A lot is riding on Petersen being an actual 1A starter and the beginning of the inevitable decline of Doughty is not far away. Having a defensive liability on the 4th line like Kaliyev is not smart. Outside of Doughty and Roy their defense is not very promising. But what do I know I’m a sharks fan.

Now let’s see how they pan out at the highest level

Kaliyev is on the 4th line simply because that foward core is so deep, I don't know where to out him lol. He maybe ready for.top 6 minutes, but that's a debate with all younger players.

I do share some.of your concerns on the blueline. Ideally, I would have signed Reilly - but I think his contract demands may price him out of LA (noting the decline of Dougherty there). But..... Björnfot looks like he is gonna be a gamer, and a full year of NHL play he should begin playing up the line up with some increased ice time. Walker is quite effective - nothing fancy, but manages the position economically imo. Anderson as a bottom pairing guy I think works well. He did look good last year.

Your like me when it comes to defensive... prefer a more vet look to it - hence the Ekholm signing. But yes, that blueline is still really young. However, I think it's gonna be surprisingly solid.

Peterson's signing is on the assumption he does what he did last year, and there is little.reason to think otherwise really. One year does not a franchise goalie make, but the pedigre is there for sure.

That forward group is ridiculous, and if this season shows that the quartet of Björnfot, Roy, Walker and Amderson needs an upgrade, I think that is where Blake goes next. He certain has the pieces to make that sort of splash..... especially if the Kings line up.to miss at the deadline. I would say Athanasiou gets dealt, maybe Edler (that is up to him), maybe Brown (again up to.him)....

But Blake has all.sirts of.options at his disposal.rihht now to address the blueline if needed.

They looked quite good in Ontario last year. A full year there, and I believe they will be ready to make the jump and contribute meaningfully.

LA will be trying to outbid many teams for Ekholm and in 2 years Kopitar, Arvidsson, Roy, Byfield, Turcotte, Kaliyev and Walker will be needing new contracts so signing a top defeseman at six mil may not be the best decision. If all those players pan out then Blake is going to have some decisions to make on trades to make it work cause that is a ton of high priced contracts to sign even on bridge deals.

100% agreed. But it is a great problem to have lol.

I just see a lot.of money coming off the books over the next couple years on LA. Decisions will need to be made yes, but not as many as say a Tampa.

So long as Ekholm's term fits the cap structure, I think it can work - but yes, a lot of teams will be in on him, if he isn't moved and resigned by his new team.

Long term, I don't see Arvidsson in the mix honestly, Kopitar signs for less money on a short term deal provided things go as planned in LA.

I think with the right planning they are gonna be OK

Well, I hope they are good. But not toooo good. In 2 years they'll be head to head with Eklund, Bordeleau, Gushchin, Merkley and Wiesblatt and I want my guys to give em hell.

Nothing wrong with a healthy battle of California lol