A very interesting thing happened earlier today. The Kings announced the signing of two of their prospects, Andy Andreoff and Robert Czarnik. At the same time, the Kings acquired forward Stephan Legein from the Flyers plus a sixth round draft pick for ‘future considerations’. The latter deal was essentially a salary clearing move for Philadelphia. These moves put the Kings at 51 contracts. Tyler Toffoli, Jordan Weal and Andy Andreoff are assigned to their junior teams and don’t currently count against the 50 contract limit, but Andreoff is eligible to play in Manchester based on his age.
At the same time, the Kings suddenly find themselves right up against the salary cap. With Colin Fraser almost ready to resume play, the team now is at $62.5 million in total contracts. Add in Jacob Muzzin’s $900,000 (he is on injured reserve) and the Kings suddenly find themselves with only $843,000 in cap space as well as one player over the 23 man roster limit once Fraser is activated. While still under the cap, the team has very little flexibility to replace injured players or to make a move at the deadline to improve the team. Cap management has traditionally been a strong focus for GM Dean Lombardi, and it is uncharacteristic of him to tie his hands in terms of signing or acquiring players when necessary. Yet, Dean felt free to take on Legein’s contract from the Flyers for relatively little compensation. Does he know something we don’t?
Filed under: L.A. Kings News
