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Breaking news in between the Western Conference Semis and the Western Conference Finals, as the Los Angeles Kings have re-signed Robyn Regehr for two more years. It'll be a slight pay cut for the defenseman, but $6 million over two years is not too shabby. The deal does not come with a no-movement clause, so Regehr can still be traded in the future. The official team announcement is here.
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Regehr was acquired on April 1 from the Buffalo Sabres for two second-round draft picks. His performance this season has been up and down; he brings the occasional big hit, the occasional defensive lapse, and has otherwise been fairly steady. As Robert outlined a month ago, Regehr's overall impact on the team's performance was not especially noticeable. His biggest role has been as the new partner for Drew Doughty, a role that I'd expect to continue with Willie Mitchell out and Rob Scuderi partnered with Slava Voynov.
Speaking of which...
... the most noticeable effect of this signing may be who is missing from the Kings' blueline next year. This move gives the Kings just about $11 million of cap space going into next season, and this offseason is going to be interesting for our defensive corps. Rob Scuderi is an unrestricted free agent. Willie Mitchell's future in question. Slava Voynov, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, and Keaton Ellerby all hit restricted free agency, and we can assume Voynov will get a sizeable raise. Dustin Penner and Brad Richardson will also be UFAs, while Jonathan Bernier, Kyle Clifford, and Jordan Nolan are among the other RFAs. So this signing makes general manager Dean Lombardi's task a little bit more difficult, but also answers the question of whether Regehr has a future with the Kings.
If you're bored on this off day, you can experiment with CapGeek to see how this affects the Kings' offseason outlook. What are your thoughts on this move?