Kings' Need to Target Goaltending This Summer
Kings' Need to Target Goaltending This Summer
The Los Angeles Kings are a good young team that has the same issue at hand as most of the NHL: the salary cap.
When it comes to the Kings, GM Rob Blake has built a team that can compete for many years, but like other NHL teams, it seems that goaltending wasn't the top priority. Without good goaltending, teams typically don't reach their full potential, and their window to win shrinks.
At the start of the season the tandem of Cam Talbot and Phoenix Copley had a lot of potential to win the necessary amount of games to help clinch them a playoff berth for the third straight season. However, there were questions about whether or not it would be good enough to help them go on a long playoff run.
Well, after Copley went down with a season-ending injury and Talbot's play dropped off significantly, many people wondered if their goaltending was even good enough to get them into the playoffs. We now know that it was because they clinched their playoff berth on April 11 against the Calgary Flames.
If the Kings have an early exit from the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, there will be a lot of questions surrounding what to do between the pipes. It's not for a lack of trying; there were reports just after the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline that the Kings were trying to acquire Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins. However, he had trade protection and was able to veto the deal.
Regardless, Blake and his staff are going to need to target a goalie this off-season. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options on the open market; the two goalies with the most wins that are UFA's are Talbot and Ilya Samsonov. While Samsonov could be a fit with the Kings and they could agree on a deal with term, they may also look at the trade market again.
If the Kings get knocked out in the first round, they will need to make a splash to help shake up the team and keep the fans engaged. Which is why Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames could be an option. He controls where he ends up, which could be a bit more difficult to get the deal done. But the Kings do have some younger players with high upside in their system that could get the deal across the finish line as long as Markstrom does agree.
A few other names that could fit and are on teams that could look to move on from them are Jordan Binnington from the St. Louis Blues. Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins and John Gibson from the Kings' rival Anaheim Ducks.
All in all, the Kings need goaltending help, and if they don't want their window to win, Blake is going to need to work the phones this summer.