Well it's been a while since the Kings were eliminated from post-season play by Vancouver. They played well at times against the 'Nucks, and looked almost unbeatable at times during those stretches, but when it mattered most, they were dreadful in closing out games. The defense, and to an extent, the goal-tending, as well, was awful. But it is what it is.
Since then, they've hired a new assistant coach to replace Mark Hardy. The NHL Entry Draft was held at Staples last weekend over a two-day frame. And the free agency period went into full swing starting on Thursday.
The Kings have two glaring needs: they need a premier front-line scorer on the top line, and they need veteran depth at defense. I think the goal-tending needs to be addressed as well.
They have not been very busy as far signing anyone over the first two plus days, but they've been busy behind the scenes trying to get things done. They've been mentioned in numerous rumors regarding Ilya Kovalchuk, the top forward in this year's free agent class. And being well below the cap, they have plenty to spend, and would like to. But so far, it's been relatively quiet.
The general consensus is Kovy will wind up in L.A., but at what cost? Reports out there say his camp wants max money (10 years, $10MM per), and as far as we know, only one team is apparently willing to go that far: the Islanders.
Now, I don't think the Kings should go that far to get him. Ten years seems to be a bit much for a 27 year old forward, granted he's one of the top scorers in the league. But even if the Kovy camp wants that much and the Islanders are willing to give him max money, is he really going to take it when the Islanders are so far away from winning? I don't think so, and that leads me to believe Kovy winds up in L.A., and hopefully at half of what his camp wants as far as the years go.
Stay tuned. My gut tells me there will be a resolution on this in the next 24-to-48 hours.
On top of all that, the Kings have also been tied to numerous trade rumors, as well. They were in on two of the top defensemen available through free agency, but Paul Martin signed with Pittsburgh and Dan Hamhuis inked a deal in Vancouver. So where does this leave the Kings? The said trade rumors have them linked to Sheldon Souray and even Tomas Kaberle. (My gut tells me neither ends up in L.A.)
They've also been tied to Simon Gagne, who waived his no-trade yesterday, and more recently, Vincent Lecavalier. (Yes, I know they're not defensemen, but my guess is if something happens with either of them, it's all contingent on what happens with Kovy.)
Kings ownership is pretty peeved at this point that nothing has happened yet. They want to make a big splash because they are that close to being a Cup contender, but obviously Dean Lombardi has a plan and wants to stick to it. In the end, I think they still end up with Kovy, and they'll probably move one of the goalies (either Jon Quick or Jonathan Bernier) for a defenseman. Question is, who?
They'll make their big splash.
