Kings general manager Ken Holland was busy as free agency opened Wednesday, adding four veterans to what was already the second-oldest roster in the NHL last season and also retaining another.
Winger Corey Perry, 41, returns on a one-year, bonus-laden deal after spending the stretch run with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. The Kings had signed him in the summer and discussed re-signing him as spring approached, but a rental agreement made sense for both team and player. The Kings got a second-round pick and Perry returned to one of his many former teams, one that had a better shot at advancing on paper though they ultimately fell to another of his former clubs, the Montreal Canadiens, in seven games.
Perry was a longtime nemesis of the Kings, first with the Ducks and later the Edmonton Oilers, and in recent years his presence has often been a harbinger of playoff success for his teams. He went to the Stanley Cup Final with Tampa Bay, Montreal, Edmonton twice and the Dallas Stars, and won the Cup with the Ducks in 2007.
The biggest signing of the day was Norwegian hockey icon Mats Zuccarello. The 38-year-old winger stacked up 54 points in 59 games for the Minnesota Wild last season, including a role on Minnesota’s top power-play unit.
He began his career with the Rangers, before Laviolette’s tenure in Manhattan, and also played one playoff run with the Dallas Stars. His 744 career points give the Oslo native 633 more than any other Norwegian-born NHL’er, though Norway had two players in 2024’s first round and three more draftees since. His base salary, like Perry’s, is a lean $1 million, but with several achievable bonuses written into the agreement.
Center Erik Haula, 35, joined the Kings on a two-year contract with an annual average value of $3.6 million. He enjoyed a breakout season in 2017-18 as one of the original Vegas Golden Knights, and since played for five franchises, including two stints with the Nashville Predators. He had 38 points and killed penalties for the Preds last season, but also took a high number of penalties (1.20 per 60 minutes) and ended up with a -15 rating.
Haula joins a center group that has been reshaped on the fly, with towering pivots Quinton Byfield and Samuel Helenius at the top and bottom of the rotation, respectively. In between will fit Haula and Scott Laughton, 32, whom Holland acquired at the trade deadline in March and re-signed on Wednesday after protracted negotiations.
Defenseman Erik Gustafsson, 34, is an offensive-minded defenseman that appears as though he will compete with prospects like Angus Booth and Jared Woolley for a depth spot on the roster. He has shown flashes of being prolific –– he tallied 60 points with Chicago in 2018-19 and 38 in 61 games with Washington in 2022-23 under new Kings coach Peter Laviolette –– but played just two NHL games last year, spending most of the campaign with the Detroit Red Wings’ top minor-league affiliate.
He also played for Laviolette as a New York Ranger, notching 31 points in 76 games in 2023-24.