On Sunday, the Los Angeles Kings announced they had re-signed goaltender Erik Portillo had been re-signed to a three-year deal carrying a $783,333.
An important piece of this contact is the first year of the contract being a two-way contract and the last two being one-way.
This perfectly fits into the Kings’ current goalie situation and timeline.
Over the summer, Rob Blake hinted at Portillo needing another season in the AHL and the two-way status of the contract for this upcoming season fits into that.
For this season, the Kings will roll with Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich, giving Portillo another season to shine in the AHL before graduating into the NHL next season.
Assuming things don’t go up in flames with Kuemper this season, having Portillo come into the league with a veteran goalie to play off of next season is perfect for him.
It takes away the pressure of being a true number one goalie in his first season and allows him to have a safety net if it doesn’t click straight away.
Kuemper’s status as a more short-term solution in net also helps things.
It was tough for Cal Petersen when he first came up, battling with organization legend Jonathan Quick for the starting job.
Portillo won’t have that issue, he’ll have a safety net but won’t be fighting a losing battle for the starting job either.
The three-year term on this deal is also perfect.
In a perfect world, at the end of year three Portillo will have two full NHL seasons under his belt and should be able to take over starting goalie duties, fitting nicely into Kuemper’s contract expiring.
This contract should fit seamlessly with Portillo becoming the starter for the Kings.
This also sets the Kings up well with their other goalie prospects, Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George.
It’s unlikely either would be ready for NHL action after Portillo’s contract, but at least one of them should be close.
Then the Kings just need a stopgap behind Portillo while they wait on the other two.
Of course, this assumes Portillo can make the jump into the NHL successfully and becomes an NHL starter, but the timeline and plan make sense for the Kings.
