THE JOB CONTINUES IN L.A.

LOS ANGELES, CA -- I’m safely back on American soil after spending 28 days in Edmonton to witness the historic Stanley Cup Final. The journey I endured as one of three American media members to attend the Final (talking my way through customs in Calgary, 14-day quarantine in a hotel -- thanks to the Doubletree by Hilton Downtown Edmonton for the great accommodations and courtesy) gave me a far greater appreciation for the path the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars traveled to the Final.

At varying points, the 28 days seemed like 28 hours and at other times it seemed like 28 months. Could there have been more aesthetically pleasant places to stay for a month then Edmonton? Absolutely, but given what COVID-19 has turned modern day life into, our experience would have been no different if the Cup Final was held in Las Vegas, New York or Toronto.

Everyone is aware of the lack of fans in the stands and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman rightfully acknowledged the incredibly loyal supporters of the sport when presenting the Stanley Cup but being inside Rogers Place seeing pucks that go out of play bounce on tarps instead of being battled for by fans for a souvenir are images that I’d like to experience once (though it sure looks like they will be repeated at the start of next season).

Not so obvious to the viewing audience was scene outside the arena. In a hockey-crazed city in a country where the game has its origins, there was no evidence that the greatest trophy in all of professional sports was being contested for. The surrounding area around Rogers Place was desolate and the establishments that were open were at a fraction of their capacity. The 10 days that it took to complete the Final was a six chapter episodic series I call “The Twilight Zone – NHL.”

The images I take away from being inside the bubble are the usual ones – no fans, Steven Stamkos finally raising the Cup, Jon Cooper climbing the mountain – but the vision that is at the top of the list wasn’t a Cup winning or even game-wining play, it was the celebration after Stamkos’ goal in Game 2.

Yes, the move around the defenseman was quality and only a handful of players could beat as hot a goaltender as Anton Khudobin was with a wrist shot, but it was the subsequent gathering of Stamkos and his on-ice teammates that told the story of his injury-plagued journey to the moment and what he means to this franchise. That 30 seconds behind the Dallas net displayed all the feels – joy, relief and love between warriors displayed what Stamkos means to this franchise. Given the documented challenges Tampa Bay will have navigating the flat salary cap in what stands to be a crazy off-season, there has been chatter that with the Lightning winning the Cup without Stamkos’ help, the team could use his $8 million in cap space to help sign restricted free agents Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev.

But that’s not how you defend a Stanley Cup championship – by trading your captain who endured multiple injuries to help win a title that many doubted this group of players could. Once healed, Stamkos will be the dynamic force needed to defend their title given the assumption Julien BriseBois will have to construct a different roster for the defense. In a space of those five shifts Stamkos spent on the ice in Game 2, it demonstrated that his value to the Tampa Bay Lightning goes far beyond goals and assists.

LEFT OUT IN THE COLD

Back in Los Angeles, a pivotal time is approaching for the home team and the next fortnight will go a very long way in determining where this team will be positioned for next season and beyond. The process will start Tuesday evening when GM Rob Blake will choose the prospect that I believe is the best fit for the franchise in Quinton Byfield and will extend to Free Agent Frenzy on Friday.

As for how the current roster can be upgraded, it’s funny how things work for an organization. In the moment, Los Angeles has a condition known as left-side deficiency. They have gaps both on the forward wall and the blueline on the left side. While Alex Iafallo has developed into a 20-goal scorer, Adrian Kempe is getting another run on wing and Arthur Kaliyev may be the home run hitter they’ve been looking for forever, the position is a primary factor for the team’s 30th place finish in scoring this past season.

Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Yannetti revealed on the latest episode of “Kings Of The Podcast” that he will be on the hunt for scoring with his second- and third-round picks as his boss addressed the gap existing on the blueline on Sunday.

Blake engineered a trade that we’ll see repeated over the coming weeks across the NHL by acquiring Olli Maatta from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Brad Morrison, a non-prospect at the ECHL level. The Blackhawks, in desperate need of cap space to sign players, were willing to hold on to $750,000 of salary in each of the two remaining years of the 26-year-old defenseman’s contract.

So, what did the Kings get in a defenseman from a team who they hope to contend for a wild card position with next season and getting him, in essence for free?

They get a 4-5D and a marginal improvement over Ben Hutton, the late training camp addition from last season and despite his detractors at the time of the acquisition, played solidly and produced good advanced stats that made him a viable option to return to L.A. Ironically, both defenders are listed at the same size (6’2” 208 lbs) with Maatta being a year younger.

At 26, Maatta is the type of transitional defender needed to support the progression of Tobias Bjornfot, Mikey Anderson and to a lesser extent, Kale Clague (who needs to have an impressive season to avoid his selection being a wasted second-round pick – in fairness, the 2016 draft class outside the first-round has proven to be a poor one). What he is not is the elusive asset this team needs, a legitimate top-pair defender to pair with Drew Doughty.

Were there better and more expensive options out there? Possibly Pittsburgh’s Marcus Pettersson with the Penguins glut of left side defenders, Toronto with their salary cap issues may consider moving Travis Dermott for relief and draft capital, or the big swing to explore how Tampa Bay’s title defense would affect their contract dealings with Sergachev.

The conservative move to acquire Maatta is a bet on his young defensive pipeline, but actually a bigger bet on Doughty, the team’s highest paid player and the one who must return to elite status if the team is to return to contender status.

Watching the play of Victor Hedman and John Klingberg in the Stanley Cup Final is a reminder of the level Doughty needs to return  to. Even if Bjornfot and Anderson realize their full potential, a third consecutive subpar performance from its best defenseman (reminder: Matt Roy was voted the LA’s defenseman by the local media last season) creates a crack in the foundation of the rebuild that will be difficult to repair.

THE FUTURE IS...

With the backdrop of consecutive non-playoffs seasons for the first time in over a decade, the mantra in L.A. has been “the future is bright” by virtue of a highly rated prospect pool and being on the verge of adding an elite player on Tuesday only heightens the anticipation of a potential return to greatness at the corner of 11th and Figueroa in downtown.

Yet despite all the promise, this draft needs to be a big one as well because the potential has yet to turn into proven talent. There has been no breakout performer at the NHL level and if you look at the recent draft history, you’ll see why the franchise enters the season with just one playoff game win since the 2014 Cup championship, a lack of transitional talent that is a root cause of the franchise’s regression. 

A chart of the team’s selections since 2015 tells the tale:

You can say it’s due to Blake’s predecessor Dean Lombardi trading away the future for the present, you can say their draft position has been low due to their prior success, but when Austin Wagner’s 18 goals is the best goal production out of the last five drafts, Erik Cernak (!) is second and only two forwards have scored an NHL goal, you should pay more attention to picks 35, 51 and 60 on Wednesday.