Per Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider, we have a good transcipt of
Kings GM Dean Lombardi’s appearance on radio today, as he discussed free
agency and what the team might be thinking when it comes to Alexander
Frolov. The Kings have a significant portion of their roster set to hit
free agency this summer and with several young players approaching their
paydays the Kings will have some difficult choices to make.
After seven seasons with the Kings, it’s likely that Frolov’s time
with the team is coming to an end. He’s a talented goal-scorer, who has
topped 30 goals twice in his career, yet had a disappointing 19 goals in
81 games in a contract year.
Here’s Lombardi on Frolov:
So would we like to keep him? Yes. But if the price is
prohibitive, and maybe would prevent us from filling other holes and
making sure we keep Doughty and Johnson and all these kids coming
through, then you have to walk away. I think you’re probably right on
Fro. He’s a good player. I guess at times, like you say, you think he’s
capable of more, but he’s still a productive player. But you still now
have to really be astute in how you attach a price tag to that, or
you’re going to get yourself in trouble down the road, and then all this
building we’ve done makes no sense if we can’t keep these young players
that have come through our system. So I’m not too optimistic, given
what he’s looking for.
Lombardi also goes on to
mention the KHL as competition for Frolov, where the contracts are
higher and tax-free.
Frolov made $4 million this past season in
the final year of his five-year contract, and he’s most likely going to
be looking for a least that in his next contract. Frolov is certainly
talented, but if the team he’s played for the past seven seasons is
thinking that perhaps the effort isn’t always there, then there’s
absolutely no chance the pay that price for him again.
