LA Kings cap situation - contra Dobber

[fzusher]

Dobber, I have to disagree with you about the Kings. I doubt they need Schneider to make the cap floor.

I am assuming the 9.4M figure you got is from nhlnumbers.com, who add their cap up to 31.356M.

Now, first of all, there are discrepancies in their own numbers. The 10 forwards they count add up to 20.681, not 21.348M as they claim, and they have Zeiler\'s cap hit wrong - it\'s 0.544M and not, as they report, 0.7M, so the actual forward cap hit is 20.525M. They also report (correctly) Labarbera\'s cap hit as 0.825M, and do not count other goalies, but report an overall goalie cap hit of 1.858M. The overall number they report - 31.356 - only adds up their forward, defenders and goalies totals (goalies and forwards, as I just said, are themselves miscalculated), and \"forget\" to include the buyouts ...

The number they should have reported on their own terms - that is, adding up all the players and buyouts they claim they are counting - is in fact 31.2M.

However, and more importantly:

1) They only count 10 forwards, not including O\'Sullivan and Richardson, of course, but including Ellis, Zeiler, and Ivanans. Assuming a 23-man opening day roster, they can carry 13, or even 14, forwards if they want. The nhlnumbers figure does not include Ted Purcell (1.35M), who is likely to make the team.

2) They only count 4 defenders, and do not count Peter Harrold (est. 0.55M) and most importantly Drew Doughty (3.475M cap hit due to bonuses).

3) The only goalie they count is Labarbera. Ersberg (0.7M), who is pretty much a lock to be on the opening day roster, isn\'t counted.

(the estimate on Harrold is from nhlscap @ hockeybuzz).

Add Purcell, Harrold, Doughty and Ersberg to the roster, and you\'ve added 6.125M to the cap hit. Now you\'re at 37.325M, only 3.4M below the floor, likely to be made up and even exceeded by O\'Sullivan and Richardson, and that is even if they do not shore up the D depth with 1-2 more bodies. I still think it more likely they either pluck someone off the waiver wire, or add an experienced but inexpensive free agent - Bret Hedican, Brad Ference and Jassen Cullimore are all available, and Hedican wants to play in California.

The only scenario I see of them needing Schneider to get to the floor is if they don\'t think Doughty makes the team out of camp. Given that they are short of bodies as it is, it\'d require an absolutely disastrous camp for that to happen.

And all of that is good news for Harrold owners ...

[note - the numbers I posted earlier this week on JJ\'s and Green\'s cap hit were wrong. nhlnumbers are correct on both].

[mysterymike]

this is a rattling post, i feel like i know nothing. lol

[typo88]

wow... nice, all i have to say

[JHM]

I replied with a Karma!

[Dobber]

I used the Boston Globe as a source. I didn\'t check their numbers but they seem okay.

Schneider is the hot rumor right now (did you hear Dave Pagnotta on Dobber Nation?), and my point was simply that it would make sense - not that it was the only way.

Keep in mind if you add players to the roster, you have to remove some as there is a 23-man limit.

Interesting thoughts fzusher, and certainly just as valid as my thoughts.

edit - you already mentioned the 23-man limit I see...

[kovalchuk17]

wow fzu, well said.

[fzusher]

I looked at the Globe article/blog. I am guessing they got their number from nhlnumbers - it\'s too random a number to coincidentally appear in two places.

The interview with Lombardi is interesting.

On the D front: \"We\'re going to be going with a number of kids back there, maybe as many as three, and that can be risky ... You have to be careful. You can look back at guys like [Chris] Chelios, [Chris] Pronger, and [Ed] Jovanovski - guys who maybe had to carry too much of a load too soon and eventually had to move elsewhere ... We want to play our kids, but at the same time, we want to protect them, and ideally I\'d like to find an experienced, lefthanded defenseman.\" Kevin Paul Dupont then adds: Lombardi wouldn\'t confirm his interest in Schneider but noted, \"I am a fairly popular guy with all this cap space.\"

Schneider fits the bill, but so do Hedican and Cullimore. And the rumors do claim Burke prefers to move Schneider to an Eastern team. JJ and Harrold, who Lombardi says later in the interview has a spot to lose in camp, are obviously two young Ds. It\'s hard to tell if the third young D he\'s referring to is Green (who has two and a half seasons under his belt) or Doughty. So it again all depends on whether they think Doughty is ready now.

Another interesting thing he says there is that Brian Boyle also has a roster spot to lose. With Kopitar, Handzus, Stoll and Armstrong on the team I don\'t see where he has room. Maybe the card Lombardi\'s trying to play, then, is being willing to take on a one-year megasalary like Schneider\'s if the other side takes Handzus\' 4M per mutli-year contract.

Finally, he says in all likelihood Labarbera and Ersberg will be the goalies, Bernier and Quick being given time to develop in the minors.

My favorite, though, was his response to the Kopitar for \'Bulin rumor:

\"Some of the stuff that goes around is just crazy,\" said Lombardi. \"Like Kopitar. We\'re going to trade our best young player to get to the floor? If the people who start that stuff would put just two cents worth of brains into thinking about it first . . .\"

[Stephane Richer]

Interesting points Fz- kudos

[Crispy Water]

Thanks for the post fzusher. I\'ve agreed all along it won\'t be a problem for them, I think it\'s just the sort of thing lots of writers have seized upon because there\'s so little hockey news over the summer. Granted, a few writers have pointed out the Kings have been on track to crack the floor all summer, but...

If anyone wants to see some VERY in-depth (perhaps redundant) thoughts from Lombardi, Hextall, Murray, etc. about how they\'re trying to build, look at the series of posts at Rich Hammond\'s blog \"Inside the Kings\" from this past weekend:

http://www.insidesocal.com/kings/

I don\'t agree with everything they\'re saying, but it certainly seems a more intelligent approach than that of some other teams lately.