Quoting: hockey101
Fair enough, but I’m not sure that Roy is good enough as full time, same with LaDue, but Walker I liked. I think he’ll be a bit of a diamond in the rough. I think having Kovalchuk as disgruntled wouldn’t help and trading him will be difficult. So, with NYR rumored to have had interest in Ilya in the past I figured this could work.
An agreed on Karlsson, probably $10.5M. Still doable.
Watching every Kings game this season, Roy actually really impressed me. He's the most NHL-ready defenseman out of the three, in my opinion. That being said, I think Walker has a slightly higher ceiling. I don't see LaDue being part of the team for much longer. The Kings seem pretty down on him, but to be fair, he didn't get that much of a shot to prove his worth. I think he'll be a good 3rd pairing defenseman on a team, able to help run the 2nd PP.
The Kings offseason situation is fascinating, watching as a fan. Everything on the back-end relies on what they do with Phaneuf and Martinez. Do they buyout Phaneuf? Is Martinez traded, or part of the team moving forward? If both of those guys go, then they
might be interested in a player like Shattenkirk. However, the front office has also stated in season ticket holder meetings that they are specifically looking at bringing the average age of the team down to 25. And while the average would still drop with a Shattenkirk/Kovalchuk swap, it might not be enough for the liking of Kings brass.