Kings general manager Rob Blake answers questions from reporters on May 6, 2024 in El Segundo, meeting with the media for the first time since the team lost its first-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers . (Photo by Brittany M. Solo, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The Kings got rid of their epic failure from an offseason ago, Pierre-Luc Dubois, in a trade on Wednesday, and whether the deal should be viewed as a huge success or a mitigated failure may be a question of where the evaluation began.
At the time, the move was a success, discarding $43.75 million in total cap space commitment over seven seasons by swapping the $59.5 million remaining on Dubois’ contract directly for the $15.75 million in cap obligations remaining in the agreement of goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper.
Saving $43.75 million in cap space in a trade without holding back a dime or incentivizing the deal for draft picks or other assets is extremely rare in the NHL. That’s even more true for an embattled player who carries the level of risk (though not without potential reward, as the three franchises he’s disappointed to date attest) as Dubois.
Consider, for example, what exemplary veteran Patrick Marleau’s $6.25 million against the salary cap cost the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019 to move to the Carolina Hurricanes, who purchased Marleau after receiving a first-round pick and a conditional seventh round. Or, more prominently, there’s the significant price tag (a second-round pick, a roster player who turned into a first-rounder and a solid prospect) for the Kings to part with less than $6 million of the $10 million remaining cap commitments in the Cal Petersen deal recently. more than a year ago.
However, that brings the Kings back to last summer, when they meticulously thought and schemed tirelessly to add Dubois and retain left defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov in favor of investing in a starting goalie or other needs.
A year later, Dubois has gone through a great start and a great close in close succession, while left defense remains an area of need, even though Gavrikov will earn nearly $6 million against the salary cap in the final year of his contract in 2024-25.
Kuemper, like Cam Talbot last year, checks a box between the pipes, but he is another officer in his 30s who landed in Los Angeles, for the second time in his career, less for his aptitude and more for his compatibility with a set of criteria. strictly reduced due to poor limit management.
In the span of two seasons, the Kings acquired what would have been their two highest-paid forwards next season (Dubois and Kevin Fiala) and their second-highest-paid defenseman in Gavrikov. Each move only moved them further away from advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs, where they fell to the Edmonton Oilers in seven, six, and then five games. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid now has 42 points in 23 postseason games, one more point than Dubois scored in 87 outings in the regular season and playoffs.
The Kings also filled their gas tank last season, not only by parting the Red Sea for Dubois in a series of transactions that reduced the depth, quality and flexibility of their roster alike, but by effectively ending up pre-spending the $4.5 million cap hit. of this season. -Increased maximum limit of dead capital dollars accumulated before the next campaign.
However, all that was already an unpleasant reality before Wednesday.
As far as daring escapades go, Blake threw his hat into the illusionist’s ring with a deal that avoided any nail-biting over the viability of a purchase and allowed him to take a stance as if a purchase had never been considered. If the Stanley Cup Final had ended in six games, the cost would have been one-third of the remainder of the Dubois deal, but if it had been seven, the price would have doubled.
Wednesday’s trade offered only marginal savings from a cash standpoint, as Capfriendly indicated the cost of a buyout of one-third of the remaining salary owed to Dubois would be $15.83 million, a couple of tabs above the $14.25 million in real salary owed to Kuemper.
What Kemper brings in on a net basis could go a long way toward increasing the value of the deal, but even then, the money is distributed in a more orderly manner: $3.25 million in cap savings in years 1 through 3, and Full $8.5 million in Years 4 through 7 instead of a variable sequence of maximum penalties of 14 years.
That could help the Kings get creative with the expiration of restricted free agent Quinton Byfield’s pact. give them more options to land unrestricted free agents (like Matt Roy and Viktor Arvidsson), or possibly even look for some clearly needed upgrades to their defense and bottom-six forward group.
However, the Kings lack draft capital this season to mobilize in trades (they have no second, third or fifth round picks), have hired a professional head coach for the first time and may be experiencing an identity crisis and leadership.
Captain Anze Kopitar said the team had to “build a culture” in his exit interview last month.
Blake showed an unusual level of fire when he said his team had to feel “uncomfortable,” although his regime has also worked to create an appeal of unique comforts, relative anonymity and limited media scrutiny.
They are also a matter of trust.
Last May, Blake said it was the Kings’ job to make Petersen an NHL goaltender again after a season in which the $5 million goaltender was demoted to the minors. Shortly afterward, he was imposed on Philadelphia at great cost.
On January 18, former coach Todd McLellan’s job was safe, according to Blake. On February 8 he was fired, a decision that no doubt came at least a few days early.
At the same time, Blake said he had no regrets about signing Dubois, although Wednesday’s events clearly indicated otherwise.
While getting rid of Dubois was undoubtedly the right decision, there was an almost proportional certainty that adding him with the enormous acquisition and payment costs they initially did was a mistake.
That made the deal paradoxical, making it a massive victory that also highlighted egregious mistakes of the recent past, as well as obstacles the Kings could continue to face in the future.
