The Los Angeles Kings freed cap space in a three-team trade on Tuesday and re-signed Vladislav Gavrikov on Wednesday. GM Rob Blake's savviness is a promising sight for Kings fans, writes Adam Proteau.
Rob Blake has never been about the sizzle as an NHL GM, just as he acted as an NHL star defenseman. He’s always been all about the steak.
That was underscored Tuesday and Wednesday, with Blake making a couple of savvy moves to keep his Los Angeles Kings strong and steady as they try to move up the competitive ladder in hockey’s top league.
On Tuesday, Blake helped facilitate a three-way trade involving the Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers, in what, for LA, was primarily a salary cap-freeing move. In essence, Blake surrendered a second-round draft pick in 2024, Helge Grans and veteran defenseman Sean Walker to Philly in exchange for getting out from under the massive contract for goalie Cal Petersen.
As per CapFriendly, the Kings also had to retain approximately $2.025 million of defenseman Ivan Provorov's salary to make the trade feasible for the Flyers and Blue Jackets, but in the macro look at the trade, LA cleared out $5.625 million in cap space.
That sure beats the Kings having to deal with the albatross of Petersen’s current contract, which lasts for two more years at a $5-million cap hit. That move also helped free up sufficient cap space to bring back veteran defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on a two-year contract extension worth $5.875 million annually, one day after the three-way trade.
The 27-year-old Gavrikov was a trade deadline acquisition of Blake’s this past season, and the GM gave up a decent amount on top of goalie Jonathan Quick – a first-round pick in this summer’s NHL draft and a third-rounder in 2024 for him and younger netminder Joonas Korpisalo – so you know Blake didn’t want to see Gavrikov leave as a UFA this off-season. With him staying, the Kings keep someone with a physical edge many thought they lacked before Gavrikov's arrival.
It’s true the Kings still have approximately $7.3 million in cap space, but Los Angeles only has 17 players under contract, and they still have to pay RFA forward Gabe Vilardi – a blossoming star who will get a significant raise on the $825,000 he earned in 2022-23 – as well as a second NHL-caliber goaltender. So that cap space is going to dry up rather quickly, and Blake moved as fast as he could to get out ahead of the market and solidify his lineup.
Blake has been Kings GM for six years now, and although LA hasn’t made it out of the first round in any of those six seasons, there’s not the sense of dire pressure many of his colleagues would be facing in that span of time on the job. That’s because people can see the Kings are making progress as a group, transitioning from the glory years of 2012 to 2014 to a new era with young players. It’s certainly not an easy transition for any team to make, but Los Angeles is on the precipice of establishing itself as a perennial Stanley Cup playoff contender.
Getting there likely will take a few more trades and free-agent signings by the Kings, but Blake has the full buy-in of ownership to spend to the cap ceiling. These latest moves show Blake also has the fearlessness to be creative in navigating the Kings’ cap realities. He’s willing to work with any of his colleagues to get flexible under the cap and set his team up for annual success.
That’s why LA is a team to keep your eye on in the coming weeks. We don’t believe Blake is done remodelling his roster. He may not make earth-shattering moves before next season begins, but the Kings don’t need earth-shattering moves. A tweak here and there, and Los Angeles could go on a deep playoff run. And Blake’s quiet resolve, focus and determination will then be rewarded.