The Los Angeles Kings haven't been able to get No. 1 center Anze Kopitar locked up yet, but the expectation is that the deal, said to be a likely eight-year extension worth somewhere around $9.5 or $10 million per season, will get done sooner rather than later. That's good news for Kings fans, though not just because it will keep Kopitar, the team's leader in ice time among forwards and the source of much of their offense, with the franchise for the foreseeable future, but because it will also allow the team and GM Dean Lombardi to begin negotiations with offseason addition and Kopitar's left winger, Milan Lucic.
"Once the Kings are able to get an extension done with centre Anze Kopitar sometime next month, look for them to have serious discussions with Milan Lucic next," Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun wrote Sunday. "Acquired from the Bruins during last year's roster shakeup in Beantown, Lucic has been a good fit for the rugged Kings and they have been pleased with the contribution he has made."
Lucic, despite a down season in 2014-15 for the Bruins, has rediscovered the power forward form that once made him one of the most difficult players to defend in the entire NHL. This season, playing on the Kings' top unit alongside Kopitar and Marian Gaborik, the 27-year-old Lucic has collected 10 goals and 21 points.
There were concerns in Boston last year that his body had begun to breakdown thanks to his overly physical, grating style of play, but if the first 32 games of the 2015-16 season are any indication, Lucic should be a powerful offensive force in the league for several more years to come.
The issue, as it always is, is finances. Lucic is currently in the final year of a deal that pays him $6 million. The Kings are paying the big scorer just $3.25 million for his efforts this season though, as the Bruins ate $2.75 million of his salary for this year in an effort to finalize the deal.
Depending how the rest of his season plays out, Lucic is likely to seek a deal with a similar value as the three-year, $18 million contract he signed with the Bruins prior to 2013-14. Lucic isn't an elite scorer, but he's a big presence - literally and figuratively - on the ice and, further, seems a perfect fit for the Kings physical style of play.
While he may never post the offensive output of other top wingers like Alexander Ovechkin ($9.5 million cap hit), Rick Nash ($7.8 million cap hit) or Zach Parise ($7.5 million cap hit), Lucic certainly brings a valuable skillset to the table.
With the NHL salary cap expected to rise only a little more than $1 million for next year - the Kings have just over $3.16 million in cap space at present, per General Fanager - Kopitar expected to sign a deal with a high cap figure, and players like Lucic, Trevor Lewis and Brayden McNabb and Jamie McBain without deals for 2015-16, Lombardi will have some difficult decisions to make.
Signing Lucic may very well be a priority for the franchise, but making it work will be no small feat.
