Kings GM Discusses the Offseason So Far

It’s been a while since we last met up with the Kings GM, Brandyn Errickson. We had the pleasure of sitting down with him just a few days ago to cover how the summer has gone for the team so far.

“I guess we can start with the relocation of our AHL team. While we thank the fans in Alaska, it just wasn’t financially feasible to keep the team there. When San Diego stepped up we jumped at the change to have a team right down interstate 5. After that decision came my first EHE entry draft. We only had two picks in the draft and coincidently they happen to be back to back. We like the two kids we took with those picks. They have a long road ahead of them but we think they can make a contribution to both our AHL team as well as our pro team.” Said the GM.

“After that we had to come to terms with some of our restricted free agents and a couple of guys we consider franchise players. Keeping around guys like our captain, Steven Stamkos, Josef Voracek, Ryan Johansen and Nick Leddy was a must for our organization. We also were able to sign some entry level deals with some of our young talent that we really think will make a difference for us. Charlie McAvoy will get a lot of ice time in Anaheim and Anders Bjork will be given a chance to break camp with the big-league club as well. Having this hand full of guys signed long term is a great advantage for us. Even Mathieu Joseph down in San Diego...we like what we've seen so far of the kid and think he might be up here sooner rather than later.” Remarked Errickson.

The head of the Kings then went on to unrestricted free agency, also a first for him. “I had heard all types of things about the UFA period, but I was still surprised with how it played out. I mean when you have top flight players like Drew Doughty, Alex Steen, Patrick Marleau and all the other guys that were available, a lot of money was going to be spent. We felt like getting a top flight goalie was our top priority. We met with Ben as soon as free agency opened and came away quite impressed with him and I think he felt the same of us. We exchanged numbers with his agent and came to an agreement pretty quickly. Getting that out of the way was a great start to free agency for us.”

Errickson continued, “Or so we thought. We then quickly made what we thought were competitive offers to players we believed would fit into the Kings locker room. We knew that we needed some help among our lower six forwards as well as a serviceable defensman. While there were discussions back and forth with a multiple free agents, most of them would end up signing for more money or longer term elsewhere. In this salary cap world, you have to prioritize what you can spend for certain positions and Ryan was willing to work with us and we felt comfortable with the offer that was made. We’re happy to have him and think his experience and leadership will be huge for our team.”

Ben Bishop and Ryan Callahan would wind up being the only “big” ticket guys to sign with LA. While they did sign another handful of players they all look ticketed for the Gulls for at least this upcoming season.

When asked about potential trade talks, GM Errickson didn’t side step the question. “You know we’re always looking to make our team better, however that may be. Have there been discussions so far this offseason? Of course, but nothing has been close to being executed.”

“Finally, I have to send a thank you out to our former AHL coach, Phil Housley. He was great for our younger players while they were playing under him and we wish him the best in Winnipeg. We’d also like to welcome our new coach of the Gulls, Jay Leach. We know he’ll pick up right where Phil left off.” Remarked GM Errickson.

That should bring all the Kings fans up to speed on what’s happened during the long offseason. Until next time Kings fans…