The Los Angeles Kings already made themselves plenty busy on the opening day of free agency, but the roster still doesn’t look finished.
General manager Ken Holland and the Kings added six players from the free agent market on Wednesday, bringing in more depth and experience for the season ahead. Even with that work done, there are still a couple of spots that look like they need attention before training camp and the preseason arrive this fall.
The challenge, of course, is money. Los Angeles is working with only a few million dollars in projected cap space, which leaves very little room for splashy additions. If Holland wants to keep tweaking the roster for new head coach Peter Laviolette and his staff, he’ll have to keep finding creative ways to operate in free agency and on the trade market.
One name that fits the kind of low-cost move the Kings could still make is Nick Blankenburg.
Blankenburg, a defenseman who has played for the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche, would give Los Angeles another blue-line option with some offensive upside. He shoots right, which is not exactly the specific fit the Kings are targeting on defense this offseason, but there’s still a case for him as a useful depth piece.
What makes Blankenburg appealing is the package he brings. He’s a mobile defender with good skating ability, and he can help in transition with the puck on his stick. If the Kings were able to get him on a short-term deal that didn’t carry much risk, he could slide into the bottom four and add another layer of movement and offense to the back end.
For a team that still has work to do and very little cap flexibility, that kind of signing makes a lot of sense.
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The Kings, meanwhile, saw a contract that made sense for where they are headed. They valued the balance between term and cap flexibility, and they believed Laughton fit the kind of transitional period the organization is navigating. He wanted to stay, they wanted him back, and the result was a deal that should keep him in Los Angeles while the bigger questions around the roster continue to unfold. [Read more 🡒]
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Daniel Walters also left a mark on the camp with his physical edge and his ability to finish plays, adding multiple goals along the way. For a group that came in simply looking to learn and get reps, the bigger takeaway is that a few names already look like they belong on the radar, even if there is still plenty of runway before any of them are pushing for anything more serious. [Read more 🡒]