MM a year from CBJ, and after a stellar playoff run which was integral to the cup he may feel he is worth just as much or a little bit less.
The Kings currently have around $13MM in cap space to work with. Factor in whatever amount of money you can to Gaborik in around the $6-7MM range and the fact that there will still be three players to re-sign and you see why he is the largest of dominoes.
Matt Greene, Willie Mitchell, and Dwight King aren't going to be the most expensive players but there isn't realistically room to have all three under contract. Mitchell was making $3.5MM a season, Greene $2.95MM, and the RFA King was making $750K. Theoretically if everyone takes a bit of a paycut (Except Dwight King) you can afford all four guys.
Put on your GM helmets everyone, because this is when it gets dicey. Next season the Kings have nine players of both UFA and RFA status to deal with. Many of these players are integral. Who am I talking about exactly? Pearson, Toffoli, Muzzin, Martin Jones are amongst the RFA groups (Along with Nolan and Clifford), and Jarret Stoll, Justin Williams, and Alec Martinez are amongst the UFA (Along with Robyn Regehr). Between the four major RFA's, the Kings have only $3MM tied up in those four players. Given what they have accomplished so far and how promising the future is on all four, that isn't going to stay the same at all. Then you have core players like Williams and Stoll, and a good depth defenseman like Martinez. Also factor in that their could be players like McNabb, Forbort, Zykov, or Linden Vey who step into the fold and have to be paid.
Is your mind spinning yet? Now you can see why even a mid-term contract at a decent AAV (Annual average salary) to a guy like Gaborik is a big deal.
This is why you are hearing whispers of things like a compliance buyout on Mike Richards' mammoth cap hit of $5.75MM for the next six years getting passed around the message boards of late. (Which in my opinion doesn't seem likely, but who knows.)
Small details, big implications. You can see why you have to be a pretty measured person and businessman to be a GM in sports.
The salary cap is going to be the Kings biggest enemy this offseason, and it will be interesting to see how they posture moving forward. No question the Kings are going to have the pieces to be a very very good team again next year, but it's the following years that hang in the balance right now. Some teams get in situations where too many good players come up at the same time, ala Chicago after their first cup win in 2009-10. They had to dump a considerable amount of talent in order to stay cap compliant due to high value free agent signings and poor contract structuring. It wasn't pretty and it was part of the reason Dale Tallon lost his job with the Hawks. The Kings, to me, are in a similar situation. However, with measured and cautious moves they could avoid a shake up like what happened in Chicago. There is going to inevitably be some small turnover of players, but a dump like what happened with Chicago is an extreme case.
This is going to be a very difficult summer for Dean Lombardi, even though they have very few moves to make. The long term impacts of his decisions could shape a lot of things in the Kings' future. He's done very well up to this point, so we'll see how he stands up moving forward. There are a lot of directions to go though for sure.
Leave those GM helmets on and share your thoughts on what we do in the comment section.
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For all you draft heads and prospect watchers I do have a couple of picks I am keeping an eye on if the Kings do hold onto their first round selection. Just a brief little bit on each.
John Quenneville C/W - Very 'Kings' esque in his play style. Full 200ft guy, plays multiple forward positions, good size, and his favorite player is Anze Kopitar. How could you not like that?
Connor Bleackley C/W - Like Quenneville he has good size and strength and arguably has a better scoring touch. He's also pretty solid all-around and has a bit of a mean streak to him. Another pseudo power-forward that is becoming ever more popular in the new NHL.
Jack Dougherty D - Might be a bit off the board if he is taken in the first round, but since the Kings don't have a second they might reach on him. He is a big and intelligent stay at home guy who plans on going the college route at the University of Wisconsin. That gives the Kings 4 years to bury him in the pipeline and make him a longer term fit for their back end.
These are just a few of many players that I am keeping an eye on that the Kings could have interest in. Who do you folks like?
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I had to mention it. Probably the two best things from the parade.
First, the Best of Darryl Sutter. Complete with perfect music from Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Here's the best of Darryl Sutter from his playoff postgames courtesy of @FoxSportsWest http://t.co/MSiRzcAZAL what a beauty
— Patrick O'Neal (@Patrick_ONeal) June 17, 2014Also, the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, going all sorts of Jonathan Quick and dropping an F-bomb at the rally.
***WARNING: ADULT LANGUAGE***