Like him or not, most would agree that Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown is a steal with a cap hit of $3.175 million that expires after next season.
A two-game suspension allowed him some time to rest up a bit, and maybe think about his next contract. He discussed the possibility of inking a new deal this summer with John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor.
“I’ve been a King my whole life, my whole career, and I hope to stay here,” Brown said. “I still have another year left on my existing deal and I plan on at least playing that out. If we get to talking this summer, then we get to talking. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. It’s one of those things.”
The 28-year-old forward hopes that his negotiations don’t take the focus away from his team either way.
“If they’d like to extend me, I’d like to get it done before next season just to avoid the whole kind of (drama) that you saw in Anaheim (with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry),” Brown said. “It became a distraction not just for those players, but I think for the organization as a whole.”
Like Getzlaf and Perry, his days of being a huge bargain might just be over soon, too.