Outside of Quinton Byfield, the biggest contract decision for Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake is what to do about Matt Roy.

According to recent reports, the Kings and Roy's camp are set to discuss his next contract soon.

Roy's been a steady presence and anchor on the Kings' second pair for a while and has earned himself a big pay raise.

The Kings are undeniably a better team with Roy.

However, they should let him walk and not put much effort into re-signing him.

Of course, the Kings shouldn't completely shut the door, maybe Roy is willing to take a very team-friendly deal but that feels unlikely.

Current projections on Roy from different sites like The Athletic, Evolving Hockey, etc. Have Roy's next contract in the high $5 million-low $6 million range, at 4-5 years of term.

The Kings shouldn't even consider that contract for Roy. 

Not that Roy isn't worth that and shouldn't get it somewhere else, but the Kings can't commit that money to Roy.

Frankly, they can't even get close to that. I've seen some people float around the idea that he should be re-signed if the Kings can get him down to $5 million and I disagree.

Refusing to trust younger players has put the Kings in the position they're in now, a middling team that can make the playoffs and get knocked out early.

Doubling down on that method, re-signing Roy at the cost of Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke's future is foolish.

You aren't re-signing Roy to be a third-pair defenseman at any point, meaning you're relegating Clarke to a third-pair role or a move to the left during Roy's contract.

Or you're paying a third-pair Roy $5+ million a year, neither of which are viable options.

I've also seen some people suggest bringing Roy back and shifting him to the left, and I'm sure he could do it, but that still feels like a mistake.

One, you'd be paying either Roy or Vladislav Gavrikov a lot of money to play on the third pair next season. Two, at that price you could get a good left-shot defenseman to play their natural side.

Paying Roy a big contract to play out of position just doesn't make sense.

Perhaps more than the impact that move could have on the team's future, the impact on the present might be even worse. 

The Kings currently have $19 million in cap space but need to re-sign Quinton Byfield and replace four other forward spots.

If they re-sign Roy at his projected price, even on the low end, they'll be looking at around $9 million to fill out the forwards, and crucially, to get a starting goalie.

If the options are, to re-sign Roy at the expense of Clarke or Spence and getting a true starter, not re-signing him is the only option.

Maybe you re-sign Roy and package Spence to get that starter. The problem is, with what money?

I'm sure Blake would love to bring Roy back, but he can't, it would not be a sensible move from him.

Roy's a solid second-pair defenseman who deserves his payday, but it can't be in Los Angeles.

The Kings have too many other holes to fill and not enough money. Not to mention the need to get Clarke and Spence a bigger role.

This all comes back to the same conversation about not trading Roy at the deadline last season.

The Kings must be honest about where they are as a team. Re-signing Roy would guarantee they run it back with nearly the same roster and budget goaltending last season and they know that won't work.

They can't pretend they're a Cup contender and that Roy is the piece that will keep them in that window.

Their defense might regress a bit next season with Clarke or Spence taking Roy's spot and that's okay, the long-term payoff is worth it. 

I'm also not convinced it will be a massive drop-off between Roy and whoever takes his spot between Clarke and Spence.

Let Roy walk and hand over some responsibility to younger players.