It would be a great problem for the Kings to have and give them plenty of options moving forward.
Todd McLellan has frequently said that players shouldn't lose their spots on a roster because of things that are out of their control like injuries.
While that might be true in theory, we all know that players lose their spots because of injury all the time and Los Angeles Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson might be the latest victim of that truth.
Now, when I say that Arvidsson might lose his spot, that doesn't mean he'll be a healthy scratch at any point or that Rob Blake will look to trade him soon.
But in a contract year at 30 years old with a history of injury, this could be a major factor in Blake potentially letting Arvidsson walk this summer.
Arvidsson has been fantastic since joining the team in 2021. He's been one of the best forwards on the team and one of the best shot-creators in hockey, so it wouldn't be easy replacing him.
The Kings might not be able to replace him with an equal caliber of player, however, they'll get a good look at life without Arvidsson over the next few weeks.
This is where a few young players factor in, namely Alex Laferriere.
Laferriere has been a major standout early in the season and already looks to be an impactful NHL player. Is he an equal player to Arvidsson? No, absolutely not. But he doesn't need to be right now.
If the Kings can be confident that Laferriere can bring even a similar impact, especially after a year of professional hockey under his belt, replacing Arvidsson with Laferriere next summer makes a lot of sense.
The Kings would clear out significant cap replacing Arvidsson's $4.25 million cap hit with Laferriere's $875,000 hit. Cap the Kings will desperately need next summer.
Yes, the cap will go up and Anze Kopitar's hit will come down. But the Kings have to re-sign Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev and will likely push Cam Talbot's $1 million bonus into next season.
They won't be flush with cash next summer and need to find savings where they can. That's where this becomes a real possibility and why this trial run with Laferriere in Arvidsson's spot could be so important.
It will give the Kings a sense of what life after Arvidsson will look like with this roster and inform them if they have a ready-made replacement for him on an entry-level deal.
As I said, I think there's almost no chance Arvidsson losses his spot in the immediate future. But what if Arvidsson misses 15 games and Laferriere posts 10 points in that time frame?
Of course, doing it over 15 games and doing it over 82 games and into the postseason are very different things. But how desperately does Blake want to free up space?
He said in a press conference earlier this week that they don't view trades as an option to create cap space. Blake also said Cal Petersen would be on the NHL roster to start the season just a few weeks before trading him to the Philadelphia Flyers.
However unlikely it is that Laferriere will take Arvidsson's spot this season, a strong performance from him in the next few weeks could set the stage for him to take that spot long-term.
It would be a great problem for the Kings to have and give them plenty of options moving forward.