Free agency opens tomorrow and given the Los Angeles Kings are still looking to upgrade their roster, there’s a good chance the team will be active.
The Kings enter the day with over $13.5 million in cap space, with Andreas Athanasiou as their only notable remaining restricted free agent. While Los Angeles does have the money to be active though, they have to be careful not to set themselves up for a difficult cap situation down the road.
The future of the team is built on their prospect pool and now we’re seeing a chunk of those prospects make the jump to the NHL. As the likes of Quinton Byfield and others continue to develop and work their way up the lineup, they’ll each be inching closer to their next contract extension. Essentially, we can reasonably assume that in the coming years, the Kings will be spending a lot of money to retain their young talent, once they’re off their entry-level contracts.
So while, in theory, the team has the space to throw money at a big name free agent, they have to be careful about giving out any long-term deals. Make the wrong move now, and the Kings could end up in a very difficult cap situation in a few years down the line.
The other point is that the Kings need to make sure they’re correctly identifying their window to compete. Realistically, they’ll be fighting for a playoff next year but aren’t going to be a contender. As a result, it raises the question as to whether it would really be a good idea to go after a player in his late 20s, only to them have them start to decline in a few years with quite a bit of term remaining and then lack the space to sign younger talent.
The point is, while the Kings’ cap situation looks good now, the team needs to be very cautious in how they choose to use their money in the coming days. While targeting big-name free agents is certainly an appealing way to improve the team, Los Angeles needs to continue prioritizing a long-term outlook, and that includes their cap situation.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Kings Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_LAKings for updates on articles, Kings news, etc.***
Do you think the Kings should make a major addition in free agency?
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»