According to Dreger, Brad Richards has landed where everyone thought he would: New York, New York.  The deal is apparently 9 years at a $6.5M AAV.  The Kings made a great pitch in their bid to amass 3 number one centers, but were probably beat out with that final sell job by Wade Redden.

Fortunately for the Kings, having Kopitar and Mike Richards already set to go as a one-two punch down the middle made this attempt more of a luxury than anything.

So: what's next?  Doughty?  Trades?  Gagne?  Luring Palffy out of retirement?  Discuss!

As free agency begins at noon ET/9 a.m. Pacific, here are some links and updates to ponder:

1. What have we heard about Doughty?! 

There is no contract in place yet.  It does not appear that one will be completed by 9.  However, both sides seem interested in working out a long-term deal.  Last night, we had this update from The Fourth Period:

I'm confident Kings/Doughty will get a deal done. I've spoken with both sides, neither seem concerned. Just takes time.

Consider, too, this tidbit that surfaced in a recent Mike Richards interview:

"I know Drew Doughty a little bit from playing at the Olympics with him, and he could not stop raving about LA and how much he loved it there..."

So there you go.  From everything we've heard, Drew Doughty wants to remain a King.  There is a risk that he will be given offer sheets, but he'd also have to sign them.  A deal could take some time to be completed, but I believe it will be done.

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Over at LAKi (and I assume elsewhere) there's been a lot of talk about the possibility of signing Brad Richards. Dean Lombardi revealed to Rich Hammond that he has been told the cap is likely rise to $62.5-63MM. I covered a lot of this ground already in a post two weeks ago (Kings cap situation rhymes with pucks) but let's go back over it with Richards (and Lombardi's new cap number)  in mind.

The bare bones roster

including all players already under contract for next season, plus the obvious must-signs at (in the name of being super optimistic) absolute bargain-basement prices. They are Doughty ($5MM), Simmonds ($1.5MM), Martinez ($1MM), Moller, Lewis and Richardson (each at $950K). 

This roster does not include UFAs Handzus or Ponikarovsky, nor does it include prospects like Brayden Schenn, Thomas Hickey, Viatcheslav Voynov, Andrei Loktionov or Jake Muzzin. The last three of those prospects are easier to fit under this year's cap than the first two (Schenn and Hickey) because, as this will be the last year under the current CBA, there will be no bonus cushion, so all of Schenn's and Hickey's (and everyone else's) bonuses will count in full against the cap, with no allowance (cushion) for going over. 

This roster also doesn't include Richards, yet (though it does include his son). Here it is:

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A couple of clips from the MSM on the Summer of Kovalchuk. The first is from Hradek at ESPN, possibly a little insight into Kovalchuk's "process." The second, from Sporting News, is that same process two months later.

ESPN: Hradek: Lombardi's intense questioning turned off Kovalchuk - HFBoards

[...] The Kings present Kovalchuk with a 15-year offer worth approximately $80 million. One source would later tell me that Kovalchuk was turned off by intense questioning from Kings GM Dean Lombardi. At the time, though, the Kings appear to be the favorite to land the sniper.

To which I say, yay.

Next up, this is agent Grossman talking to the Sporting News about his client:

Ilya Kovalchuk's agent looks back at a long, hot summer - NHL - Sporting News

"Before we submitted the second contract to the league, the question was raised: 'Are we going down the right path?' I said, 'Look, nobody is walking away from you.'"

Kovalchuk asked his agent, last week, "are we going down the right path?" That is fascinating. I wonder if Grossman really meant to reveal that.

Since, you know, 8 is taken.

In case you're keeping score at home, the Kings now are a couple million from the cap ceiling, if you assume -- as I do -- that Brayden Schenn, Kyle Clifford and Jacob Muzzin are making the team. Which puts the likelihood of the Kings even re-entering the conversation about Kovalchuk at about zero.

Sean O'Donnell and Alexander Frolov, out. Willie Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarovsky, in. That's an upgrade (watch Fro score 40 goals now).

Randy Jones and Raitis Ivanans, out. Jacob Muzzin and Kyle Clifford, in.

Teddy Purcell out, Brayden Schenn in.

Erik Ersberg out, Jonathan Bernier in.

These are estimates. Your results may vary. Many nice Mitchell videos after the jump:

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I wouldn't have thought it was possible. Kovalchuk has stretched this thing out for so long that the media has actually folded up its tents and gone home. Usually, stories that dominate the news have a better internal clock, a better sense of timing. LeBron James, who is a much bigger star than Ilya Kovalchuk, did a lot of things badly this summer, but he had the good sense not to say, I will announce my decision on Monday, on Friday, next week, or some day...

