Prospect Info: 95th Overall Jordan Spence Defence

[Raccoon Jesus]

Spence is two years too young to have free reign to do what he wants with no repercussions, whether they re-sign Roy or not they're going to ship him off for a 26+ year old who is objectively worse.

 

[kingsfan28]

Spence is two years too young to have free reign to do what he wants with no repercussions, whether they re-sign Roy or not they're going to ship him off for a 26+ year old who is objectively worse.

what if its part a deal that involves Chychrun?

 

[Surf Nutz]

what if its part a deal that involves Chychrun?

Chycrun, bleck!
Agree Spence's days may be numbered if they extend Roy.
I mean $5.5 or less and Roy may be worthwhile but I don't know if Blake can pinch that off.
He's got FA's up the yin yang.
Usually the cap increase is minimal but it be a great year for it to expand.
Even if the do keep Roy, Blake might keep Clarkie in the AHL and shuffle him up if the Kings have injuries on D.
Especially with Spence and Moverare no longer waiver exempt.
Clarke needs to get bigger, stronger and better defensively.
I know that is another unpopular take so no offense to the Clarke fan train.
He is an offensive savant.

 

[Nasti]

If they keep Roy he will be.

And that would be idiotic. So it’ll probably happen.

 

[AbsentMojo]

what if its part a deal that involves Chychrun?

That and Roy at 5.5m would put the Kings D corps budget at like 33mil for next season prob highest in the league by a wide margin. E.g. Edm, Avs and Rangers are at ~27m, Florida, TB at ~21m, Car, Vgk at ~30m. You have to assume QB is getting like a 7m x 8... and even with cap going up, RV walking and saving 3m on Kopi, its very tight for the forwards since you still need to replace RV with a cheaper FA. And of course that assumes no increase in budget for goaltending which is currently at 2.5mil. But after watching Blake blow out the budget with the PLD move, anything is possible assuming he's still around.

 

[Surf Nutz]

That and Roy at 5.5m would put the Kings D corps budget at like 33mil for next season prob highest in the league by a wide margin. E.g. Edm, Avs and Rangers are at ~27m, Florida, TB at ~21m, Car, Vgk at ~30m. You have to assume QB is getting like a 7m x 8... and even with cap going up, RV walking and saving 3m on Kopi, its very tight for the forwards since you still need to replace RV with a cheaper FA. And of course that assumes no increase in budget for goaltending which is currently at 2.5mil. But after watching Blake blow out the budget with the PLD move, anything is possible assuming he's still around.

I believe QB gets a bridge for less and Blake tries to resign Roy , as he indicated.

The better move would have been to get rid of Roy and open up space for BC and JS.

But the clock is ticking down on Blake til the end of next season.

He and the Kings are still all in.

 

[Herby]

I believe QB gets a bridge for less and Blake tries to resign Roy , as he indicated.

The better move would have been to get rid of Roy and open up space for BC and JS.

But the clock is ticking down on Blake til the end of next season.

He and the Kings are still all in.

Can anyone give a reason why Byfield would do a bridge deal when basically every other similar caliber player of his age has done the 7 or 8 year deal?

The one who didn't (Zegras) is having a terrible year, and should be a warning sign for any player/agent who would consider not getting he bigger guaranteed deal and then still being able to sign another big deal around age 30 if their career goes as expected.

Roy absolutely should have been traded for a 1st rounder at this years deadline, but it was unrealistic to expect a GM who's job is probably on the line to do a logical move for the future.

 

[kilowatt]

Can anyone give a reason why Byfield would do a bridge deal when basically every other similar caliber player of his age has done the 7 or 8 year deal?

The one who didn't (Zegras) is having a terrible year, and should be a warning sign for any player/agent who would consider not getting he bigger guaranteed deal and then still being able to sign another big deal around age 30 if their career goes as expected.

The only reason would be if LA plays hardball, but I think Byfield’s is eligible for an offer sheet and if Blake was dumb enough to balk at a long-term extension for our best player he should be fired.

Then again, we’ll see what happens. He used his Byfield money on Dubois.

 

[AbsentMojo]

I believe QB gets a bridge for less and Blake tries to resign Roy , as he indicated.

