It's all about potential

The Kings, who drafted Swedish forward Elton Hermansson with the 19th pick in the first round on Friday, filled out their shopping list on Saturday:

Speaking to the media via Zoom on Friday, Kings general manager Ken Holland had repeated that offense will be a priority under new coach Peter Laviolette.. Selecting Hermansson, Holland said, “is one of those decisions that hopefully really highly impacts this team down the road.”

According to team insider Zach Dooley, all of Kings’ draft picks are likely to participate in development camp, which starts Monday and will run through Thursday in El Segundo.

The Ducks, who made a splash on Friday when general manager Pat Verbeek cleverly traded them into two solid first-round picks and a second-rounder, selected seven players in the final six rounds. That includes a sixth-round pick they acquired by trading the rights to free agent defenseman John Carlson to the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes for that pick and a defense prospect, Kyle Masters. The Hurricanes have exclusive rights to negotiate with Carlson, who is expected to take advantage of unrestricted free agency when the market opens next Wednesday. He’s likely to return back East. At least Verbeek got something for Carlson rather than having Carlson walk away without any return for the Ducks, who have dazzling, young talent up front but still need some stability and upgrades on defense.

Looking at the Ducks’ second-round selections, Kurtz, a 6-foot-3, 194-pound defenseman from Minnesota, has committed to playing for the University of Wisconsin next season. Preston, who will be 18 next month, is considered a swift skater and creative winger who has been inconsistent offensively for Vancouver of the Western Hockey League but was well worth a second-round pick. Here’s a link to more information on the Ducks’ selections.

Looking at the Kings’ second-round picks, forward Liam Lefebvre, 19, is considered to have good checking skills but limited offensive potential, though he scored 32 goals for Rimouski and Chicoutimi of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League last season and was part of Chicoutimi’s Memorial Cup-winning roster. Slovakian defenseman Adam Goljer was projected to go in the late 20s and early 30s by several scouting services. He’s big, at 6-foot-2, and he shoots right-handed, which is always desirable, but he’s considered a raw talent rather than polished. The Kings needed to replenish a weak prospect stockpile, and only time will tell if the players they picked Friday and Saturday will make a significant difference.

After the first round or two, it’s generally a game of educated guessing to project the potential of teenagers who could still be growing or adding muscle or finding their footing. A kid who has cruised to the top on sheer skill so far may have to learn to work harder as he moves to the next level. Some players might have peaked already; some might be late bloomers. That element of mystery is part of the fun of following the draft every year.

Sticking with the Kings for a bit, Holland addressed a variety of topics during a video call with reporters on Friday (my invitation apparently got lost in the email ether, so here’s a link I used to catch up on the entire session).

Maybe the most interesting part was Holland’s disclosure that he and veteran defenseman Drew Doughty, who has one season remaining on his 11-year, $88-million contract, had agreed not to come up with an extension before next season. While it’s possible they may resume talks during next season, Holland said he’s not worried that Doughty will ask out. “It’s not like I’m worried he’s going to hit the open market, he’s going to leave,” Holland said.

Holland added he’s so sure Doughty will finish his career with the Kings that he told Doughty not to bother to submit a list of teams he’d decline to join, as is Doughty’s right in his contract, “unless we both decide something needs to happen.”

Holland added, “He loves it here. He wants to be here. We both agreed that let’s see where he’s at. Let’s see where the team’s at a year from now. His desire is to finish as an L.A. King and only put on one team’s jersey. Certainly that’s something I’d like to have happen. But let’s see where he’s at and let’s see where we’re at.”

That actually makes sense. Even with the salary cap climbing steadily, why saddle yourself with a big contract for a player who was among the NHL’s best when he was in his prime but is well past that peak now? “He’s 37 years old and I don’t want to underpay him and I don’t want to overpay him,” Holland said.

Brandt Clarke is the heir apparent to Doughty as the leader of the defense and is the offensive catalyst the Kings will need in order to have much success playing the attacking style that Laviolette wants to install. Asked about the middling length of Clarke’s new contract (five years, $37 million, with an average annual value of $7.4 million), Holland said the two sides had talked about terms ranging from two to eight years before landing where they did.

“On a five-year deal, we get ‘em done. We get him into the lineup,” Holland said. “And the next time he comes out [to free agency] it’ll be a $130 to $135 million cap, so there will be lots of money. He loves it here and I know he’s excited to be here. We’ll worry about the next contract in five years.”

By then, Clarke will be 28 and likely still at the top of his game, positioning himself for an even bigger payday.

Holland also said he had prioritized adding a center and a mobile defenseman, though the Kings are hardly alone in having that wish list and they have fewer assets available to deal in order to acquire impact players. He suggested Alex Turcotte, Alex Laferriere and even winger Adrian Kempe could play center; Kempe was a center early in his career but found more success on the wing. Some of that will depend on what Laviolette and the coach’s new staff want to see. An announcement about the staff could be made early next week, Holland said.

In addition, Holland said he had spoken to representatives of pending unrestricted free agent forwards Scott Laughton and Andrei Kuzmenko.

“I’m not sure if they’ll be back or not,” Holland said. “That will be determined over the next few days.” Spare defenseman Jacob Moverare won’t return. Holland said he will evaluate whether Kirill Kirsanov (who spent last season with Ontario of the American Hockey League) and Angus Booth, who was promoted from Ontario to play one game with the Kings last season, are ready to step into NHL roles. Holland said he has been “working the phone lines” to determine possible options on defense.

Think of it this way: He can’t do worse than Cody Ceci.

Or can he?

Holland still has a lot of repair work to do for the Kings to escape the mediocrity that has engulfed them. They still need speed and more mobility on defense. And finishers. Draft day always sparks optimism for the future, but the Kings’ current reality is dark and won’t be easily or quickly lightened.