A former general manager once told me that a team needed 10 defensemen to get through a full game. NHL season. Injuries are a fact. Replacements must step up. Changes are made due to performance or matchups. Calls will be completed from time to time. Exchanges may even occur.
the Kings he used 14 players on his back end last season en route to his first playoff berth since 2018. They went through all those angles. Through a wonderful mix and match by assistant coach Trent Yawney and Yeoman’s blue line work to cover the season-ending injury of drew doughtythe club not only secured their spot, but managed to win three games from the eventual Western Conference finalist Edmonton in nearly winning his first postseason series since the second Stanley Cup triumph in 2014.
Teams never return in full from one year to the next, and the Kings have made changes to the defensive corps over the summer. Olli Määttä = signed with Detroit Y Troy Stecher now he’s with Arizona. austin beach he’s in the Anaheim organization. In the meantime, Kale Clague he left a long time ago and Christian Wolanin has moved on.
There are nine defensemen left and that’s not including high-value prospects Brandt Clarke and Helge Grans, who will make their bids to force their way into the 2022-23 conversation. The depth was so great that Kings general manager Rob Blake was able to part ways with Brock Faber in the successful pursuit of him to bring kevin fiala.
But only six can play at a time, unless you’re tampa bayThey are Jon Cooper and they are fans of rolling with seven defenders and 11 forwards. Teams will say you can never have too many defenders, and the Kings proved that theory last season. Players want to be on the ice, though, and the return of Doughty and Sean Walker to the blue line will only increase competition for ice weather when campgrounds open next month.
Two of them – Mikey Anderson Y Sean Durzy – they have no contracts as of now. There’s more than enough time for the Kings to make extensions on both of them. But there is also time to consider whether a move should be made to relieve a crowded part of the team. Consider that the Kings have what CapFriendly estimates to be just $1.5 million of cap space after shelling out more than $55 million over seven years for Fiala and $22 million over four years to retain the leading scorer. Adrian Kempe.
Do the Kings have to trade a defenseman at some point? Or can Blake, Yawney and head coach Todd McLellan run their luck as effectively as they did in 2021-22? We’ll see.
drew doughty
Years: 32
Salary 2022-23: $11 million ($4 million paid in signing bonus)
Probabilities of being moved: 0 percent
Let’s see, Doughty is easily on the short list of the best defenders (to be real, players) in Kings history. He’s a backup captain with a full no-move clause, he’s one of the last links of the Cup years and he’s still leading a team ready to come back up. Next.
Mikey Anderson
Years: 23
Salary 2022-23: Unsigned RFA (Ended his entry-level contract, which was capped at $925,000)
Probabilities of being moved: 0.2 percent
With an even better year from the former Minnesota Duluth standout in 2022-23, he will start to gain more attention around the league as a defensive-minded closing artist. One should never say never and if a protracted resistance situation were to materialize surprisingly, who knows what might happen if icy feelings arose? But even those things tend to work themselves out. (as with Doughty in 2011). What’s more likely is that Anderson will be a fixture on the Los Angeles defense corps for many years to come.
matt roy
Years: 27
Salary 2022-23: $3.25 million
Probabilities of being moved: 10 percent
Ranked No. 2 right back behind Doughty, Roy is in the midst of a three-year deal with a salary cap of $3.15 million. His trade percentage could go up if we were going into 2023-24 and there wasn’t an extension in place. But his stabilizing two-way presence and his ability to kill penalties allow the Kings to continue to develop their younger backlines at a measured pace.
Sean Durzy
Years: 23
Salary 2022-23: Unsigned RFA (Ended his entry-level contract, which was capped at $925,000)
Probabilities of being moved: 25 percent
With Doughty and Walker expected to be ready for the start of the season, Durzi could see some of the extended opportunities he so ably capitalized on last season run out. Even without Faber, there is still a plethora of forehand shots at the stick and in the system. The now-tight cap setting and the need to sign Anderson could make it difficult to get him in. But Durzi isn’t afraid to make plays and he showed he can provide some offensive punch as he leads the club with 121 blocked shots. A one-year deal, wagered by myself, could set him up for a good deal if he gets a lot of playing time and delivers.
Sean Walker
Years: 27
Salary 2022-23: $3 million
Probabilities of being moved: 30 per cent
Walker tore his ACL and ACL in Game 6 last season. Months of rehab later, the former Bowling Green captain and undrafted blueliner will be seen to resume his unlikely NHL career after having played an important role the previous two years. What he will help is that he can play on the left side even though he is one of many righties of his. But with the Kings possibly needing some cap space to carve out, Walker’s $2.65 million cap number could open up some space. If he can get back in shape from him, it will be useful for the Kings, or for a team that can use a proven minute-cheaper at a reasonable rate with another year left on his contract.
alex edler
Years: 36
Salary 2022-23: $750,000
Probabilities of being moved: 15 percent
It was a wise move to bring back the highly trained 16-year veteran and it was even better to do it for such a low cost. Edler will be a valuable piece to wear as needed and should hit the 1,000-game mark in an Los Angeles sweater. But if the season goes horribly wrong, he could be someone who could get a return if there’s a deal with a contender and he’s willing to waive his no-move clause.
jordan spence
Years: twenty-one
Salary 2022-23: $842,500 NHL/$70,000 AHL (can earn up to $82,500 in performance bonuses)
Probabilities of being moved: 5 percent
Who made Spence record 24 games for the club last season (while also playing at an extremely high level in the AHL)? He has a bright future in the NHL and his entry-level contract doesn’t expire until 2024. Normally, there would be no reason to trade him. The only drawback is that it could be the kind of piece you part with if you’re looking to add a difference mark at the trade deadline and prepare for a Cup run.
Tobias Bjornfot
Years: twenty-one
Salary 2022-23: $832,500 NHL/$70,000 AHL (can earn up to $262,500 in performance bonuses)
Probabilities of being moved: 20 percent
Björnfot’s 2021-22 season was uneven, to say the least. He is in the last year of his entry contract and this is a season in which the Swede should show that he can not only win a job on the left side, but also secure the full trust of the coaching staff. He is exempt from exemption and can be sent to the AHL without the concern of a claim. Others probably have more value than him in a trade right now and he’s too young to give up. But this would be a season to fit into the Kings’ long-term planning.
brandt clark
Years: 19
Salary 2022-23: $925,000 NHL (can earn up to $850,000 in performance bonuses)
Probabilities of being moved: 0 percent
There’s a long view when it comes to Clarke and it wouldn’t make sense to move the No. 8 pick in the 2021 draft, who scored 59 points in 55 games for his second season in the OHL (Nepean, Ontario native led the Barrie Colts in annotation). There’s little chance he’ll unseat someone in the top six in the main camp, but Clarke’s high ceiling could possibly make him a potential replacement for Doughty in the future as he ages and matures into a top four, if not top match, paper.
Jacob Movere
Years: 23
Salary 2022-23: $750,000 NHL/$325,000 AHL (you will receive a guaranteed minimum of $350,000)
Probabilities of being moved: 2 percent
One of those who provided a solid job in a pinch last season, Moverare was signed for two more years in June in a deal that is two-way in nature for 2022-23 and changes to one-way in 2023-24. Finding time with the big club could be more difficult this season, but unless he looks elsewhere for more opportunities, he will remain a good depth piece for the Kings.
(Sean Durzi Photo: Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)