It comes as the Kings prepare themselves for Gavrikov\u2019s possible departure through free agency on Tuesday. While he\u2019s been talking regularly with Gavrikov\u2019s agent, Pat Brisson, Holland said after the draft that there wasn\u2019t any communication on Saturday, and struck an ominous tone about retaining the big-minute shutdown blueliner.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking more and more like he\u2019s going to go to July 1,\u201d Holland said. \u201cAs we all know, I would anticipate that there\u2019ll be some players around the league that are UFA that are going to sign between now and Monday. Not sure if Gavrikov is one or if he\u2019s not. But if he\u2019s not, then we have to obviously wade into the market and get a defenseman or two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between Gavrikov walking to free agency and Spence being dealt, the Kings are suddenly looking at replacing two regulars from a 105-point team that came up short yet again in the first round of the playoffs. And if Gavrikov leaves, they will need at least one defender on each side. Putting him back with Mikey Anderson \u2014 Holland liked what he saw from their work together last season \u2014 would have been one answer to their dilemma.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s more likely they\u2019ll need to sign free agents or consider a trade. The Kings want right-shot Brandt Clarke to take on an expanded role and they\u2019re counting on Drew Doughty to be healthier than last season, when he came back from a serious ankle fracture to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off but was less than 100 percent for the playoffs. And it was more than apparent Holland and head coach Jim Hiller didn\u2019t see the smaller-sized, 24-year-old Spence fitting in their vision of the blue line.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of hope and belief that he\u2019s going to really develop into an important player on this team,\u201d Holland said of Clarke. \u201cWe\u2019re in a window right now where the team, in my opinion, can compete with the best teams in the National Hockey League. It\u2019s hard to have too many young defensemen on a team when you\u2019re trying to compete with the best teams in the National Hockey League.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s sort of the conversation I had with (agent) Peter MacTavish about Jordan Spence. Ultimately, I didn\u2019t see us having Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence in the two and three holes on the right side. I believe there\u2019s room for one. Ultimately, we made a decision on Brandt Clarke and wanted to give Jordan Spence an opportunity to go elsewhere and to have an opportunity to further his career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holland previously said that Spence didn\u2019t make a trade request, but his conversations with MacTavish indicated that the agent felt Spence should be moved to a team on which he\u2019d be a regular player. Even though Spence played 79 games last season, that wasn\u2019t going to be guaranteed in L.A., and his sharply reduced usage in the series against Edmonton pointed toward a potential separation.<\/p>\n
\u201c(We) basically moved him because I\u2019m not sure he would be in the lineup every night,\u201d Holland said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2209195184-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Jordan Spence played 79 games for the Kings last season but was likely facing less ice time under the new management. (Ronald Martinez \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
As it stands, the Kings have their longtime pair of Anderson and Doughty, and Clarke played a lot with Joel Edmundson last season. Kyle Burroughs and Jacob Moverare also return, but both are viewed more as depth options who can step in when injuries arise. Whether it\u2019s on their second pairing or third, there are significant holes for the Kings to fill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s some good defensemen,\u201d Holland said, answering a question on gauging the market. \u201cBut obviously there\u2019s 32 teams. I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s enough defensemen for 32 teams, but all 32 don\u2019t need a defenseman.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also their interest in Mitch Marner. When subtracting Spence\u2019s $1.5 million cap hit, the Kings have what PuckPedia estimates is $23.2 million available for next season. They also must re-sign pending restricted free agent Alex Laferriere and would like to extend UFA forward Andrei Kuzmenko on a short-term deal. They also want an experienced backup goalie behind Darcy Kuemper.<\/p>\n
Getting all that done, and importing two defensemen, makes for a tighter fit when it comes to Marner. Also, Pacific Division rival Vegas is reportedly in talks with Toronto on a sign-and-trade transaction. Holland would not comment on his team having any contact with the Maple Leafs, opting not to \u201cgo down that rabbit hole.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Kings already won\u2019t be the same club that let a 2-0 series lead get away and watched Edmonton kick off another run to the Stanley Cup Final. With or without Marner, they\u2019ll still need defensemen. Let\u2019s sketch out who could be targets.<\/p>\n
Trade <\/strong><\/p>\n Best options<\/strong><\/p>\n Bowen Byram, K\u2019Andre Miller, Connor Murphy, Darnell Nurse<\/p>\n Byram, 24, is ideal because of his age and his all-around game. A trade would break him out of the left-side logjam in Buffalo behind Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. Miller, 25, is another arbitration-eligible RFA, and the New York Rangers are taking calls on the left-hand shot. Murphy, 32, is big, can play tough minutes, shoots right and only has one more year with a $4.4 million cap hit. And while you may laugh, Holland did sign the erratic but talented Nurse ($9.25 million AAV) to that outsized eight-year contract in 2021. He\u2019d look better if Edmonton took back a third of that salary.<\/p>\n Other options<\/strong><\/p>\n Mario Ferraro, Matt Dumba, Erik Karlsson, Mattias Samuelsson<\/p>\n San Jose probably wouldn\u2019t like to move Ferraro, 26, to a division rival, but he\u2019d be reinvigorated with a more competitive team in a contract year. Dumba, 30, has fallen off greatly in recent years but never underestimate the craving for a right-hand shot who can chew minutes in a third-pairing role. Karlsson, 35, is available and would move to a contender, but he\u2019s still too expensive, even with some of his salary already retained elsewhere. Samuelsson, 25, has five years left on his deal but could be a reclamation bet.<\/p>\n Free agency<\/strong><\/p>\n Best options<\/strong><\/p>\n Aaron Ekblad, Dante Fabbro, Nate Schmidt, Ivan Provorov<\/p>\n Ekblad, 29, is the top free-agent defenseman if he hits the market after winning two titles with Florida. He can still handle heavy minutes in all situations and will be paid well. Fabbro, 27, doesn\u2019t have size but the puck-mover set himself for a nice payday after flourishing with Zach Werenski in Columbus. Schmidt, 33, is best suited in a third-pairing role but he\u2019s still a terrific skater and was excellent for the Panthers. Provorov, 28, can be effective as long as he isn\u2019t a team\u2019s No. 1 option.<\/p>\n Other options<\/strong><\/p>\n Dmitry Orlov, Ryan Lindgren, Cody Ceci, John Klingberg, Brian Dumoulin<\/p>\n Orlov, 33, struggled badly in the postseason for Carolina but he can still be effective in the right role. Lindgren, 27, has some hard miles on him but he\u2019ll put his body on the line as an undersized blueliner. Ceci, 31, could fit on a third pair with his size and right-handed shot. Klingberg, 32, is healthy again after dealing with hip issues for years, and he showed in the Oilers\u2019 run that he can still be a contributor. Dumoulin, 33, plays a steady, safe game but might want to remain with an Eastern team after his trade to New Jersey.<\/p>\n (Top photo of Vladislav Gavrikov: Harry How \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2013 The way Ken Holland laid out how he\u2019d have to address the defense corps, just…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2961,224,2081,5337],"class_list":{"0":"post-26143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-los-angeles-kings","13":"tag-losangeles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114770242743074991","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}