The Kings have two remaining restricted free agents to deal with but it appears they’re close to a deal with one of them as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that they’re close to finalizing a one-year contract with defenseman Mikey Anderson. Financial terms of the anticipated agreement are not yet known.
The 23-year-old has quickly become an important part of the back end for Los Angeles over the last two seasons, logging more than 20 minutes a night. Last season, he played in 57 games (missing the rest of them due to an upper-body injury and a brief stint in COVID protocol), collecting eight points while taking only four minor penalties. Anderson also took a regular turn on the penalty kill and led all Kings rearguards in hits. All in all, he has quickly become an unheralded top-four defender for them.
Anderson is coming off his entry-level deal with a required qualifying offer of $874,125 and didn’t have salary-arbitration rights this summer. Between that, his limited offensive production, and their salary-cap situation, that would have made a multiyear agreement hard to work out. By going this route, Los Angeles will get Anderson at a bargain rate, which will help from a cap-management perspective. However, Anderson will qualify for salary arbitration next summer, which will help pave the way for a bigger increase at that time.
Once this agreement is finalized, GM Rob Blake will need to turn his focus to their other unsigned blueliner in Sean Durzi. He’s in the same situation as Anderson as he has completed his entry-level pact but didn’t qualify for arbitration eligibility this summer.
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