After a somewhat eventful draft weekend that saw the Los Angeles Kings bring in Tanner Jeannot, general manager Rob Blake wasted no time once free agency began, signing multiple players to NHL contracts. The first signing was winger Warren Foegele’s three-year, $3.5 million average annual value (AAV) contract. After that, it got confusing with the signing of left-handed defenseman Joel Edmundson to a four-year, $3.85 million AAV deal.
Foegele’s Role in Los Angeles
Foegele’s presence will fill a similar role to Jeannot. Both are expected to play left-wing, roam the top nine, and contribute 15 to 20 goals and 40 to 50 points. They are both above-average skaters who know how to get physical, specifically around the net. They can score goals from the slot and win puck battles near the crease.
Foegele will play primarily in the middle six but could see time on the top line, depending on how recently named head coach Jim Hiller wants to proceed. He could be a fit on the first line alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe by providing a power-forward role, but it would make sense to see him alongside Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala on the second line since they lack physicality. Foegele is also unlikely to see power play time, but if he makes a strong impression early on, he might earn an occasional shift on the second unit as a net-front presence.
Related: Kings Address Scoring & Physicality Need With Tanner Jeannot Trade
While the Kings solved their scoring and physicality needs with these two additions, they did not address the lack of top-end scoring. The team had eight skaters register 40 or more points, but none at over a point per game. These additions do not help the bottom six, but they take up valuable cap space that should have been used to address top-end scoring.
Foegele is just 28 years old and this contract keeps him in Los Angeles through his age-31 season, so it should age well as the salary cap is expected to rise once again next offseason. However, the Kings’ real mistake came from their second signing of the day.
Edmundson Does Not Fill a Need
When the Kings traded Carl Grundstrom to the San Jose Sharks for Kyle Burroughs, fans assumed he was going to split time on the third defensive pair alongside recently extended defenseman, Andreas Englund. However, by signing Edmundson, the original Grundstrom for Burroughs trade appears pointless. While the upgrade from Grundstrom to Jeannot is understandable, moving on from Grundstrom for a defenseman who is not even going to see much ice time in the NHL was poor asset management by Blake. Not to mention, Edmundson’s contract is far from ideal.
Edmundson started the 2023-24 season with the Washington Capitals, forming a defense pairing alongside Nick Jensen. Together, the pair had a 46.1 expected goals percentage (xG%), according to Moneypuck. That is good for the 20th-lowest in that category of all defensive pairings last season with over 300 minutes together. When Edmundson got traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, it did not get much better. He played alongside Timothy Liljegren where the two had a 46.9 xG%, the second lowest of any Maple Leafs’ defensive pairing last season with over 80 minutes together. The playoffs were even worse for Edmundson who had a 37.1 xG% alongside Liljegren over 73 minutes played.
It is not all bad for Edmundson, and he will likely improve his play once settled into the Kings’ lineup, but the move still does not make much sense. His offensive production is underwhelming, having just one goal and six points in 53 games last season and 29 goals and 110 points in 530 career regular season games. And even if his defense improves, he does not provide value that Mikey Anderson, Drew Doughty, and Vladislav Gavrikov do not already do. Edmundson is getting paid close to $4 million into his mid-30s to play on the third defensive pair, taking up valuable cap space that could be used elsewhere.
While it is easy to be cynical about the Kings’ recent signings, there is still reason to believe in Blake. His assessment of the team’s lack of physicality is obvious, and his recent decisions address the issue. Also, if the Kings move on from the 1-3-1 system, offensive production from Kempe, Kopitar, Byfield, and Fiala could increase, solving the issue of underwhelming top-end scoring. There is plenty of time left in the offseason so the Kings are still able to make an impactful addition, but for now, it does not look good.
