The Los Angeles Kings haven't gotten much love for their off-season moves, but ESPN is a little higher on them than others.
Okay, a B- isn't necessarily a glowing review, but it's better than a lot of outlets who grade them as having one of the worst off-seasons in hockey.
There are 12 teams with a worse off-season than the Kings according to ESPN and three teams with the same B- grade.
The most interesting comment from the piece is, " Needs were met and voids were addressed. But, it must lead to the Kings advancing to the second round."
I have a feeling some fans would disagree with the idea that LA met their needs and addressed their voids.
I'd argue it's a 50/50. The Kings did need a top-six forward who they didn't add.
The seemed to be confident one of Tanner Jeannot, Warren Foegele or Alex Laferriere will answer that question, but I'm not convinced.
Where they did fill needs is in adding physicality and size.
The Kings have been pushed around in past series and won't run into that problem moving forward.
From that perspective, I agree with ESPN. They addressed a need or two, but not all of their needs.
A B- is probably fair as a ranking for their off-season though.
The lack of a top six forward is a problem, but Jeannot and Foegele were good additions.
Losing Viktor Arvidsson and Matt Roy were tough losses but necessary ones.
Roy deserved the contract he received but it didn't make sense for LA to give him that.
Arvidsson's injury history made bringing him back tough, especially with young players ready to step into a bigger role.
While those moves can be seen as a negative in isolation, they were necessary and I wouldn't factor them into a 'bad' off-season.
The Joel Edmundson contract is the one that most people focus on as the problem move which makes the off-season so bad.
Yes, it isn't a great contract and I doubt it ages well, however, I don't think it ruins their off-season alone.
Are the Kings better, maybe not. But the losses they dealt with were necessary ones and they did fill a need in their lineup.
Not amazing, but not disastrous, making a B- a fair grade.