Best of the Rest: Who Can Fill the Los Angeles Kings' Holes?

Eight days have past in the free agency signing period, and with most of the big name free agents already in new locations, there is still a lot of talent out there. The Los Angeles Kings have not been in the playoffs since 2002, but they are looking to change that.

Who is still available that the Kings could surely use in their lineup?

As of today, the most popular free agents include: Miroslav Satan, Robert Lang, Jason Williams, Maxim Afinogenov, Ales Kotalik, Todd Bertuzzi, Mike Grier, Alex Tanguay, Mike Comrie, Mats Sundin, Mathieu Schneider, Derek Morris, Paul Mara, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Manny Fernandez, Martin Biron, Martin Gerber, and Antero Niittymaki.

Los Angeles has a decent team, but let's be honest, they are not good enough to make a run at the playoffs just yet.

The Kings' offense is starting to take shape with a load of young talent such as Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov, Wayne Simmonds, Oscar Moller, and Teddy Purcell. The good news for Los Angeles is that all these players are able to produce, and not one of them is over the age of 24, with the exception of Alexander Frolov who is 27.

Brown, Kopitar, and Frolov are the three key players to the Kings front line combining for 83 goals and 178 points last year.

The only downside is that Brown was a -15, Kopitar was a -17, and Frolov a -7. Simmonds, Moller, and Purcell were all rookies last season and put up respectable numbers.

The acquisition of Ryan Smyth, a nine-time 20-goal scorer really helps the Kings up front as well. They also have Jarret Stoll, who had 41 points (18-23-41).

Hopefully, Martin Hanzus can produce another 40-point season as well. And if injury-riddled Justin Williams also comes back to be the player he used to be in Carolina, that would help Los Angeles out. Williams had 201 points (81-120-201) in 265 games with Carolina over 4 1/2 seasons.

But when we look at the Kings, who were $12.5 million under the cap last season and are still under by a significant amount, I think they can afford to reel in one more solid forward for $3-$5 million next season.

If I were Dean Lombardi, I would hunt for a middle line forward who can produce as well as help develop their young guys. Mike Grier and Robert Lang are perfect for this role.

Grier helped San Jose win the President's Trophy last year with a 10-13-23 line in 62 games last year. The Sharks are looking for more youth, so the 34-year-old forward would bring some needed size to the Kings' lineup, as well as scoring and speed. 

Lang had 39 points (18-21-39) in 50 games for Montreal last season and has good leadership qualities. Altough he is coming off an injury, Lang showed he still has something left in his tank, and the Kings might want to consider him.

Of course, if the Kings would like to add some more talent up front, why not bring in Afinogenov, Kotalik, or Alex Tanguay?

Afinogenov might be the best fit because of his speed, although he shows signs of slowing down. He needs a fresh start, and Los Angeles may be a benefit. 

Better yet, why not get Ales Kotalik? The Kings had 11 overtime losses last season, with seven of those coming in shootouts. Kotalik had the second-best shootout percentage last year at 61.5 percent, scoring eight goals on 13 chances.

Had the Kings had Kotalik last year, he might have added four or five more wins to the total. The Kings' best shootout man last year was Jack Johnson, who scored three times on six chances.

The Kings' defense, right now, is a little shaky.

They recently got Rob Scuderi, who just won the Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh. Enjoy it while you can, Rob, because you might not win another one is a long time. But Scuderi is an excellent shot blocker with 164 last year. If he blocks 164 more shots this season, that could mean 5-10 more wins for Los Angeles.

Los Angeles also has tough guy Jack Johnson, Drew Doughty, Matt Greene, Davis Drewiske, Sean O' Donnell, and Peter Harrold.

Doughty had the most points out of all these players with 27 and ended with a -17 rating. Greene had 14, O' Donnell and Harrold had 12, Johnson had 11, and Drewiske had three.

O' Donnell, who turns 38 this year, led the Kings with a +2 rating. Yes, that is a sad statistic to see.

