Post by Los Angeles Kings on Nov 14, 2021 17:04:25 GMT -6
With the PFHL Dispersal Draft clawing away the youthful team that the Los Angeles Kings had been assembling, GM Chernuka saw an opportunity to reset the team to an immediately competitive one. The final team coming out of the Dispersal Draft was a mix of skill, experienced vets and some quality youth for the farm.
The Kings will ice a top line of Jake Guentzel, Joe Pavelski and Jakub Voracek. The second line will be composed of pending UFA winger Alexander Radulov, pending RFA Carter Verhaeghe, and David Perron. The third line will see Nick Bonino center a line with Alexander Steen and Trevor Moore. Finally, the 4th line will feature Jay Beagle, Nate Thompson and Mikhail Grigorenko.
On defense, the Kings will ice Mackenzie Weegar and John Carlson as the top pair, Dmitry Orlov and Cody Ceci as the middle pair, and finally Kris Russell and Nick Seeler as the 3rd pair. Between the pipes, the Kings have their starter, Jordan Binnington, locked in for 4 years, with veteran Devan Dubnyk getting the backup role.
5 Burning Questions:
The Kings will ice a top line of Jake Guentzel, Joe Pavelski and Jakub Voracek. The second line will be composed of pending UFA winger Alexander Radulov, pending RFA Carter Verhaeghe, and David Perron. The third line will see Nick Bonino center a line with Alexander Steen and Trevor Moore. Finally, the 4th line will feature Jay Beagle, Nate Thompson and Mikhail Grigorenko.
On defense, the Kings will ice Mackenzie Weegar and John Carlson as the top pair, Dmitry Orlov and Cody Ceci as the middle pair, and finally Kris Russell and Nick Seeler as the 3rd pair. Between the pipes, the Kings have their starter, Jordan Binnington, locked in for 4 years, with veteran Devan Dubnyk getting the backup role.
5 Burning Questions:
- Can Joe Pavelski still be a #1 center in this league? The Kings can probably get by with Pavelski in the #1 slot this year. What happens moving forward as Joe continues to decline and his $7M contract poses a bit of a problem down the road. He’ll probably have to drop to the 2nd line next year.
- Can Carter Verhaeghe be a #2 center? While Carter can play the center position, recent history suggests he is more of a winger. With a lack of better options to the club, Carter will be forced into the center role. As a result, the 2nd line will find themselves chasing the puck after a face-off, more often than not.
- Will the Kings use their approximate $7.5M in cap space prior to the trade deadline? You have to think that as the deadline approaches, the Kings will look to supplement their forward depth on some pending unrestricted free agents.
- Do the Kings have enough forward depth to handle injuries? Like many teams in the PFHL, depth can be a tricky sitation coming out of the Dispersal Draft. The Kings have enough lower-end depth to fill in for a bottom 6 injury, but a top 6 injury would be devastating for this team.
- Can the Kings compete in probably one of the most competitive divisions in the PFHL? Travis Felts - GM of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Jervis – GM of the Vegas Golden Knights, Travis Chorostkowski – GM of the Edmonton Oilers, Matthew Rensby-Wills – GM of the San Jose Sharks, Josh Rose – GM of the Seattle Kraken, Aaron Sanderson – GM of the Vancouver Canucks, and Sean McAndrews – GM of the Calgary Flames all should make for a competitive division.
