The Kings had seven decisions to make ahead of Sunday’s deadline to tender qualifying offers to restricted free agents, opting to qualify forward Quinton Byfield, defenseman Jordan Spence, goalie Erik Portillo and winger Arthur Kaliyev.
Center Blake Lizotte, goalie Jacob Ingham and forward Tyler Madden were not tendered offers.
A qualifying offer effectively extends a team’s control over a player’s negotiating rights, meaning none of Sunday’s determinations are completely binding. For example, Ingham was not tendered a qualifying offer last season, but still ultimately came to terms with the Kings to remain with the organization.
His future seems less certain now, and the same may be true for Madden, who was tendered last season. Undoubtedly, however, the biggest eyebrow-raiser on either list was Blake Lizotte, the heart-and-soul center who was a pivotal part of the Kings’ bottom-six forward group. Concerns about his long-term durability and potential cost likely steered the Kings away from qualifying Lizotte, who was also eligible for arbitration.
Lizotte could still negotiate a new pact with the Kings, though it seems decreasingly likely since they’ve spent the early part of the offseason reshaping their third and fourth lines. They traded Pierre-Luc Dubois and Carl Grundstrom before they acquired Tanner Jeannot to add to a group that will also likely include multiple promoted players from the minors.
A qualifying offer is also not a guarantee of a return to the club, primarily because RFA rights, unlike unrestricted free agents’ rights, extend beyond July 1. Byfield is a very high priority to re-sign. With the overdue promotion of Brandt Clarke, Portillo has emerged as perhaps the Kings’ most important prospect in the AHL and perhaps at any level. Spence’s future seems more secure with indicators pointing to the departure of Matt Roy in free agency. Kaliyev, on the other hand, may still need a new realtor and a moving truck.
Kings general manager Rob Blake said Kaliyev, whom the Kings went to great lengths not to deploy late in the season, didn’t help the team much down the stretch and that he didn’t know if Kaliyev would return. Given the palpable acrimony between player and franchise, the most likely outcome remained a parting of ways with the 2019 second-rounder, who was once considered the Kings’ top prospect on the flank.
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