The Los Angeles Kings had a summer that's received far more criticism than praise, however, a recent article at The Athletic sheds some positive light on their current roster.
In an article grading contract efficiency, the Kings ranked 11th league-wide, carried by a very efficient forward group.
The Quinton Byfield contract, in particular, is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Byfield's contract is given an A+ grade, and is expected to bring a surplus value of $19.8 million across his contract.
He's got one of the best contracts in hockey already and could further out perform it this projection reflects that.
Kevin Fiala is one of the other A-level contracts for LA, an A- who's expected to provide $10 million in surplus value.
Fiala's been an offensive dynamo since coming to LA, so it's not too surprising he's outperforming his contract, especially with the cap going up.
His penalties and inconsistent defensive play are a slight concern but the pure offense he provides outweighs it, at least in this projection.
The third A-level contract up front is for Trevor Moore, who's expected to provide $9 million in surplus value.
A lot of that will rely on Moore continuing to be a 30-goal scorer moving forward. I'm not as confident in that happening, but if it does, he'll heavily outperform his current contract.
Adrian Kempe, Alex Turcotte, Anze Kopitar and Warren Foegele round-out LAs B-graded forwards.
I'd flip Kempe and Moore's grade, but I get why it is how it is.
If Kempe keeps his overall game and goes back to being a 30-goal scorer next season he'll likely climb into an A grade.
Turcotte is an interesting one to sit in the 'B' category as a player who hasn't fully established themselves in the league.
This grades out Foegele as a quality signing, which tracks with the 'eye test'.
Kopitar at a B feels fair. He's still a quality player, but the overall production and underlying numbers have slowed.
The big surprise is Phil Danault sitting at a C+. This is purely based on numbers so I don't criticize the author for how this came out, but that is wrong.
Even if he moves into a more true 3C role next season, Danault will provide solid value on his contract.
Tanner Jeannot as a C+ makes sense. I like the player and what he brings but he is overpaid a bit.
Trevor Lewis at a C+ also feels fair. Samuel Fagemo features at a C+ grade, but as someone with fewer than 20 games in the NHL you can swap him with Alex Laferriere who probably comes in at a similar value, maybe a little better.
Akil Thomas also doesn't feature despite him likely making the roster next season.
Overall the Kings don't have an albatrosses up front and have a few contracts providing incredible value, most notably Byfield's contract.