Obviously, to be fair, the whole arbitration sub-plot took a couple of weeks out of his schedule, but that at least was a plot twist that consumed the news cycle. It was a detour, but not a dull one. I can't help but notice that the three weeks before the rejection/arbitration and the two weeks since feel the same, the only difference being that the GMs have stopped talking and the press has stopped asking. Which is to say, everyone has tacitly acknowledged that nothing is happening. Nothing was happening then and the same nothing is happening now.

As I said back in the pre-rejection period, there really isn't that much to "work out." You can alter the dollars and alter the term, that's it. Yes, there can be a signing bonus. Yes, there are many different ways to structure the salary (front-load, back-load, bell-curve, level). So what? The process is sufficiently straight-forward that nearly every free agent is able to negotiate his deal within a few seconds of being on the clock on 7/1. The CBA doesn't even allow the SPC to be altered from the form provided as an attached exhibit (except obviousy to fill in the blanks of name, team, salary, term...). It's literally a form.

I said previously that if Kovalchuk were willing to come down to around $91MM (from $102MM) -- or if Lamoriello were willing to take a $7.5MM-8MM cap hit -- it would be easy to make a deal. The fact that there is no deal means that someone is not willing to compromise.

(No, I don't think it's something as pleasant as Lou saying, "hey, I'll give you your $9.5MM but I have to dump salary first." Lamoriello can sign Kovalchuk at that price already. He would have to move salary by the start of the season, but he doesn't have to do it first.)

At this point, I don't think there's really any reason to believe that Kovalchuk is more likely to sign with the Devils (or the Kings, for that matter; or the Islanders, or the Thrashers, or Leafs or Ducks) than with anybody else.

I wonder if Kovy is willing to sit out? Would he wait on the sidelines for a team to realize (in November or December, say) that it needs help badly? I can see Grossman making that argument, actually. "We can sit out the beginning of the season. Maybe somebody's star will get hurt and you can sign a one-year deal in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Washington, San Jose or Chicago...somewhere you wouldn't normally be able to play because of those teams' cap issues. Then you can win a cup and next summer we'll really be able to get you that $100MM!"

That makes sense to me. Yeah, I don't think Kovalchuk has any particular need to rush anything. He's bored everyone to tears already.

HockeyBuzz.com - Matthew Barry - Kovalchuk, Kaberle, Mitchell and the Stupid Dustin Brown Rumor
Yes, the Kings have asked about Kovalchuk. Grossman told them N.J. gets first crack. Kings brass have felt used and abused but Lieweke wants to be sure that it’s dead once and for all. (It is Tim, can we please get on with our lives? Stop buggin Lombardi already!)

It won't be over until Kovalchuk is signed and the deal is approved by the league. The whole NJD "gets first crack" tells us exactly where we are. It's June 28th (about). Lou has reverted to his early July mode of "we're trying to work it out." Lombardi has returned to his early July radio-silence. Kovalchuk has said nothing. Personally, I think anyone who says this or that is certain to happen is just hoping for a quick resolution of this story that's already over-stayed its welcome. I don't blame them. But I have no clue how this is going to play out.

However, I don't know if Kovalchuk is willing to sign for $10MM less than he just tried to sign for, or if he's willing to come off his "beat Ovi" numbers, and I don't know if Lou will go as high as a $7MM cap hit, and I would be willing to bet two of those three things will be necessary.

I’ve been told the Kings do have an alternative plan (and a possible trade in the works) for a top 6 forward once Kovalchuk signs. Kings fans will be very happy if it does happen and a certain east coast team's fans will be shocked. (Eklund I'm sure will be investigating while I'm still sleeping.)

I almost don't care who comes in. I'm just afraid of who might go out. Stoll, Williams, Ersberg...fine. Thomas Hickey, Oscar Moller, Jacob Muzzin, Kyle Clifford, Colten Teubert, Nicolas Delauriers, Jonathan Bernier, Andrei Loktionov, Viatcheslav Voynov, Brayden Schenn...no. Not yet. One of Hickey, Voynov oir Deslauriers will be great. One of Teubert or Muzzin, probably. One or both of Moller and Loktionov. Wait to see what happens.

I know that's not realistic. I know you have to give to get. I will be upset if we lose any of those guys for someone over 30 who doesn't score 30 goals.

Yeah, I overvalue prospects. It's true.

[...] Willie Mitchell: Mitchell wants the Kings, the Kings want Mitchell. Hearing its more about numbers and a possible multi-year deal. Could be the Kings are waiting to see where Kaberle falls before pulling the trigger. No later than Monday I’m told (hence the waiting on Kaberle).

Mitchell, as I've been saying for weeks now, would be great. And he's got concussion problems, so he's a perfect Lombardi signing.

Frolov signed with the Rangers, a one year deal for $3MM. This makes me sad because I have always supported Frolov, even through his wild inconsistencies, etc., etc., and now he's gone (at least for a year, right? hahaha).

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