How will the moves made pay off for LA?
Sometimes front offices will decide that it’s time to stop playing things safe, and they make some decisions that could be seen as boom or bust. It’s always a risk to any move a team makes, but obviously, some hold more than others. But when your team hasn’t won a playoff series since 2014, and you play in a city that demands excellence from their sports teams, you have to take more risks.
That is exactly the situation that Los Angeles Kings General Manager Rob Blake was in as the Kings' offseason started.
The Kings have made some moves early in the offseason that many have seen as bold. But one NHL writer has listed Los Angeles as one of the losers of the offseason. Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report isn’t fully buying the moves made by Los Angeles because of how risky they could turn out to be.
"The Los Angeles Kings' offseason is one to put a star on to remember everything that went down depending on how things turn out because they made bold moves and going bold means you either wind up looking like a genius or a fool."
Blake made a splash early on, executing a sign-and-trade deal for star center Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets. The team signed Dubois to an eight-year extension, and the team is expecting him to take over as their number-one center at some point. They need him to be the star that he can be; otherwise, the deal they gave him will look awful.
Another risky signing that Blake made was grabbing former Ottawa Senators goalie Cam Talbot. This one isn't as dire because it's just a one-year contract, but the team is banking on Talbot to regain some of his form from a few years ago.
Talbot struggled last season to the tune of a 17-14-2 record with a 2.93 goals against average and a .898 save percentage during his time with the Senators. Blake is hoping that reuniting Talbot with head coach Todd McLellan will allow him to get back on track. Talbot saw some of his best years under McLellan during their time together in Edmonton.
These are just some of the moves that the Kings have made. LA has had an interesting offseason. While it looks promising, bold doesn't always mean it will be good, and if the team doesn't make major improvements, these moves will be carefully looked at under a microscope next offseason.
"These bold moves better pay off or else the 2023 summer will have bad memories attached to it."