The Kings' seven-year deal with Anze Kopitar, announced earlier this morning, is another shot of good news for a franchise that, very quietly, could be on the cusp of doing some very good things.
Kopitar is well under most hockey fans' radar, but he could very well be the third best young player in the NHL -- in a league with Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, that's not bad -- and to lock him up through the 2015-2016 season is huge.
Think I'm kidding? Check this highlight out.
Kopitar's signing is another significant building block for an organization that has taken its share of hits in This Space but seems to be putting together a group that could be good for a long time.
The No. 1 line of Kopitar, Patrick O'Sullivan (signed earlier this week) and Dustin Brown (signed to a six-year extension last year, and recently named captain at age 23) will be intact for at least the next three years, the length of O'Sullivan's contract. The Kings can score, and at some point when their young defense corps -- headed by Jack Johnson and rookie Drew Doughty -- matures and goaltending prodigy Jonathan Bernier gets to LA to stay, the Kings will be a very dangerous team.
For now, with a bunch of young guys finding their way and a coach in Terry Murray who is more of a teacher and less of a dictator than predecessor Marc Crawford, this will be a fun team to watch. They may not win a lot this season, but for the first time in a long while there's discernible hope and a definite plan in place.
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