2 UFAs Los Angeles Kings Need To Re-Sign

The Los Angeles Kings' season ended in Round 1 of the playoffs to the Edmonton Oilers once again, but it's a season where they can build upon. Their goaltending let them down for a big part of the season and the trade deadline acquisitions helped push them to contend against one of the best teams in the West.

Now that it's the offseason for LA, they have some things to think about, including who they want to and can bring back next season. There's two leading candidates who if they can even get one back, it should lead to a successful offseason.

Vladislav Gavrikov

The first is Vladislav Gavrikov who shored up the left side of the Kings' defense  at the trade deadline and was a force at both ends of the ice the remainder of the season. The Kings had a hole on the second pairing that Gavrikov filled and provided what the Kings will be looking for long-term.

That is likely what Gavrikov is looking for, a long-term deal and to cash in after a few strong seasons. The Kings got him for cheap and on a low cap hit. They won't be able to do that again. He is 27 years old, in the prime of his career, and along with playing solid defense, he also added the offense he is less known for. He wants to test free agency, but that doesn't mean the Kings can't be in conversation with him and win the sweepstakes.

Joonas Korpisalo

The other potentially more needed upcoming UFA that the Kings need to bring back is Joonas Korpisalo. Goaltending was stabilized once he was acquired and he was the team's starter during the first round of the playoffs. If it wasn't for him, the series would have been over sooner than six games.

Like Gavrikov, Korpisalo is underpaid and is going to get a bigger contract this summer. He hasn't made it public that he wants to head to free agency, so the Kings might have the upper hand in signing him. The 29-year-old more than proved he can be a starter with his play this season and the Kings are in desperate need of stable goaltending moving forward.

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