Entering the February game against Buffalo, the Kings ranked 25th in the league in hits. They are a physical team in terms of their overall battle element, but they need players who regularly finish their checks. One of those regulars who acts as the most physical forward is Carl Grundstrom. Grundstrom left the game in Buffalo due to a lower-body injury and is back in LA for assessment.
Grundstrom has been assigned to Long Term Injury Reserve and will miss at least ten games. It is helpful that it freed up some cap space to activate veteran forward Viktor Arvidsson. It is possibly degrading to know that Andreas Englund has now solidified his hold over the LD3 spot in the lineup.
As mentioned in a past article, Todd McLellan described Englund as a shepherd for the group. He is the most physical King's defenseman and will willingly drop gloves to protect his teammates. That trait is something that has always been coveted on an NHL roster.
The fighting or 'enforcer' trait has slowly ebbed into more of a player who can drop the mitts but retains a fair amount of skill in their game. The John Scott's of the league have dissipated into redundancy to effect.
The issue is that Englund has been struggling, much like the team. He has been more of a liability on the 3rd pair, and as previously covered, Jacob Moverare has been a stalwart defender who needs more time in the NHL. The Grundstrom injury all but alleviates the call-up of Moverare since the Kings cannot afford to lose their 'shepherd' and most physical player in their lineup.
While Arthur Kaliyev watches from the press box, it'll be curious to see what the move is with him. As the Sabers pounded the Kings on Tuesday, an aforementioned Jordan Greenway racked up the points for Buffalo. Greenway would be an excellent addition to the bottom six, or at least a Greenway type of player to add a physical element, skill, and the willingness to drop the gloves if called upon.
The Arvidsson activation involves a predicament of cap space to pull off such a move. Kaliyev doesn't have a salary that puts the Kings in a position to deal without absorbing more cost on the receiving end. The Kings have a projected cap space just shy of 2K per CapFriendly.
As Kaliyev only makes 894k, there must be some salary retention from a potential trading partner. As the Kings have limited options and a lack of overall flexibility, solving some glaring problems becomes ever more complex.
Englund will continue to play his role as the shepherd, and if he follows the trend of his last 18 games, he will be struggling to maintain the pace this team needs to be successful again.
The Kings are in an obscure position at this point in the season. Their weaknesses have unraveled right before their eyes. What is clear is that Englund has become a liability holding down the third pair, and on the road, without matchups, this weakness is only exaggerated.
Englund is safe for now, with Grundstrom out. However, management should work on the phones and their balance sheet to determine how to improve at LD3. Either utilize an internal player who has been waiting years for a full-time role or go out and make a deal work.
The bleeding has to stop at some point.