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| Kings tender qualifying offers to Byfield, Spence, Kaliyev & Portillo |
Qualifying offers are a crucial step in the process of building the summer roster picture, not so much in terms of deciding on contracts or salaries as in terms of seeing some decisions made toward what could be viewed as the signing bubble. With that in mind, the LA Kings have extended qualifying offers to the players listed below.
Byfield Quinton
Arthur Kaliyev
Erik Portillo
Jordan Spence
To begin with, a qualifying offer is not a legally binding agreement. All restricted free agents need to do this in order to maintain their RFA rights. An offer is all that a qualified offer is, after all. A player may accept the qualifying offer and turn it into a contract, or the parties may choose to negotiate. or not. The qualifying offer is frequently just a formality used to maintain the status of a restricted free agent. It makes sense for the player to accept it in certain situations, but that's not always the best course of action.
There are no surprises among the qualified players in this group.
Byfield and Spence, of course, consider themselves to be NHL players. They are obviously NHL players, having played for the Kings during the 2023–24 season. As far as restricted free agents go, Byfield will be the biggest contract the Kings offer this summer, and now that he's in the NHL, Spence will likely command at least a little bump from his entry-level contract. It's doubtful that either player will accept his qualifying offer, and the Kings will carry on their respective negotiations with them. Byfield's qualifying offer, for example, would be for a one-way, one-year contract with an AAV of $874,125. It is evident that he will not sign that contract, and the parties will negotiate a longer-term, more profitable agreement.
It's clear that Kaliyev's future is a topic of much discussion. The Kings had to make him a qualifying offer or lose his rights, whatever happened. The qualifying offer was required if the Kings and Kaliyev were to go on together. In the event that formal negotiations are made about a possible deal, the qualifying offer is also required. Although it doesn't seem likely that Kaliyev would accept the qualifying offer as it is written, it must be submitted in order to move further.
It appears as though Portillo is the only player who could sign the qualifying offer that was made to him. The deal offered by Portillo is a one-year, two-way agreement with an AAV of $826,875. The qualifying offer might make sense for a player who has only played in the AHL during their one professional season. It's possible that Portillo and the Kings will try to work out a new kind of agreement or one that lasts longer than a year. It's likely that Portillo will play in the AHL with Ontario this season, but the Kings have great hopes for him in the long run. Going future, they see him as an NHL prospect, but they are focusing on 2025 or 2026. Maybe that would result in a multiyear deal.
According to today's news, the following three players were not given qualifying offers by the Kings:Jacob Ingham
Blake Lizotte
Tyler Madden
For Lizotte, the one is really hard. The Kings seem to favor Lizotte and his contributions, in my opinion. It's feasible that the parties come to an independent agreement that keeps him with the squad, which is somewhat akin to what happened with forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan the previous campaign. Just before the NHL's July 1 free agency period opened, the Kings re-signed Anderson-Dolan as a UFA to a contract with a reduced AAV despite his failure to qualify.
A useful fourth-line center is Lizotte. He's a big fan of culture and character, so you can always count on receiving the best that Lizotte has to offer. Although you want guys like that around, sometimes it comes down to business. Is Lizotte eligible to accept a qualifying offer from the Kings at the $1,675,000 he would otherwise owe? Though to be honest, he may have even exceeded that total. Still, the Kings cannot afford to spend $1.5–$2.0 million on a fourth-line center. It might not be possible for a squad that still needs to add players to the lineup. If Lizotte returned, I would not be surprised. I personally wish him the best of luck if he doesn't. The word "character" is one that you see but may not always fully comprehend. Lizotte's DNA contains every single letter in that word.
Both Madden and Ingham played in the lower leagues during the 2023–24 season; Madden was in Ontario, while Ingham played the majority of his hockey with ECHL–Greenville. In November, Madden will turn 25. He plays largely in the Top 6 and has been a reliable component of the Reign. Despite a couple of recalls that did not lead to an NHL debut, he hasn't quite made the leap. Given how hard he plays and how often he scores 15–20 goals in the AHL, I wouldn't have been stunned if Madden had been qualified by the Kings. It's possible that this presents him with a greater opportunity somewhere; let's hope he seizes it.
He's an intriguing case for Ingham. Having begun the season with an AHL contract, Ingham was able to secure an NHL deal midway through, allowing him to retain his NHL rights with the Kings through the summer. Due to an injury, Ingham missed the entire 2022–2023 season. However, he returned with a strong 2023–2024 campaign. With a 17-10-4 record, a.916 save percentage, and a 2.57 goals-against average, Ingham was effective in Greenville. With the Kings, though, he's in a bit of a difficult situation. Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich make up the NHL tandem, so I assume the Kings would like to pair a seasoned player with Portillo in Ontario.To build on a strong six games in 2023–24, Ingham deserves a lengthier look at the AHL. However, that would probably mean the Kings forgo signing a veteran in favor of the younger Portillo/Ingham duo. Should there be an injury at the NHL level, there is a danger involved. Alternately, it would compel Ingham to begin in the ECHL as he waits for a chance. We'll see how things work out for him, but I think he's deserved a little bit more than that. Maybe return later, like he did in the previous season.
The Kings' free agency opens tomorrow at 9:00 AM Pacific. Here's a rough idea of what the Kings are dealing with based on contracts we are aware of and the data at our disposal.
The Kings' available salary in free agency is roughly $17,500,000. In order to sign Byfield and Spence and complete the remaining NHL roster, that number is set in stone. The Kings have made it known that they anticipate having forwards Alex Turcotte, Akil Thomas, and potentially Samuel Fagemo on the NHL roster this season in addition to Brandt Clarke. The Kings would probably have guys in those slots at their identical salary-cap hits whether or not that turns out to be accurate. Therefore, all four are included on the roster for budgetary considerations for the time being, and we'll take it from there.
