Way Too Early Expansion Draft Possibilities: Los Angeles Kings

(As always, the general guidelines are here, and I use cap friendly.com and hockeydb.com as my primary sources.)

So after vacillating between two Stanley Cups and missing the playoffs the last few years, LA was unceremoniously sweet by their new rivals in Las Vegas this year. While they still have a solid (if aging) core, there's a growing sense that the roster needs to be freshened up in the near term. Since that usually means getting younger and faster, who on the current Kings roster might that mean going up to the other end of The 5?

Forwards: Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Tanner Pearson

Defensemen/Defencemen: Dion Phaneuf, Alec Martinez

Goalies: Jonathan Quick

Let's be honest, the Kings would do well to get out from under almost any of these contracts. Yes, a lot of these guys figured prominently in both of the Kings' recent championships. But most of these contracts either looked bad from the start or will look bad later. Kopitar and Phaneuf have No-Movement Clauses, though the latter moved his to be traded to Los Angeles in the first place. And considering his wife's line of work, it wouldn't make a ton of sense to leave LA. I can't see the Kings wanting to give up on Kopitar, even as much as they could use whatever savings they got from trading that $10 million a year cap hit.

Quick is a decent bet to still be worth his salary, even if he's possibly slightly overrated. Martinez will still be a top-four defender on a good contract and may be even more crucial to stability on the back end if Drew Doughty doesn't stay with LA.

Carter would be an excellent selection, though his health history might be no small concern. Pearson would be even better, though I'd guess General Manager Rob Blake would rather get him on a new deal first and would only move him as a last resort (be it Seattle or elsewhere).

Then we have Dustin Brown. Not a big secret that LA was eager to get rid of him in the lead up to the Vegas expansion draft. Between that and stripping him of his captaincy, he might as well have No Reasonable Offer Refused stamped on his forehead. Granted, between the term, salary, diminishing returns (this year aside) and his age his contract is generally considered one of the worst contracts in the NHL.

To play devil's advocate for a bit, Brown's contract wouldn't be nearly as bad for Seattle as it would've been for Vegas just by sheer dint of the term being three years shorter. Yes, he's probably a bit pricey at almost six million a year. The difference here being it's only two years instead of five. Heck, retain some salary and it's fairly palatable. And if it needs something else to make this work, I have a fairly bold idea.

Dustin Brown (Right Wing/Left Wing) AND Jeff Carter (Center/Centre/Right Wing)

Why Los Angeles Would Make Them Available: Well, as alluded to earlier, this would afford LA the opportunity to really remake their roster. Even if the combined salary cap space opened up would basically basically just go to pay for the aforementioned retaining of Drew Doughty that might justify it. If they can figure out how to get by for a year two this could really help them bridge the gap. It would also open up opportunities for any young players that the franchise might want to make an assistant captain.

Why Seattle Would Want To Take Them: Well, you're going a long way towards making the salary floor the first couple of years with those contracts. And those guys could, even in their mid-thirties, give you some quality minutes. There's not a lot (good AND bad) these guys haven't experienced in their careers and that could really help create a great locker room culture. worst case scenario, those guys can probably become (with some retained salary, I'd imagine) attractive trade bait.

LA's still trying to get a handle on how to be competitive consistently, let alone get back to winning the Stanley Cup, and this could really allow them to reboot their roster in a meaningful way.