The Los Angeles Kings have added to their blueline on Wednesday by adding
Willie Mitchell, who was an unrestricted free agent this Summer. Mitchell's stock as a defensive defenseman attracted a number of suitors in this off-season, but a 2-year deal worth $7 million from the Kings was good enough to send him down to California for the upcoming season.
Mitchell's 2010 season with the Canucks was shortened to only 48 games thanks to a concussion, but in those 48 games, he managed to pot 4 goals and 8 assists, which gives him the 3rd-best scoring rate among Kings defensemen currently on the roster. A full season could see him hovering around the 20-point mark, especially with the amount of offense the Kings boast up front, but the word concussion looms large in making the decision to pick him or not.
| Forwards | Defense | Goalies |
| Anze Kopitar | Drew Doughty | Jonathan Quick |
| Dustin Brown | Jack Johnson | Erik Ersberg |
| Ryan Smyth | Willie Mitchell | |
| Alex Ponikarovsky | Rob Scuderi | |
| Jarret Stoll | Matt Greene | |
| Michal Handzus | Davis Drewiske | |
| Wayne Simmonds | Peter Harrold | |
| Justin Williams | | |
| Brad Richardson | | |
| Scott Parse | | |
The consensus may be that the Kings overpaid for Mitchell, but defensively he is just that good. The $3.5 million cap hit does lift their number up higher, but as of right now, I have the Kings with 19 players and one buyout for $52.3 million, leaving them $7.1 million to the cap ceiling for three forwards and probably one defenseman, to help fill the void that
Matt Greene leaves behind with injury. If the Kings are poised to spend to the cap ceiling, they might be able to find an option or two on the market still.
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