Nine days after parting ways with former general manager Rob Blake, the Los Angeles Kings hired Ken Holland as their new GM on May 14. Holland was brought in with the sole intention of making LA a city of champions once again.
The four-time Stanley Cup winner, as a front office member of the Detroit Red Wings, wasted no time opening up the 2025 free agency period. On Tuesday, the Kings led the league in new signings (five).
However, quantity doesn’t always equal quality.
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The Los Angeles Kings entered Tuesday’s free agency period with $23.2 million in cap space and now enter Wednesday with a fraction under $6 million. Holland did exactly what he was presumed to do, but not in the way most fans perceived.
The morning kicked off with a shocking decision to add long-time rival Corey Perry to the mix on a one-year, $3.5 million deal.
Immediately after, Finnish winger Joel Armia is added to the attack on a two-year contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $2.5 million. Armia is a 32-year-old who is coming off a 29-point season (11 goals, 18 assists) with the Montreal Canadiens. The deal is one of the more favorable ones the Kings have had so far.
Armia will likely be paired with Perry to form one of the more dynamic fourth lines in hockey. However, the addition of Armia was likely made to replace Tanner Jeannot, who signed a five-year, $17 million deal with the Boston Bruins. For now, the Armia acquisition — and contract — looks to be better than another year with Jeannot.
Unfortunately, the rest of the day didn’t turn many heads, and it seemed that Holland was pushing out deals just to shake things up. Though having fresh faces and new personalities could be a turning point for a franchise, splurging the cap on mediocrity is not ideal.
The blueline was also addressed on day one with defensemen Brian Dumoulin (three-year, $4 million AAV) and Cody Ceci (four-year, $4.5 million AAV). Neither player is necessarily a bad addition, but considering the contracts that they will be under, it can be argued that better options could have been in play.
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Both individuals are aging veterans who are past their prime, but this defensive pairing is one that Holland believes can win Los Angeles enough games.
“The goal heading into free agency was to try to make the team deeper a little bit bigger,” Holland said (h/t Russell Morgan of Hockey Royalty). “Now it’s got to happen on the ice but we feel good about the things we’ve accomplished.”
As important as having depth is in hockey, losing out on cornerstone pieces and enforcers like defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov might be too costly. The Los Angeles Kings were unable to keep the 30-point scorer around and eventually lost him to the New York Rangers (seven-year, $49 million).
The day continued with the final transaction of goalie Anton Forsberg signing a two-year, $4.5 million contract with LA. This move just adds a piece behind star Darcy Kuemper and replaces David Rittich — a personality that was loved.
It’s not what was expected, but it’s what Los Angeles Kings fans got. The hiring of Holland will soon be the greatest thing the Kings have had, or one of the worst. Nonetheless, this won’t be the last we see of LA in any news, as moves for defenseman Bowen Bryam and forward Nikolaj Ehlers are being entertained.
If Holland manages to make either one an LA King, his questionable day one could quickly be forgotten. But for now, he’s quickly placed himself in the hot seat.