Things are moving incredibly fast on day one of NHL free agency and the Los Angeles Kings have been left behind.
Some of the names that had been linked to the Kings; Steven Stamkos, Tyler Toffoli, Brendan Dillon and Jake Debrusk have all been signed to big contracts elsewhere.
Some of the more speculative names like Jonathan Marchessault, Tyler Bertuzzi and Brady Sjkei are all off the market too.
The Kings don't have many options now and could be bargain bin shopping over the next 24 hours to add a middle-six forward.
Jeff Skinner is available at the time of writing but who knows if LA sees the defensively suspect forward as a fit for them.
A lot of Kings fans are upset in the immediate aftermath of LA staying quiet. Fans wanted to see Blake get aggressive and go after a big name or two.
I get it, but the Kings have done well to stand pat here.
They can't afford Stamkos at $8 million, Marchessault and Toffoli signed for too long, as did Debrusk.
I know it's tough seeing deals the Kings could've made get signed elsewhere, but it's always good to take a step back and wonder if the Kings should've made them.
The Kings still need to lock Quinton Byfield and Jordan Spence down and shouldn't be making a big commitment to anyone without those deals in place.
A top-six forward is still needed, and arguably an LD3, but the Kings can't rush into anything.
Big game hunting is fun but sometimes you give up a king's ransom for Pierre-Luc Dubois only to trade him in a year with that method.
As I've said many times this summer, we have to wait until all the business is done before making sweeping judgments.
It's disappointing to see so many big names sign elsewhere, but there are still plenty of possibilities for LA.