Defenseman Tom Gilbert has been placed on waivers.
Gilbert appeared in eighteen games for the Los Angeles Kings, picking up a goal, four assists, and a three-game suspension in his tenure. If you want evidence of how he fell out of favor in Los Angeles: he played 7 games in October, 6 games in November, 4 games in December, and just 1 game in January.
The move makes sense when considering that Kevin Gravel and Brayden McNabb have grabbed a hold of the 5/6 spots on the blueline, but it makes less sense given that Matt Greene was placed on injured reserve, just yesterday. LA is now without a seventh defenseman, although based on the schedule, they have until Saturday to call one up or trade for one. And maybe there is a bigger move down the line.
#Kings are quietly building up cap space. They currently have $6.89M in deadline space, which could go up to $8.48M if Gilbert is assigned.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 1, 2017
I think this underscores the trouble with a day like the one LA had on July 1: there’s nothing wrong with trying to hit singles instead of home runs, but some days you just go 0-for-5. I will admit that I was pleased with Lombardi’s signings if the plan was to go small, but plain and simple, none of them have panned out. At all.
Kings’ July 1 free agent signings: Purcell (waived), Gilbert (waived), Zatkoff (surpassed by Budaj), Trotman (AHL), and Latta (AHL/traded).
— Eric (@EricJFTC) February 1, 2017
The Kings will face Colorado tonight with their top six as set as it’s ever been. After that? Hope Dean has something in mind.