Kings decline. They're not paying Philadelphia to take their cap dumps.

I mean, it's really not a bad offer. On pace for 24 goals this past season and had 27 last year, JVR with that retention would have nearly the same AAV as Carter and is an upgrade offensively over Carter with 1 extra year. And then LAK don't have many NHL defenseman, so taking a stab at Ghost for a 4th could be worth it for them. He's 27 and two years removed from a 65 point season -- a change of scenery could do him well. They have a lot of cap space as it is, and this would only add around $4.5m in cap.

The dollar amount isn't the issue, the term is. Both of those guys have 3 years remaining, while Carter only has two. The Kings have plenty of cap space now, but the first of the kids (Vilardi, Clague, Anderson, etc.) will need extensions in 2022. That will likely be around the time they start pursuing free agents.

The Kings would rather just eat Carter's contract for two more seasons. They're not looking to be competitive before then, so there's no reason to trade for those guys.

In the final year of Ghost's and JVR's contract, LAK currently only have Quick (1 year left), Kopitar (2 years left), and Doughty (lots of year left) that would have a cap hit over $2.65m. I don't think the JVR and Ghost contracts would hurt their ability to resign any players that would need raises. But I can understand wanting to leave roster spots open for younger players and wanting a little more flexibility with $$.

But why would they bring on players like that who are "win now" guys? The Kings don't need the help now. It could actually be detrimental to the rebuild since it could potentially move them out of the league basement and move them out of the top 5 OA in the 2021 draft. I could see the Kings doing it if they got a young prospect or high round draft pick in exchange for taking on the additional cap hit, but in this case they're paying a 4th round pick for players that, at best they don't need, and at worst will actually be detrimental to their future.

They make the deal now because they have the space and they get the assets. If ghost reestablishes, the contract is fine. But more so, the team has the capability to flip those guys and get more assets, on a team without many tradable assets. JVR looks bad now because of the salary. He doesn’t look bad next year when there are 2 years left and the Kong’s (or another team can eat half their salary). What’s a 25 goal scorer yet you at the deadline that’s signed for 2 years and 3.5 million. A lot.

Lose the 4th going back to Philadelphia and add 25% retention on Ghost and I could see that being a compelling argument. As is, the Kings have no interest in making this deal. The Kings are rebuilding now, not 2 years from now. Future assets 2 years down the road that they might get if both guys work out aren't incentive to take on that much cap space.

Carter is worth more to the Kings as a captain, mentor, and locker room presence than either of those guys are for their on-ice contributions or potential future trade value.

I mean... I guess we will see. GMs (like Ottawa) just bought out a guy when they were already below the cap floor for this reason. And frankly, JVR cap is 2 mill over, not like the Loui, Lucci, Boychuk type deals. Rebuilds aren’t usually very quick and you can use this type of deal to get value on both ends. Maybe it won’t happen, but I’d be shocked if somebody doesn’t bite with no retention. I actually would prefer they don’t trade Ghost. I’d prefer they play him and use him properly.