5 Takeaways From Day 1 of Free Agency

Day one of free agency is in the books.

Lot more eventful than I was expecting. The Kings retained the services of forward Scott Laughton, got the services of forward Corey Perry back and added the services of six additional players to the organization, at varying levels. Overall, in my opinion, the Kings had a pretty good day, for a couple of reasons.

Reason number one being that the team is better today than it was two days ago. I don’t think you could say that on July 1, 2025. Reason number two is that in signing players the way the Kings did, there aren’t a ton of long-term roadblocks. Again, not I don’t think you could’ve said that 12 months ago. The Kings got better in a couple of different areas today and they did so with lower risk and higher reward. The philosophy this summer was to become a more offensive team and the Kings invested up front, without over-investing, if you will. The first day of free agency often leads to overpayments, both in terms of dollar figure and term. That was not the case today. The Kings found ways to make their team better while still holding the flexibility to make larger moves down the road. That was important and I don’t think you can really dispute that.

Sharing five takeaways from today’s moves below.

We Bought A Zuuuuu
Mats!

Has to be one of the better value signings of the day. Zuccarello’s contract comes with a base salary of just $1,000,000 and has a substantial games played bonus attached, which gives the Kings the flexibility of applying that number to either this or next season’s salary cap. In reality, this is a one-year contract for $6,000,000, but the bonus structure protects the Kings against an injury and provides rollover potential. If the Kings get tight to the cap this year, Zuccarello’s bonuses could roll over to next season, when the Kings should have a ton of financial flexibility.

Zuccarello nearly scored at a point-per-game clip last season with 54 points in 59 games played. He is a very clever and crafty offensive player, especially as a facilitator. The Kings wanted offense and Zuccarello provides it, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play.

“I think everybody knows that offense was something that we needed to address this offseason and that’s what Mats Zuccarello has done his entire career,” Holland said. “He’s provided offense. High hockey IQ, distributes the puck, creates scoring chances for his linemates.”

Holland sees Zuccarello’s style of play being similar to Artemi Panarin, in that both players distribute the puck first, playing almost like a center might, just operating from the wings. Neither player is a burner but neither player has ever been a burner. Hasn’t prevented productivity. A huge objective for the Kings was to improve on special teams this season and Holland pointed out that Zuccarello is “historically good” on the power play. Adding him into the group, along with a healthy Kevin Fiala, and the Kings feel they can deliver two strong scoring lines, with a third line capable of chipping in as well, while focusing on the defensive side of the puck as well.

Zuccarello said that the Kings made him feel “wanted” and he really seemed to vibe with the vision presented by Holland and Head Coach Peter Laviolette. He stressed several times the importance of feeling wanted and it was that element that led him to choose the Kings over other offers from around the NHL

Feeling The Value
So, how did the Kings land Zuccarello?

“The Kings were the first team that pushed for me and I felt like really wanted me the whole way and that means a lot to me,” Zuccarello said. “Hockey is a lot about confidence, feeling good when you go on the ice and that is a big thing for me and that was a really good vibe that I got from [the Kings]. It’s a good start when you feel like you’re wanted.”

Zuccarello had other offers around the NHL. He chose the Kings, based on his conversations with Ken Holland and Peter Laviolette. Zuccarello mentioned several times that what was most important for him was to feel wanted. He said the Kings made him feel that way. He spoke about the vision for how team wants to play under Laviolette as being exciting for him, with more of an offensively-driven focus, but the Kings aren’t the only team who sees him as a stylistic fit.

The Kings seemed to be a good fit on the ice as well for Zuccarello, who referenced those conversations multiple times.

“I liked Lavy’s vision on how to play and how to go about business every day in practice, how to manage games, we had a really good talk,” he added. “Even Kenny too, how the LA Kings want to play this year, which I really enjoyed and I’m really excited about. I think you have to earn your spot, which everyone else has to do, but I’m going to get a good opportunity to do that and hopefully I have a chance to earn my spot……I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

F Them Kids
No doubt about it, the Kings got older here.

