Kings Add 3 Players on Day One of Free Agency

The reports about Cam Talbot and Trevor Lewis signing with the Los Angels Kings were confirmed.

Talbot comes on for one year at $1 million and Lewis signed for one year at $775 thousand.

The Kings were never going to make a splash in free agency, so two veteran players on cheap deals make sense.

Talbot has experience with Todd McLelland and experienced success while playing for McLellan with the Edmonton Oilers. Lewis brings more veteran leadership and knows the organization well. I’d expect him to be more of a 13th forward who doesn’t play every night.

The other addition is left-shot defenseman Andreas Englund on a two-year $2 million contract.

This deal makes less sense to me if the Kings expect him to play in the NHL next season. And if they don’t, $1 million per year to play in the AHL feels like a waste of money.

As a cap-strapped team, signing a defenseman at that price when you have two young players — Tobias Bjornfot and Jacob Moverare — available to play as the LD3, it’s hard to see how the Kings benefit from this deal.

Maybe he’s just an insurance policy in case someone gets hurt, or they really don’t believe in Bjornfot or Moverare. But it feels like an unnecessary move for a team with such limited Cap.

This deal actually leaves the Kings over the cap limit according to CapFriendly.com, with 13 forwards seven defensemen and two goalies on the roster.

I wouldn’t want to judge Rob Blake too much without knowing what moves come next, but in isolation, I don’t understand this move.

The Kings “solved” their goaltending problem by signing Talbot and added veteran depth with Lewis. Two moves that don’t inspire a ton of confidence, but are fine given the team’s tight cap situation.

The Englund signing is a headscratcher, but again, I’ll reserve judgment until Blake finishes making moves.