The better move would have been to get rid of Roy and open up space for BC and JS.

But the clock is ticking down on Blake til the end of next season.

He and the Kings are still all in.

The inactivity at the deadline inclines me to think Blake is toast at the end of the season. As you mentioned moving Roy was the most logical thing to do since they are cap strapped and he has 2 cheap RD ready to contribute. If he keeps Roy he would have to trade Spence and then he has much less $$ to work with to sign Byfield. A bridge deal would be short sighted when QB has shown this season he is a key piece in the future of the franchise... even if its a bridge deal, he would most likely get more than Zegras - lets say 6.5m for 3 years.. not much of an AAV savings vs the 8 yr.

 

[BaileyFan]

The only reason would be if LA plays hardball, but I think Byfield’s is eligible for an offer sheet and if Blake was dumb enough to balk at a long-term extension for our best player he should be fired.

Then again, we’ll see what happens. He used his Byfield money on Dubois.

Haha playing hardball with the best player on the team after the last few years of handing UFA eligible players everything they wanted would be something else. But since that’s pretty much the only way to re-sign Roy and they seem serious about that I’d say it’s more likely than not that it happens.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

How DARE a 21 year old ask for a reasonable deal

Doesn't he know we have veterans to overpay

 

[All The Kings Men]

Can anyone give a reason why Byfield would do a bridge deal when basically every other similar caliber player of his age has done the 7 or 8 year deal?

Because if he takes a bridge deal and continues to progress and put up steadily increasing numbers he gets closer to a truly absurd contract much sooner.

Yes he would be gambling with his health and yes there's a perfectly reasonable argument for why he and his agent might want a max length deal but it's really not that outrageous to suggest that he might ask for or take a 2 or 3 year "bridge"deal.

 

[King'sPawn]

Can anyone give a reason why Byfield would do a bridge deal when basically every other similar caliber player of his age has done the 7 or 8 year deal?

With his production, his comps are middling. Like $4-5. So he may bet on himself putting up better numbers.

 

[bland]

With his production, his comps are middling. Like $4-5. So he may bet on himself putting up better numbers.

This is a break through year. A breakout year is next on the checklist. That may not be immediate either. Any kind of long-term deal here this summer is riskier for both sides than a respectable bridge. If the Kings have to pay a higher price in a few years, that is perfectly fine because Byfield will have earned it.

 

[BaileyFan]

How DARE a 21 year old ask for a reasonable deal

Doesn't he know we have veterans to overpay

Blake’s gonna teach Byfield the lesson that it is not okay to be an RFA with no arb rights.

 

[GameNight]

Don't the Kings need Byfield to take a bridge deal?

I'm bullish on Byfield and with the Cap due for large increases, I predict $100M over 8 years for the start of '26-'27 and Kopitar retiring. It will be the perfect storm for him.

"Oh so now, you want ME to be the face of the franchise?"

 

[Kudelski37]

Haha playing hardball with the best player on the team after the last few years of handing UFA eligible players everything they wanted would be something else. But since that’s pretty much the only way to re-sign Roy and they seem serious about that I’d say it’s more likely than not that it happens.

Maybe the Kings have already factored in buying out PLD for cap calculations? That frees up ~7 million aav for each of the next two seasons, then Kopitar's contract ends freeing up 7 million/year.

The smart move would have been trading Roy no later than the TDL, but that has passed.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Signing Byfield to a bridge deal in order to re-sign Roy at $5.5 million for the next 3-5 years would be veryyyyy questionable IMO.

I like Roy and I know the Kings defense gets worse when/if he leaves but re-signing him basically commits the Kings to Doughty, Anderson, and Roy in the top 4 for the next 3-4 years which doesn't exactly scream 'championship D core'.

They definitely should've traded him at the deadline, as many of us have been saying for weeks now - But I guess that ship has sailed.

Let him walk, prioritize locking Byfield up long term (if you sign him to a 3 year bridge deal you better be ready to write him a blank check when that contract is done), and focus on reshaping the rest of the roster.

