Despite the evidence that accumulated last season and a league-wide trend toward youth and speed, general manager Rob Blake and team president Luc Robitaille believed the players who formed the backbone of the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup champion teams could win another title if they got help on the wing and on the power play. That led Blake to lure 35-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk back from Russia with a three-year deal worth $6.25 million per season — a year longer than other teams offered — with no-move clauses in each of the first two seasons. That investment doesn’t fit into a tanking strategy. Nor does signing Drew Doughty to an eight-year, $88-million deal that kicks in next season but includes a no-move clause this season, according to capfriendly.com. The rich contracts that follow Cup triumphs are difficult to trade.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 01, 2018 01:18 UTC