Post by Los Angeles Kings on Sept 16, 2023 12:31:48 GMT -6
Kings Pre-season 2023-34 Press Conference
Another season is upon us once again, and the Los Angeles Kings’ are coming off a very emotional 16 months. From Stanley Cup winner in Season 1, to dumpster fire in Season 2, which saw GM Corey Chernuka start a re-tool of the Los Angeles Kings franchise. The Kings went into the off-season as a team that just barely missed the playoffs. They made minimal additions in free agency (no pro-roster players), but saw Jakub Voracek get shipped out, with Dougie Hamilton coming in, in separate deals.
GM Corey Chernuka talked to reporters at training camp:
Question: What is the expectation or goal for this season?
Answer: We expect to make the playoffs, but with a competitive Pacific division, its hard to say what happens in the playoffs. The Canucks are proof, that as long as you make it to the dance, anything can happen. The goal of this year is largely that of a development year. Finding ways to integrate Anton Lundell, Julien Gauthier, Cody Glass, and Jasper Weatherby will be key for us.
Question: Jakub Voracek is out and Dougie Hamilton is in. Can you explain the thought process of those trades?
Answer: We felt that we had excessive pro forward depth. As a result, there was really no place for Jasper Weatherby to play. He’s no longer waiver exempt, and we didn’t want to play him on the 4th line. We wanted to find ice time for him. Jakub has played very well for us, though he’s a niche player. He had a high salary and was an unrestricted free agent at the end of this coming year. It was always unlikely that we would resign him, as cap constraints will be top of mind going forward. We were happy with the return we got from St. Louis in exchange for him. Dougie Hamilton is a special defenseman. With losing 3 defenseman last year to free agency, we felt that defense was our weakest position. So the opportunity to grab a top defenseman was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. We gave up more than we wanted to in the deal, but we hope that Dougie will be interested in signing a long-term extension with us. In our mind, its really mostly a Voracek for Hamilton trade, even though they were separate deals. We have 7.6M coming off the books in retained salary this year, so the money is there for Hamilton if he wants to resign.
Question: What happens if Dougie Hamilton opts to go to free agency?
Answer: Then we will have to evaluate our roster and position in the standings at that time to determine what route we take. I think we have to at least consider trading Dougie, if that’s the case, but it might make more sense keeping him for a deeper playoff run.
Question: Can you comment on all the waiver action that your club has had over the last couple of weeks?
Answer: We lost a substantial number of players to waivers this year, goaltenders Mikko Koskinen, and Collin Delia, forwards Austin Wagner, and Reese Johnson and defenseman Colton White. So we were forced to make some claims to try and fill those holes on the farm. So far we managed to acquire forwards Beck Malenstyn, and Anthony Richard, and defensemen Jeremy Davies and Sean Day. We still have a couple more spots that need to be filled by claims, free agency, or trade.
Question: Speaking of the farm, what is the priority there?
Answer: Same priority as always. Developing players that can graduate to our pro roster. This year we have Christian Djoos, Clark Bishop, and Jasper Weatherby graduating. The goal is to continue that development pipeline so that we constantly have those new players knocking on the pro doors. Having a development pipeline is key to maintain competitiveness in a flat cap world.
And with that, GM Chernuka thanked reporters for their time and exited the press conference.
Another season is upon us once again, and the Los Angeles Kings’ are coming off a very emotional 16 months. From Stanley Cup winner in Season 1, to dumpster fire in Season 2, which saw GM Corey Chernuka start a re-tool of the Los Angeles Kings franchise. The Kings went into the off-season as a team that just barely missed the playoffs. They made minimal additions in free agency (no pro-roster players), but saw Jakub Voracek get shipped out, with Dougie Hamilton coming in, in separate deals.
GM Corey Chernuka talked to reporters at training camp:
Question: What is the expectation or goal for this season?
Answer: We expect to make the playoffs, but with a competitive Pacific division, its hard to say what happens in the playoffs. The Canucks are proof, that as long as you make it to the dance, anything can happen. The goal of this year is largely that of a development year. Finding ways to integrate Anton Lundell, Julien Gauthier, Cody Glass, and Jasper Weatherby will be key for us.
Question: Jakub Voracek is out and Dougie Hamilton is in. Can you explain the thought process of those trades?
Answer: We felt that we had excessive pro forward depth. As a result, there was really no place for Jasper Weatherby to play. He’s no longer waiver exempt, and we didn’t want to play him on the 4th line. We wanted to find ice time for him. Jakub has played very well for us, though he’s a niche player. He had a high salary and was an unrestricted free agent at the end of this coming year. It was always unlikely that we would resign him, as cap constraints will be top of mind going forward. We were happy with the return we got from St. Louis in exchange for him. Dougie Hamilton is a special defenseman. With losing 3 defenseman last year to free agency, we felt that defense was our weakest position. So the opportunity to grab a top defenseman was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. We gave up more than we wanted to in the deal, but we hope that Dougie will be interested in signing a long-term extension with us. In our mind, its really mostly a Voracek for Hamilton trade, even though they were separate deals. We have 7.6M coming off the books in retained salary this year, so the money is there for Hamilton if he wants to resign.
Question: What happens if Dougie Hamilton opts to go to free agency?
Answer: Then we will have to evaluate our roster and position in the standings at that time to determine what route we take. I think we have to at least consider trading Dougie, if that’s the case, but it might make more sense keeping him for a deeper playoff run.
Question: Can you comment on all the waiver action that your club has had over the last couple of weeks?
Answer: We lost a substantial number of players to waivers this year, goaltenders Mikko Koskinen, and Collin Delia, forwards Austin Wagner, and Reese Johnson and defenseman Colton White. So we were forced to make some claims to try and fill those holes on the farm. So far we managed to acquire forwards Beck Malenstyn, and Anthony Richard, and defensemen Jeremy Davies and Sean Day. We still have a couple more spots that need to be filled by claims, free agency, or trade.
Question: Speaking of the farm, what is the priority there?
Answer: Same priority as always. Developing players that can graduate to our pro roster. This year we have Christian Djoos, Clark Bishop, and Jasper Weatherby graduating. The goal is to continue that development pipeline so that we constantly have those new players knocking on the pro doors. Having a development pipeline is key to maintain competitiveness in a flat cap world.
And with that, GM Chernuka thanked reporters for their time and exited the press conference.
