Los Angeles Kings Best Contracts (2005-2020)

The following is a condensed preview of the Los Angeles Kings chapter of my new book, Hunting Bargains in a Salary Cap World. If you purchase the book, you will receive a much more in-depth analysis of all these contracts, including year-by-year statistics, a customized “basket of comparables”, and memorable quotes from players, GMs, and coaches. There is a chapter about how to calculate Expected Free Agent Value, which is used to determine precisely how much any given player was over/under paid each season; breaking down the econometrics of each deal in addition to discussing how each treaty came to pass.

Below is just a tiny sample of what’s in the book, with a few sentences clipped from the summaries. These are the graphics that appear in the book.

Los Angeles Kings

 The last 15 years of Los Angeles Kings hockey has been a story of peaks and valleys, with the heights reaching the ultimate apex with 2 Stanley Cup championships. Dean Lombardi was the architect of those titles, but was fired 3 years after the 2nd Cup, having missed the playoffs twice in that span. You might expect that a pair of titles would give a GM more leeway when the franchise struggles, but this is a performance-based industry and Lombardi failed to grow the burgeoning dynasty.

Drew Doughty agreed to an 8-year term when he could have been UFA in 4, which is where Lombardi really scored the bargain. It was worth every penny. Year one, Stanley Cup. Year three, Stanley Cup. Year five, Norris trophy. Doughty would average 46 PTS per 82 GP and nearly 27 minutes per game of ice time.

Over these 7 years, Anze Kopitar scored 480 PTS in 538 GP (plus another 64 PTS in 75 playoff GP), finished top 4 in Selke trophy voting 4 times, winning the award 2016. Oh, and the Kings won 2 Stanley Cups. Lombardi did buy 3 years of unrestricted free agency, but the money that Kopitar left on the table got stacked onto his next deal (there’s a theme emerging here).

 

It didn’t take long for the upside to start showing itself, as Jonathan quickly improved in year one, winning 35 games, losing 22, with a .918 SV%. Then one year after Tim Thomas stole the Stanley Cup for the Bruins, Jonathan went on an epic run of his own, playing 69 games with a 1.95 GAA and .929 SV% in the regular season, then won 16 out of 20 playoff games with an astounding .946 SV% to win both the Cup and the Conn Smythe trophy.

 

Over these 451 regular season games, Dusty threw 1546 hits (this will be addressed on the Kings worst contracts list), and scored 276 PTS (50-point pace). The most important of all his personal accolades, his name was engraved on the Stanley Cup twice, scoring 14 playoff goals in those 2 runs. Does the rest even matter?

 

The Kings won the Stanley Cup in year one, but were so dominant that none of the series went to 7 games. Justin Williams contributed 15 PTS to that title. They won another championship in year three where Williams scored 25 PTS and was named playoff MVP. Justin scored 19 goals over their 2 Cup runs. Do his regular season stats even matter?

 

The move to sign Jake Muzzin early would save the Kings millions, as Jake had a breakout 41-point season before the new deal even started, and would have commanded a much higher price had they waited. Lombardi bought a 40-point defenseman for 70 cents on the dollar. In year four he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 1st round pick and some prospects.

 

Alexander Frolov scored a career high 71 PTS in year two, averaging 65 PTS per 82 GP over the duration. Unfortunately, every season after that apex resulted in fewer points scored, a disturbing trend that must have concerned potential suitors when the deal expired. When Frolov finally tested free agency at age 28, he only got a 1-year deal from the Rangers, performed very poorly, and returned to Russia.

The Kings had a bargain on their hands, as Muzzin played a meaningful role in a Stanley Cup win with 12 PTS in 26 playoff games and elevated into a 40-point player by year two. Lombardi was able to rope him into another discount when this was finished, signing it before the breakout was in full bloom.

 

Jack Johnson’s breakout was instantaneous, with the young defenseman scoring 79 PTS in 162 GP (39-point pace) while adding 12 more PTS in 12 playoff GP. Johnson may have left some money on the table, but luckily he had his parents to help him invest his earnings and make smart business decisions. Jack did hit the jackpot on hit next contract, making more money than he could ever spend.

 

Dustin Brown was signed at a fair price for the stat line, but once the winger was placed on a line with Anze Kopitar, he elevated to a higher level, scoring 46 PTS in year one and 60 PTS in year two. The Kings struggled over these two years as a team, but the building blocks of their dynasty were slowly being assembled.

  

Lombardi was able to re-sign the Squid at a very team friendly price, the bad news was that it would walk him directly to unrestricted free agency at his earliest eligibility. The center’s scoring did decline in year two, so the GM decided to trade him to Calgary for a 1st round pick rather than risk losing him to free agency. Cammalleri lit the lamp in cow town. No Stanley Cups but that’s a good price for 129 PTS in 144 GP.

During the 2014 season, Alec Martinez started scoring goals at a greater rate, ripping 11 tucks. But he’s not on this list because of any goals that he scored in the regular season. Alec scored multiple overtime game/series winning goals in the playoffs, including the Stanley Cup winner in 2014.

  

Jonathan Quick inked a front loaded, back diving deal that paid extra cash up front. He followed up that outstanding 2012 season with a subpar performance following the lockout. But in year one, Quick won another championship as the starting goaltender, albeit with a less impressive showing. The first half of the contract was good, the second half has been bad.

 

Dean Lombardi was never able to secure Cammalleri’s autograph on a long-term contract and always seemed very determined to force the Squid to take a discount. When Cammalleri was put on a line with Brown and Kopitar, the trio flourished. This would lead to a contentious arbitration hearing, and eventually, Mike’s departure from California.

The possibility of extending Tyler Toffoli on a long-term extension was not exactly palatable now that some now that some of their Stanley Cup chickens were “coming home to roost”. Kopitar and Brown got big new extensions, and Drew Doughty was right around the corner. Tyler would take his game to an even higher level in year one, scoring 31 goals and 58 PTS. He would sign another bridge after this and eventually leave the Kings as a rental at its end.