A former general manager once told me that a team needed 10 defensemen to get through a full NHL season. Injuries are a given. Replacements must step up. Changes are made due to performance or matchups. Call-ups will fill in from time to time. Trades may even occur.
The Kings used 14 players on their back end last season on the way to their first playoff berth since 2018. They went through all those angles. Through some wondrous mixing and matching by assistant coach Trent Yawney and yeoman’s work of the blue line to cover for the late-season injury to Drew Doughty, the club not only secured its berth but managed to take three games from eventual Western Conference finalist Edmonton in nearly winning its first postseason series since the second Stanley Cup triumph in 2014.
Teams never return in their entirety from year to year and the Kings have made alterations to the defense corps over the summer. Olli Määttä = signed with Detroit and Troy Stecher is now with Arizona. Austin Strand is in Anaheim’s organization. Meanwhile, Kale Clague is long gone and Christian Wolanin has moved on.
Nine defensemen remain and that’s not including high-valued prospects Brandt Clarke and Helge Grans, who’ll make their bids to force their way into the 2022-23 conversation. The depth was so great that Kings general manager Rob Blake could part with Brock Faber in his successful quest to bring in Kevin Fiala.
But only six can play at one time – unless you’re Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper and are a fan of rolling with seven defenders and 11 forwards. Teams will say that you can never have too many defensemen and the Kings proved that theory last season. Players want to be on the ice, however, and the return of Doughty and Sean Walker to the blue line will only ramp up the competition for ice time when camps open next month.
Two of them – Mikey Anderson and Sean Durzi – do not have contracts as of now. There is more than enough time for the Kings to get extensions done with both. But there is also time to consider if a move must be made to alleviate a crowded part of the team. Consider that the Kings have what CapFriendly estimates is only $1.5 million of salary cap space after shelling out more than $55 million over seven years for Fiala and $22 million over four years to retain leading goal scorer Adrian Kempe.
Do the Kings have to trade a defenseman at some point? Or can Blake, Yawney and head coach Todd McLellan manage their lot as effectively as they did in 2021-22? Let’s take a look.
Drew Doughty
Age: 32
2022-23 salary: $11 million ($4 million paid out in a signing bonus)
Odds of being moved: 0 percent
Let’s see, Doughty is easily on the short list of the greatest defensemen – to be real, players – in Kings history. He’s an alternate captain with a full no-move clause, is one of the last links to the Cup years and is still at the front of a team ready to cycle back up. Next.
Mikey Anderson
Age: 23
2022-23 salary: Unsigned RFA (Finished his entry-level contract, which had a $925,000 cap hit)
Odds of being moved: 0.2 percent
With an even better year from the former Minnesota Duluth standout in 2022-23, he’ll start gaining more attention league-wide as a defensive-minded shutdown artist. One should never say never and if a protracted holdout situation were to surprisingly materialize, who knows what may occur if frosty feelings arose? But even those things tend to work themselves out. (such as with Doughty in 2011.) What is more likely is Anderson being a fixture in the LA defense corps for many more years.
Matt Roy
Age: 27
2022-23 salary: $3.25 million
Odds of being moved: 10 percent
Slotted as the second right-shot defender behind Doughty, Roy is in the middle of a three-year contract with a $3.15 million cap hit. His trade might rise if we were entering 2023-24 and there were no extension in place. But his stabilizing two-way presence and penalty-killing ability allow the Kings to continue developing their younger rearguards at a measured pace.
Sean Durzi
Age: 23
2022-23 salary: Unsigned RFA (Finished his entry-level contract, which had a $925,000 cap hit)
Odds of being moved: 25 percent
With Doughty and Walker expected to be ready for the start of the season, Durzi could see some of the expanded opportunities he very ably embraced last season dry up some. Even with Faber gone, there remain a plethora of right shots on the club and in the system. The now-tight cap fit and necessity to sign Anderson could make it tough to squeeze him in. But Durzi isn’t afraid to make plays and showed he could provide some offensive while also leading the club with 121 blocked shots. A one-year, bet-on-myself contract might set him up for a good deal if he gets a lot of playing time and delivers.
Sean Walker
Age: 27
2022-23 salary: $3 million
Odds of being moved: 30 percent
Walker tore his ACL and MCL in last season’s sixth game. Months of rehab later, the former Bowling Green captain and undrafted blueliner will look to resume his improbable NHL career after carving out a sizable role the previous two years. What will help is that he can play the left side even though he’s one of their many right-handers. But with the Kings possibly in need of some cap space to carve out, Walker’s $2.65-million cap number could open some room. If he can regain his form, he’ll be useful to the Kings – or to a team that can use a proven minutes-muncher at a reasonable rate with another year left on his contract.
Alex Edler
Age: 36
2022-23 salary: $750,000
Odds of being moved: 15 percent
It was a wise move to bring back the highly capable 16-year veteran and it was even better to do it for such a low cost. Edler will be a valuable piece to use as needed and should get to the 1,000-game mark in an LA sweater. But if the season goes horribly sideways, he could be someone who might fetch a return if there’s a deal to a contender and he’s willing to waive his no-move clause.
Jordan Spence
Age: 21
2022-23 salary: $842,500 NHL/$70,000 AHL (Can earn up to $82,500 in performance bonuses)
Odds of being moved: 5 percent
Who had Spence logging 24 games with the club last season (while additionally playing at an exceedingly high level in the AHL)? He has a bright future in the NHL and his entry-level deal doesn’t expire until 2024. Ordinarily, there would be zero reason to deal him. The one rub is that he might be the kind of piece you part with if you’re looking to add a difference-maker at the trade deadline and load up for a cup run.
Tobias Björnfot
Age: 21
2022-23 salary: $832,500 NHL/$70,000 AHL (Can earn up to $262,500 in performance bonuses)
Odds of being moved: 20 percent
Björnfot’s 2021-22 season was uneven, to say the least. He’s on the final year of his entry deal and this is a season in which the Swede ought to show that he can not only win a job on the left side but secure the full trust of the coaching staff. He’s waiver-exempt and can be sent to the AHL without the worry of a claim. Others probably have more value than him in a trade right now and he’s too young to give up on. But this would be a season to set himself in the Kings’ long-term planning.
Brandt Clark
Age: 19
2022-23 salary: $925,000 NHL (Can earn up to $850,000 in performance bonuses)
Odds of being moved: 0 percent
There is a long-term view when it comes to Clarke and it would make no sense to move the No. 8 pick of the 2021 draft, who had 59 points in 55 games for his second OHL season (the Nepean, Ontario, native led the Barrie Colts in scoring). Chances are on the slim side that he’ll unseat someone in the top six in the main camp, but Clarke’s high ceiling could possibly make him a potential replacement for Doughty down the line as he ages and matures into a top-four, if not top-pairing, role.
Jacob Moverare
Age: 23
2022-23 salary: $750,000 NHL/$325,000 AHL (Will receive a guaranteed $350,000 minimum)
Odds of being moved: 2 percent
One of those who provided some solid work in a pinch last season, Moverare was signed for two more years in June on a deal that is two-way in nature for 2022-23 and switches to one-way in 2023-24. Finding time with the big club could be tougher to do this season but unless he seeks more of an opportunity elsewhere, he’ll continue to be a good depth piece for the Kings.
(Photo of Sean Durzi: Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)
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