Corey Perry is 41-years-old. Mats Zuccarello is 38. Erik Haula is 35. Erik Gustafsson 34. Scott Laughton, at 32, might’ve lowered the average age of the team.

Overall, no, I don’t think this is a good thing. However, I have also found that value on July 1 comes in two ways. You either find players who are say 25, 26, 27 who have previously been undervalued by their respective clubs, players like Warren Foegele who have produced in the past but clearly have more to give in a better situation. Or, you find players towards the tail-end of their career, who are willing to take shorter-term contracts, which sometimes come at team-friendly rates.

Zuccarello is the primary example here. If Zuccarello was 32, with the exact same profile, he would have been the highest-paid player of the day. That he is 38 means the Kings can get him on a one-year contract, with a bonus-laden contract that can be rolled over to next season if that’s where the cap takes things. I see Haula similarly. Haula is a pretty legitimate third-line player who the Kings got on a two-year contract.

Last season, the Kings invested too heavily, both in term and dollar amount, on depth players. This season, the approach was different. None of the contracts signed today are problematic in the long term and none will prevent the Kings from pursuing players via trade who can help fill larger holes on the roster. That’s a big win for me. Lots of mistakes get made on July 1 and the Kings made their share last summer. That was not the case today. If you want to make jokes at the expense of the age of the players added, by all means. But when the biggest knock you have is someone’s age, rather than anything to do with the skillset, that’s a tradeoff I’d take.

Great Scott
For most of the day, you wondered if this would be a takeaway. However, as the day came to a close, Scott Laughton’s future will be back in Los Angeles.

When Ken Holland addressed the media, there was “nothing official” with Laughton but the Kings were “cautiously optimistic” that everything would come together. Holland shared that the contract being negotiated was a three-year deal, but he was not yet ready to confirm the AAV. That was a couple of hours ago. Now, things are officially official.

Laughton and the Kings were a good fit and that part of it makes sense. How both Laughton and Haula fit in is something to consider going forward. I think there’s a world where both players play together on the third line. I could see, potentially, one playing in the Top-6 but I don’t think that is Plan A. Both players are effective at what they do but neither is a second-line center by production. In talking yesterday with Peter Laviolette, he spoke about wanting to have two offensive lines, two balanced top lines, and a third line that can shoulder defensive-zone draws and difficult matchups. Could Laughton and Haula take that one together, since both can play both center and wing? Combined with a player like Trevor Moore or Alex Laferriere, that would allow Laviolette to load up the top two lines with offensively-minded players.

With Laughton, I felt that the term and AAV were especially important. The Kings did a good job on both fronts. From what I’ve gathered they drew a bit of a line in the sand. They wanted Laughton to stay but it wasn’t a blank check. By the end of the day, the two sides came to the agreement that they did and frankly, the contract came in below what I felt it might, both in terms of years and AAV. With the free agency crop, I had some concern that Laughton might price himself out of where the Kings were comfortable spending, based on the lack of quality centers on the market. That the deal came in where it did is a win for Los Angeles.

So. What’s Next?
Million dollar question, I suppose.

The Kings were never going to solve their biggest problems via free agency. They didn’t add a top-line center and all six defensemen from last season remain in place. However, the former was not available via free agency and the latter likely requires multiple trades. They did add some mobility on the blueline in Erik Gustafsson and Scott Perunovich and those players will compete for spots, however both players spent the bulk of last season in the AHL. Gustafsson is familiar with Peter Laviolette while Perunovich was one of the AHL’s best defensemen so if the Kings can make moves down the road, maybe they can factor in. However, as we sit here today, the Kings are incomplete.

In talking with Laviolette earlier this week, he pointed to the calendar. When asking him about Adrian Kempe playing center or Brandt Clarke’s role, he said the right things but also said that it’s June. Let’s talk in September, when he actually knows the roster he is working with. Today was a big step towards knowing that but I’m not sure that the Kings are done. There’s a ton of time between now and Opening Night. Let’s see what happens.