You’ve been hearing all about the big-name pending unrestricted free agents, including forward Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado) and defenseman Dougie Hamilton (Carolina) as the marquee headliners. Understandably, they will dominate the NHL news cycle with free-agent frenzy kicking off on Wednesday.
But the reality is there are 100-plus or so UFAs, including the ones who became available on Monday when teams did not tender qualifying offers to them.
The emphasis remains on the big-name players when it comes to FAF (free-agent frenzy). But Kings general manager Rob Blake, who has been in the seat since April 2017, has not (often) opted to make big swings via free agency.
There has been one notable exception: signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk to a three-year, $18.75-million on July 1, 2018. It was an ill-fated partnership, ending in separation when the Kings terminated Kovalchuk’s contract early in his second season with L.A.
Blake’s other free-agent gambits have been smaller moves around the edges, along the lines of, say, a Christian Folin, Joakim Ryan or Martin Frk. Or additions much closer to the start of the season, like the signings of