Let Spence play - analytically he's been in elite company for most of the season - Lately his game has fallen off a bit but that's what happens when you take a young player and jerk him in and out of the lineup for 30+ games. They lose confidence and lose consistency in their performance because they no longer see consistent ice time.

Also let Clarke play. That's the other thing with re-signing Roy to a 3- year deal in the $5 million range.... It's not just a blocker to Spence, it's a blocker to Clarke too. Even if Spence is traded - Do we really think the Kings are going to be able to give Clarke decent ice time if they're paying Roy $5m a year and Doughty $11m???? No shot. Roy and Doughty will get all the ice time while Clarke/Spence get the scraps. Hard pass.

With Roy gone you can at least see what you have with Spence and Clarke.

Edit: I'm not super opposed to signing Byfield to a bridge deal in general - Mainly just against it if its done in order to be able to sign Roy. That and I truly think Byfield will be a top 10 player in the NHL 2-3 years from now, so my preference would be to lock him up long term so he's on a really good deal when that happens vs needing to pay him $12 million a year.

 

[Surf Nutz]

The inactivity at the deadline inclines me to think Blake is toast at the end of the season. As you mentioned moving Roy was the most logical thing to do since they are cap strapped and he has 2 cheap RD ready to contribute. If he keeps Roy he would have to trade Spence and then he has much less $$ to work with to sign Byfield. A bridge deal would be short sighted when QB has shown this season he is a key piece in the future of the franchise... even if its a bridge deal, he would most likely get more than Zegras - lets say 6.5m for 3 years.. not much of an AAV savings vs the 8 yr.

Hey Mojo, that's one way to line up the dominoes .

My take is they will let Blake complete his contract til the end of next season before they decide to keep him or not.

This was reinforced recently with the slate of injuries before the deadline impacting his ability to do much on the surface anyway.

It's really the PLD contract putting him up against the cap.

Also he made the needed move and got ready of his awful hire in MacLlelan.
Hiller seems to have fostered improvement, although the jury is still out.

The organization would be better served by signing Byfield to a contract long term or until his last RFA year.

But they have the stated Roy resign attempt and so many other RFA's to sign and holes to fill by any UFA's that leave under the PLD strapped budget.

Salary cap adjustments always seem to underwhelm and in some non playoff markets, I see a lot of empty seats.

Inflation is killing luxury expense businesses on top of that.

It's pretty complicated, and would be tough to throw a new GM into all that.

You probably want a guy that has been assessing what he has and presumably knows his player and has contingency plans.

But it could go your way, but I don't think so.

 

[YP44]

Spence's defensive play has been really good the last month or so.

 

[kinghock]

Spence's defensive play has been really good the last month or so.

I do not agree with this statement…

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Roy absolutely should have been traded for a 1st rounder at this years deadline, but it was unrealistic to expect a GM who's job is probably on the line to do a logical move for the future.

I constantly read this but this doesn’t have anything to do with Blake’s job or this being logical.

I cant recall a single time the last two decades that a playoff team trades away one of their best defensemen around the trade deadline just because its better for the franchise long term.

I am not a Blake fan but this man must do things that no other GM is doing either.

 

[Schmooley]

I constantly read this but this doesn’t have anything to do with Blake’s job or this being logical.

I cant recall a single time the last two decades that a playoff team trades away one of their best defensemen around the trade deadline just because its better for the franchise long term.

I am not a Blake fan but this man must do things that no other GM is doing either.

LA Kings did it when they traded Jack Johnson.
Avalanche just traded Byram. Im sure there are more examples.

 

[King'sPawn]

LA Kings did it when they traded Jack Johnson.
Avalanche just traded Byram. Im sure there are more examples.

Islanders traded Toews.

Ducks traded Drysdale.

Blue Jackets traded Gavrikov

 

[Schmooley]

Islanders traded Toews.

Ducks traded Drysdale.

Blue Jackets traded Gavrikov

Teams also trade important forwards around the deadline. Pens are still in the race and traded Guentzel. Caps traded Mantha. Nashville traded Trenin.
Its just a matter of being realistic where your team is at and making moves accordingly especially if you will lose the player for nothing.
We can also add Philly trading Walker while in the playoff race.