Kings extend Derek Armstrong

By now, you must have heard about the LA Kings extending the contract of center Derek Armstrong for another two years. My understanding is he will get 1.4 mln in the first year and 1.6 mln in the second year, which is not too much for a third line center.

Now, this begs a question - does the new contract at these numbers mean that the Kings brass have finally made their peace with Armstrong centering no higher than a third line? I certainly hope so, 'cause this means a number of things:

1. The first two line centers for the next and successive year must be Anze Kopitar and UFA star center (pray that it is either Gomez or Drury);

2. Armstrong moves Alyn McCauley to the fourth line center, which makes UFAs like Marty Murray and Jamie Lundmark expendable by the season's end (unless one wants to give Jamie a shot at the wing on the fourth line if Tom Kostopoulos was not coming back).

3. Third-line center money for Amstrong means that he's most likely to settle into this role smoothly in the next couple of years. Re-signing him is a good step at this price as long as he's nowehere nearer the scoring lines and first power play unit. In the role of the serviceable possession center, Armstrong should thrive. If only he won more faceoffs, on top of that...