Kings' Edmundson Embodies Franchise's High-Risk, High-Reward Strategy

When Joel Edmundson was signed as a free agent in the offseason, plenty of questions arose about the player's acquisition and the price he fetched. For $3.85 Million, it felt as if the Kings were taking a massive risk.

Does the pickup feel more like a risk or a pickup of surplus value this late into the season? It feels surplus-esque. With Drew Doughty's return and Mikey Anderson's recovery, Edmundson has been paired with the longstanding rearguard in Doughty despite being pegged as the anchor for the third defensive pair all year.

Edmundson had previously been paired with Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence for most of the year, adding stability to a pairing that typically gets the most flak for their overall play. During that time, he has put together his second-best statistical season and is on the path to being the best. In 51 games, the rugged defenseman collected five goals and nine assists for 14 points as a stellar +20. With his recent performance, he's at his highest average time on ice in his career, 20:53. He's been called upon for a considerable role upgrade, and he's been quick to adapt.

As a partner to Doughty, he was second on the team in total ice time in the recent game against the Vegas Golden Knights, second to his partner with 22:31. In 16:13 together at even strength via NST, the duo held a 58.06% Corsi and a 57.89% Fenwick. They outshot, outscored, and out-chanced the opposition while they were on the ice: 6-4, 1-0, and 8-4, respectively. Noted, though, that they were out-chanced high danger 3-1.

With Edmundson's rise, the management has solidified its top four pairings. They trust Jacob Moverare to handle minutes, albeit sheltered, with Spence. Brandt Clarke has become the seventh defenseman. The Kings are not concerned that Clarke is not getting the exposure that is rendered and required for a future number-one defenseman. Instead, they are focused on pairings that best execute the LA Kings-formulated brand of hockey.

That's just it; Edmundson represents the type of top-four players needed for the Kings to execute their schema. In all fairness, he's been perfect for the role given despite some red flags and clear-cut trepidation over his signing. Those have dissipated throughout the season, with the numbers he's produced and the stability he's brought to the backend. Edmundson has also boosted the penalty kill, which was an elite squad last year, and while they started flat this year, they've seen a meteoric rise to the top five in the league.

Hate it or love it, as this is a player that will be here until 2027-28, when he is 35 years old. I doubt he will maintain the same longevity as Anze Kopitar or Doughty, especially considering his injury history and style of play. In the meantime, just like the Phillip Danault free agency signing, it represents a front-loaded contract in terms of expectations, with the later years of each player's contract representing precarious waters.

Edmundson has been a boon for these Kings but also represents a trend of blocking out spots (limiting opportunities) for a crop of players the franchise drafted and cultivated under Rob Blake to take the reins and be impact players. Suppose Vladislav Gavrikov resigns in the offseason (which should be a current and offseason priority); in that case, the top four spots are realistically set for the foreseeable future, or perhaps there will be a single vacancy if they rotate Edmundson back to the third pair.

Well, Spence and Clarke enjoy the back seat while these vets thrive in the short term. It is very unclear whether this can be maintained in the long term.

The organization established a win-now policy, and with plenty of home games ahead and an approaching upgrade deadline, the franchise finds itself riding a very fine line with Edmundson and company.