With an extremely limited amount of cap space to work with, Kings GM Rob Blake appears to have completed his summer shopping list with the addition of 27-year-old defenseman Andreas Englund. Originally a second-round selection of the Ottawa Senators (2014), Englund has agreed to a two-year contract with LA at an AAV of $1M per season.
During his younger years, Englund was teammates with Adrian Kempe (2015, 2016) and Carl Grundstrom (2016) when playing for Team Sweden at the World Junior Championship.
He has a combined 80 games of NHL experience spread over five seasons, including 11 games with the Blackhawks in 2022-23. However, he’s spent the bulk of his pro career in the AHL — including delivering a punishing hit on Alex Turcotte in the Calder Cup Playoffs a few years ago:
Andreas Englund has been suspended for one game for this illegal check to the head of Alex Turcotte. #Reign pic.twitter.com/2JLyK40MoH
— Eric (@kingsgifs2) May 13, 2022
Standing 6-foot-3, the left shot defender is expected to battle Toby Bjornfot for a spot on the Kings third pairing during training camp in a few months.
In a corresponding depth move, the Kings also signed 6-foot-3 left wing Mikhail Maltsev on Saturday. Like Englund, he has limited NHL experience; just 56 games since being drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 2016. However, he too has been part of the Colorado Eagles for the past few seasons – a team that has given the Ontario Reign fits in postseason action three straight seasons. Last year, Maltsev had 21 points in 28 AHL games, and the year prior he posted 48 points in 56 AHL games. The 25-year-old Russian native will most likely start his 2023-24 campaign in Ontario after clearing waivers. His contact at the league minimum of $775k and for one-year.
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