The Los Angeles Kings announced the club has signed defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.
Ehrhoff is taking a similar approach to the one he took last year. He signed a one-year deal worth $4 million with the Pittsburgh Penguins last offseason, hoping signing a less lucrative contract would give him a better chance at his first Stanley Cup ring. That never happened, but it appears he’s still chasing a Cup ring at the cost of a bigger deal.
The cheap deal makes perfect sense for the Kings, as they add a top-four defenseman at a reasonable cost. With the separate Slava Voynov and Mike Richards situations still left to be resolved, the club had cap room and needed another d-man, and they got one of the best on the market in Ehrhoff. His fancy stats show how valuable he can be.
Don’t feel too bad for Ehrhoff that he’s not making the money he should on this deal, as the Buffalo Sabres are on the hook to pay him around $12 million over 14 seasons after buying him out in 2014. Since he’s already making a decent penny from the Sabres, he can afford to take financial risks and play on a cheap contract for the team of his choice.
This is a great contract for the Kings and it really solidifies their back end, which needed help following the loss of Andrej Sekera in unrestricted free agency. Ehrhoff joins a solid group of defensemen in Los Angeles including Norris winner Drew Doughty and possession beast Jake Muzzin.
While the Kings had a season (and offseason) to forget up until this point, this is a small move which could pay big off big for the club.