The Kings might want to look into some offensive defensemen like Mathieu Schneider, who has already had a stint in Los Angeles, or Marc-Andre Bergeron.

Schneider is rounding the retirement corner at age 40, but he still had a 9-23-32 line last year. Schneider is a good power play defensemen and doesn't make too many mistakes in his own zone.

Bergeron, however, lacks in the defense department. His game shows more love in the offensive zone. In 2008-09 Bergeron led Minnesota's defense with 14 goals and also added 18 assist for 32 points.

Picking up one of these two players to a short-term deal could help develop the Kings.

Perhaps, Derek Morris would fit into this picture as well.

From a defensive standpoint, Los Angeles could use players like Paul Mara, Martin Skoula, or Kay McKee. The good thing about these guys is the fact that they can all play a good amount of minutes per game and would come at a cheap price. Maybe Los Angeles could afford two of the three.

Skoula and Mara can also be healthy, with both playing in 81 games last season for their respective clubs.

McKee, on the other hand, is coming off a 69-game season. But when healthy, he is a tough man to play against in his zone.

We finally get to goaltending, which is the Los Angeles Kings weakest department by far.

Last year, the Kings split time between Jason Labarbera, Jonathan Quick, and Erik Ersberg. 

Goaltending has been such a mess in Los Angeles that the Kings have tried 22 different goalies over the past 10 seasons.

Yes, I said 22 different goalies who have gotten a shot for Los Angeles. 

Quick was the only one with a winning record of 21-18-2. He also had the lowest goals against average at 2.48 and the highest save percentage at .914. As of now, Quick is the starting goalie for the Kings.

If I were Dean Lombardi, I would sign a more reliable goalie right now while he can. Letting Quick ride the bench and play 15-25 games could benefit his development, since it seems that is what Lombardi wants to do with his goalies.

Ersberg would be a solid AHL goalie for Manchester, so why not let him start down there instead of backing up someone who should be a back up?

The last goalie to have a decent season with Los Angeles was in 2001-02 when Felix Potvin went 31-27-8-4 with a 2.31 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. Still, that's not a great year. 

The best fit for the Kings would be either Martin Biron, Manny Fernandez, Antero Niittymaki, or even Brent Johnson.

Between Biron and Niittymaki, one of them must go with the signing of Ray Emery in Philadelphia. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they both left to try and find a starting role else where.

Biron went 29-15-5 with a 2.76 goals against average last year for Philadelphia and is still a reliable starting goalie. Niittymaki went 15-8-6 for that same Philly team and had an identical 2.76 goals against average.

Niittymaki will most likely be the one to not hear from the Flyers, meaning he is open for discussion.

Manny Fernandez is probably the best bet for Los Angeles, as he has lost a starting job three times now in his career: First to Marty Turco in Dallas, then to Niklas Backstrom in Minnesota, and last year Tim Thomas secured his spot as the starting goalie in Boston for years to come.

Fernandez was a quality backup for the Bruins, holding a 16-8-3 record and a 2.59 goals against average. Fernandez has a career record of 143-123-24-11 record and is in search of a new home.

Well, Manny, Los Angeles fans are waiting for you to come save us.

Lastly is Brent Johnson, who like the others, has been the odd man out. His time in Washington is done, as Simeon Varlamov and Jose Theodore will be battling for the starting job.

Johnson was injured last year and finished his season with a 12-6-2 record. The 32-year-old might want to look for a fresh start and sign a long-term deal with a team like Los Angeles, because even a goalie of his quality would be best for the Kings.

With all the possibilities and talent still out on the market, let's hope the Kings dive into it and make a few more splashes, especially in the goalie department, before the start of the 2009-2010 season.

I have confidence that Los Angeles will improve slightly from last year, but with the addition of a few of these players, who knows? Maybe this underdog team will be in the hunt for the playoffs.

Plenty of solid goalies are still out there, and Los Angeles should seriously consider one.