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3 Reasons Why McNabb Leaving for Vegas is Good for the Kings

Last night during the annual NHL awards show, the Vegas Golden Knights completed their selection of 30 picks of players left exposed by each organization for the 2017 NHL expansion draft. To the surprise of no one, Vegas selected the underachieving Brayden McNabb from the Los Angeles Kings.

 

Born in 1991, the 6″5″, 200 pound defenseman was traded to the Kings along with Jonathan Parker and two draft picks by the Buffalo Sabres for winger Hudson Fasching and defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers at the 2013-14 trade deadline. This was the same trade deadline that brought Marian Goborik to LA from Columbus, but unlike Gaborik, who played a key role in helping the LA Kings win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history with 14 goals and 22 points in those playoffs, McNabb was sent down to the Kings’ AHL affiliate (at the time), the Manchester Monarchs, therefore he did not participate in that historical Stanley Cup hunt and victory.

By the 2014-15 season, McNabb had earned a regular spot on the main Kings’ roster, and there he stayed until the end of last season. Even though he finished his time with the Kings with 6 goals, 36 assists and 42 points and a plus-43 in three seasons, the Kingdom was very divisive on whether McNabb was or was not reaching/playing with his whole potential. Especially last season, when he was riddled with injuries, and some uninspiring play.

Still, McNabb is only 26 years old, and though no longer a rookie, he does still have an opportunity to reach his full potential and with a fresh start to boot in Las Vegas. With McNabb now officially gone and with the Golden Knights, here are 3 reasons why this is a good thing for the Los Angeles Kings.

1 – It Frees Up Some Much Needed Space on the Kings’ Salary Cap.

McNabb, who is now on the final year on his contract, had a small AAV cap hit of $1,700,000. Now that isn’t a lot. Especially when comparing it to the contracts of two other players that were left exposed for the draft, former Captain Dustin Brown at $5,875,00 for 5 more years, and Gaborik at $4,875,000 for 4 more years. The best case scenario for the Kings in this expansion draft would have been if Vegas selected one of those two players, therefore freeing up even more cap space, but as reported here by my colleagues and I, as well as on LA Kings Road Talk Radio and the Vegas Hockey Podcast, Vegas GM George McPhee had NO interest in taking on those expensive and long term contracts, for players that are either physically done and past his prime, (Brown) or a player that is severely injury prone, and tends to play with invisibility and no heart (Gaborik). Still, with the cap being set at $75,000,000 for next season, (up, but not that much from last season’s $74,500,ooo cap hit), McNabb’s exit does free up some much needed space for the Kings. Especially if they now decide to waive and/or buy out the contracts of Brown and Gaborik for even more cap space. There are penalties of course for teams that buy out players, (though not with the same crippling severity of Mike Richards‘ contract, which wasn’t bought out but terminated), it could still free up to approximately $4,000,000 to $6,ooo,ooo of cap space. More space on the cap of course means that the Kings can use that wiggle room to sign or trade for players that can help the Kings get back into Stanley Cup contention.

2 – This Frees Up a Regular Roster Spot for Defenseman Paul LaDue. 

Like back during the 2011-12 season when the Kings’ traded defenseman Jack Johnson to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline, due to the progression, development and adaptation to the NHL level by younger defensemen Alec Martinez and Slava Voynov, this past season, we all witnessed the same progression, development and adaptation to the NHL level by younger (and cheaper) defensemen, Derek Forbort, Kevin Gravel and Paul LaDue. Considering that last season was a frustrating one for the Kingdom, these three Ontario Reign/Manchester Monarchs’ graduates proved that they belonged with the big boys of the NHL. This also made everyone aware that the three of them had surpassed McNabb, (like Johnson before him), on LA’s defensive depth chart, (especially in comparison to McNabb, who was playing in his fourth NHL season, but was committing more ‘rookie’ mistakes than the actual rookies were!) With McNabb now gone, the Kings can now focus on re-signing the RFA’s Gravel and LaDue to small sized contracts, and make LaDue, (who has the potential of becoming the type of defenseman that can be a quarterback on the power play, has a smooth skating style, a good shot, and he moves the puck around well and fast, especially when needing to get the puck out of his own defensive zone, which is something that this Kings’ team desperately needs), a main fixture on the King’s main roster. The future is bright for these three.

3 – The Long Time Unsung Hero, Trevor Lewis and NHL Sophomore Nic Dowd are still with the Kings.

What Lewis brings to the table for the Kings’, especially on the ice and in the locker room is unquantifiable. He may not score a lot, or rack up hordes of points, but it is never for a lack of trying. In other words, “Lewie” has earned deep respect from his teammates, the fans and the organization over the years, due to his fierce competitive spirit and ‘never quit on the play’ type of attitude. He’s the type of player and leader whose work ethic is a perfect example for any upcoming player, especially if they are a rookie, to follow and learn from. Trevor Lewis is all heart and soul, and with the Kings already lacking the united leadership they had from 2011-2014, losing Lewis, his hustle and skill, along with his versatile ability of being able to play on all three forward positions of left winger, center and right wing, losing Lewis to Vegas would have been another tough gut punch for the Kingdom, (as well as to Drew Doughty, who recently mentioned on TSN in Canada, that it would have been tough for him to lose another one of his best friends to another team, like when Wayne Simmonds was traded to Philadelphia back in 2011).

Nic Dowd isn’t at the level of Lewis at the moment, but does have the potential, (and we saw some glimpses of that last season, especially when paired with Dustin Brown), to become a strong bottom six center-man. We have seen a large improvement with his face-off (not John Travolta or Nicolas Cage) skills, but he still needs work on his offensive and defensive skills. It will be interesting to see what new head coach John Stevens can do with Dowd, to help him progress and improve. Still, despite Dowd’s flaws, he is still heads and shoulders (not the dandruff shampoo) above fellow teammate Nick Shore, who sadly is becoming a liability to the team.

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So there you go. Those are my 3 reasons why McNabb going to Las Vegas is a good thing for our Los Angeles Kings. Do you agree, or disagree? Who would you have wanted Las Vegas to take from our Kings in this expansion draft, well besides “Brownie,” and “Gabbo?” Let us know in the comments below.

But before I go, we here at CaliSports News would like to thank Brayden McNabb for all of his contributions and service for our Los Angeles Kings, and wish him all the best in Las Vegas. Well except for when he’s playing against the Kings of course!

GO KINGS GO!!!

 

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