Free agency is about making your roster better now and for the future. The Los Angeles Kings are in the midst of a rebuild and they are concentrating on being competitive this year and strengthening for the future.
The free agency period is also about resigning your own players, who may be either restricted or unrestricted. While there are still good players to be had, is it better to go outside of the organization to improve your team, or keep what is already inside the organization?
According to NHL.com, The Kings group 2 free agents include Michael Amadio, Alex Iafallo, Adrain Kempe, Cal Petersen, and Matt Roy. Unrestricted free agents include Matheson Iacopelli, Pavel Jenys, and Nikita Scherbak. The only group 3 unrestricted free agent is goaltender Peter Budaj, while the lone unrestricted group 6 free agent is Zack Mitchell. Amadio, Iafallo, and Kempe all have played sometime in Los Angeles and are believed to be key pieces in moving forward. Iacopelli, Jenys, and Mitchell are players to keep around for depth, while Budaj has since retired and Scherbak is under contract with the KHL.
The Kings have some work to do this offseason and the most important thing they can do is spend this time to resign their own and keep this group together. The Kings have a solid foundation, both in Los Angeles and with their affiliate in Ontario with the AHL Reign.
For them to be successful in this rebuild and have continued success is to not have a giant turnaround in the roster, which is why it is important to keep the core guys, as well as the depth guys, together with so they can build that togetherness.
Featured Image: latimes.com
