Put Carter in the Bruins trade, make the 3rd a 2nd pick and cancel the Colorado trade all together, and you can save the 25c from the Denver phone call?

Why are Carter, Brown, and Quick's contracts issues at all? As it stands, Kings look like they will have $15 million in cap space next season, even with the $11M in dead space from Phaneuf, Kovalchuk, & Richards. Those contracts won't prevent the Kings from making any of the moves they want to over the next 3 seasons.

@tkecanuck341 Quick has been one of the worst goalies in the league the last few seasons and he's getting paid 3 more years at $6M. Brown and Carter staying I could live with but they are both slightly overpaid and already declining. Even if they use those $15M they are probably still a bubble team that won't make the playoffs. Might as well do a full on rebuild.

But to your point, if they're so terrible (which I don't agree with BTW) the kings will have to pay to get rid of them. Why not just keep them on the roster until their contracts expire? Then the Kings don't have to give up assets to move their contracts. They won't need the space anytime soon. Their contracts aren't preventing the Kings from going full steam ahead on the rebuild.

But to your point, If they aren't so terrible, why would they have to pay extra to get rid of them? Anyways, I'd be okay with keeping them until there contracts expire but if the right traded presented itself where you could obtain younger players or assets why wouldn't you make that trade? It's clear they're aren't good enough based on where they are in the standings so if they could more them for younger pieces they should capitalize on the opportunity. What's the point of keeping them when they can't contribute to the present (tanking) or the future.

I don't believe they are productive players anymore because the team is in the bottom 5 in the NHL and they're the core players that should be carrying the team. Younger players could be taking their spots and be developing in the NHL. For example, Villardi could be playing 2C next season. Would you rather have Carter playing those minutes or him? They won't be a contender again for a few years.

I was a huge fan of the Kings teams that won the cup and they were a huge part of it but their time is up where they have the ability to carry a team especially with their cap hits.

They provide veteran leadership and experience to a team that would otherwise be full of inexperienced kids. That alone is worth keeping them.

As players age and are supplanted by kids, the older players can move down in the lineup to make room for the young talent coming in. No one is suggesting that Carter remain the 2C indefinitely. He can either shift over to wing on that line, or drop down and play 3C or 3RW. Surely he's not any worse than Schaller, Amadio, Prokhorkin or Wagner (the four of whom combined have as many goals as Carter does this season).

For the record, the team is actively trying to be in the bottom 5 in the NHL. They are carrying the team to a top 5 overall pick in perhaps the deepest draft since 2003. Players like Turcotte, Kupari, Thomas, and the newly acquired Madden will all get their shot in the lineup, but they're all at least another full season away from being NHL ready. Better to let the kids percolate a bit longer in the AHL where they actually stand a chance to win some games than bring them up to fail in the NHL.