The Los Angeles Kings and Anze Kopitar aren't making much headway, or any headway at all, that is, toward a new long-term extension for the No. 1 pivot, according to Damien Cox of Sportsnet. Per Cox, there is a "growing sense" that talks between the Kings and Kopitar have "stalled." The Kings and GM Dean Lombardi, of course, needed time to deal with the dual issues of Mike Richards and Slava Voynov, so their reticence to this point to come to terms with Kopitar on a lucrative long-term extension makes sense. You can't plan ahead on what kind of deal to fit under you cap if you don't know what kind of room under the cap you're going to be working with.
But with Richards agreeing to a settlement and Voynov off to Russia, things in Los Angeles are finally settled. Kopitar had made it clear that he was hoping to get the deal done prior to the season, but the aforementioned troubles kept that from being the case, but now that the Richards and Voynov situations have been dealt with, there are reportedly people in the league who are "puzzled" that more headway hasn't been made where Kopitar is concerned.
Of course, it could be as simply as Lombardi and/or Kopitar feeling a disinclination to talk contract now that the season is underway. ESPN's Craig Custance reported in Sept. that Kopitar was unwilling to discuss a new deal during the season, so that certainly could be what's put a hold on any new negotiations.
But considering the reported tenor of talks prior to puck drop on the 2015-16 season, there's likely at least some cause for concern in Los Angeles over Kopitar's long-term future with the franchise.
At 28 and with two Stanley Cup championships to his name, Kopitar has become far and away the most productive and integral member of the Kings offense. Kopitar finished the 2014-15 season for Darryl Sutter's group with 16 goals and 48 assists in 79 games, despite playing for a Kings team that just didn't seem right for most of the season.
While it's unlikely he ends up elsewhere, previous reports that talks "haven't gotten off the ground" and that the two sides were "a good couple million per season apart" coupled with the latest from Cox, have to at least have Kings fans scratching their heads and wondering what's next for Kopitar.
