Hello Hockey Fans! Today your LA Kings added some big name talent to bolster the roster for the upcoming 2021-22 NHL season. The Kings added some veteran presence on offense and defense as they snagged up forward Phillip Danault and Defenseman Alex Elder. Both players were on Canadian based teams (Danault with Montreal and Edler with Vancouver) for their entire careers. Danault signed a six year contract with the Kings worth a total of $33 million while Edler signed a one year deal for $3.5 million.
Danault made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final last season with the Canadiens as he posted up a total of nine points in the playoffs last season and 24 points in the regular season. Danault has a lot of speed and skill that he can bring to this Kings team as he is a two way center and is considered to be one of the leagues premier players and can help the Kings out on both ends of the ice. Here’s what LA Kings GM Rob Blake had to say about Danault “ I think positional, solidifying the middle, With Kopitar being here, in the situation that he is and the minutes he plays all over the ice, to be able to partner that as a 1-2 punch down the middle, with the younger centermen that we have coming through the next few years, we really feel we’ve solidified the middle of the ice there”. Blake also said this about towards Viktor Arvidsson and Danault fitting into the lineup “When you talk about the forwards, Arvidsson and Danault, obviously Top 6 forwards,” Blake said. “We’ll unfold different combinations as Todd sees fit going forward. How we distribute it will be taken by Todd, but what we were doing is improving our team in all situations”.
Alex Edler was added in for the role of defenseman Kurtis MacDermid who was lost due to being picked up by the NHL’s new 32nd team the Seattle Kraken, who was then traded to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Kings will by adding more players over the course of the Free Agency period so stay tune
