from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,
How old are the Los Angeles Kings? Well, they have eight players in their 30’s, and a 29-year-old in Drew Doughty who next season will unwrap his eight-year, $88 million deal.
But, that’s not really the problem. This is: Of those eight 30-year-olds, seven have at least two years remaining on their contracts.
Like any team near the bottom of a 31-team National Hockey League, general manager Rob Blake is looking at his roster and plotting on how he can inject some youth and speed. And he’d better hurry — the Kings were statuesque in an 8-4 loss to Edmonton Tuesday night, outskated by an Oilers team that is at best middle-of-the-pack fast, and buried by dueling hat tricks by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl.
So, as Blake took a stern look at his club Tuesday, we did as well, looking for ways this Kings team can crawl out of the Pacific cellar. Here’s what we found:
• Anze Kopitar — Keep him. Six years remaining at $10 million per, and the question here is, are the Kings paying him for something he used to be? Or something he is?
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.