We've officially settled on the end of the Los Angeles Kings season, player exit interviews, and what Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille told us. We will now shift our focus to areas of need this offseason. Of course, the team still needs to find its next head coach, but as of this writing, only one goaltender is under contract for the 2024-25 season.
of @lakings Goaltender David Rittich has signed a one-year contract worth $1 million average annual value (AAV) through the 2024-25 season. https://t.co/eqjQHx5rOJ
— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) May 15, 2024
After a great season that exceeded David Rittich's expectations, the Los Angeles Kings gave him a one-year contract worth $1 million AAV. It takes a bit of business to get a stable option over the line at a very reasonable cost.
What L.A. does from here is on the minds of most Kings fans. Will he re-sign Cam Talbot, who he expressed interest in during his retirement press conference? If so, is that it? Will the team explore a trade? There are a lot of possibilities, but the limited salary cap space that Blake has to work with makes things difficult.
While names like Linus Ullmark and Giuses Saros will likely dominate goalie rumors, another name you'll want to keep under wraps is Minnesota's Filip Gustafsson.
athletic Joe Smith and Michael Russo addressed the question of whether the Minnesota Wild should trade Gustafsson in a recent Mailbag article. Russo and Smith weighed in on what the rewards could be for the Swedish netminder.
“It seems unlikely that Gustafsson will be taken in the first round, but perhaps the Wild could take him in the second round. Ideally they would like to get a mid-six winger back. They could use Gustafsson as a chip to get into the first round, but many of the teams in front of them won't necessarily score. I’m not in the market for a keeper.”
The two suggest Minnesota would listen to Gustafsson, but there is no guarantee he will be traded. So, is Gustafsson someone the Kings should consider?
contract
First of all, his contract is reasonable. The soon-to-be 26-year-old has two years left on a contract that pays him $3.75 million AAV. There are only two years left on this contract, and at $3.75 million, I feel comfortable that the Kings will pay less than $5 million total at the goaltending position. It's good business for me.
performance
The word that comes to mind when it comes to Gustafsson's career is “inconsistent.”
There is no better example of that inconsistency than his two seasons with Minnesota.
Gustafsson is coming off a disappointing 23-24 season with the Wild. He was one of the worst goaltenders to play in at least 15 games. evolving hockey GSAx:
So let's take a look at his 22-23 season.
He went from being one of the best goaltenders in the league to being one of the worst. why? (Hint: #goalkeeper).
It certainly wasn't a defensive environment.around natural status tricks The Wild ranked first in the NHL in xGA/60 and third in HDCA/60 at 5-on-5 last season.
Here's a look at how he dealt with various dangerous shots.around money pack, Gustafsson's Low Danger Save Percentage (LDSV%) went from sixth in the league at .976 in the 2022-23 season to 14th at .957 last season. That would explain some of the problems, but it was the high possibility of danger that bothered him. In the 22-23 season, Gustafsson posted an .850 HDSV%, which was 16th in the league. That said, he was good at making the saves he was supposed to make and was just above league average in terms of making difficult stops. In the 23-24 season, his HDSV% plummeted to .781, sixth-worst in the NHL.
Is this just a coincidence? Once again, Minnesota was one of the stingiest teams in the NHL at allowing dangerous chances. However, it's worth noting that even though his HDSV% last season was .781, this was higher than his expected HDSV% of .718.
If you zoom in a bit more, you can see a clear difference between the two seasons.
Despite his struggles, Gustafsson was selected to represent Team Sweden at the 2024 World Championships. To date, he has stopped 42 of 45 (.933 SV%) in two starts and has two wins.
Acquisition cost
His performance last season and the fact that while the cap isn't as tight with Minnesota spending over $5 million and no big contracts this summer, they still need help on the blue line. Considering that, you may be able to throw in a few extra dollars. long way to go.
The LA Kings don't own a second. or They have a 2024 third-round pick, but they also own Artur Kaliyev, who was used sparingly. Will a team like the Wild, who consistently struggle to score, be a change of pace for the young Kaliyev? He seems to fit what Minnesota needs as a middle-six winger, and the Kings are clearly ready to move on from the 22-year-old. I'd rather see Kaliyev used as part of a package to acquire an AA player who can help LA now, rather than sending him elsewhere as a mid-round pick. Gustafsson may be just that.
Despite battling some inconsistencies, Gustafsson is a talented goaltender and I think it makes sense to acquire the Flyers if the price is right.
Main photo credit: Dan Hamilton – USA TODAY Sports
