SEAN WALKER ITRAIN HOCKEY CAREER FREE

For the sake of roster space, cap room, and the proper growth of the prospects, it’s the right decision.Philadelphia trades Ivan Provorov and Hayden Hodgson to Los Angeles in exchange for Cal Petersen, Sean Walker, Helge Grans and the Kings' 2024 second-round pick. While it’s unfortunate that this may be the end to Walker’s time in LA, the Kings may now be forced to move on from the 27-year-old defenseman. Favoritism should not be how GMs run their teams, and in this case, it’s exactly where we stand with Walker.Īlthough Walker is now a proven NHL defenseman, he’s lost his spot on the roster due to injury.

It’s a business, and people’s jobs are on the line. You never want to see a player lose his spot due to injury, but this is the reality of sports. This really only leaves the Kings with one last option, and you guessed it, would be to trade away Walker. Paying the seventh defenseman $2.65 million for another two years would be awful cap management. This would make sense, but in the bigger picture, it doesn’t. You could argue that having Walker as the seventh defenseman would definitely be an option, and it might be.

Playing at $1.6 Million dollars above market value, it’s hard to move a player like Roy. It’s also going to be hard to trade away Roy considering just how good he’s been for the Kings recently. At the moment, that certainly seems likely. That still leaves the possibility that Spence outplays Walker by the start of the 2022-23 season. Of course, you will always have the chance to send down a player like Spence or trade Roy. Now with all the young kids coming in and playing at a rate that was so hard to predict, there’s no more space for a player like Walker on the team anymore. When he finally has a good season, it fell apart due to an injury. He had to work his way up from the NCAA, then to the AHL, and then up to the NHL. It’s hard not to feel bad for Walker, too. With established veterans Drew Doughty and Matt Roy to go along with Durzi and Jordan Spence looking NHL ready, it seems unlikely that Walker will regain his spot. With the truckload of right-handed defensemen in the system, it’s hard to imagine Walker coming back into the lineup next year when healthy. He’s earned a permanent spot on the NHL roster and it’s doubtful anyone would take that away from him. The rest is history.ĭurzi has 22 points in 48 games with the Kings this year and has proven himself an NHL-ready offensive defenseman. Durzi scored a goal and had an assist in his first game. Since he wasn’t waiver eligible, the Kings decided to give the 23-year-old prospect a chance in the NHL. This made the Kings act upon promptly, and a few days later, Sean Durzi was called up from the Ontario Reign.Īt the time, Durzi had 16 points in 13 games with the Reign. It was later determined that Walker had suffered a season-ending injury and that he would be forced to have surgery. Six games and two assists into the season, he suffered a horrid injury against the St. Offensively, not only did he put up points, but he also helped create offensive plays and generate net-front opportunities.Īs the 2021-22 season rolled around, Walker made the team again (unsurprisingly), and was looking forward to helping the Kings become contenders instead of continuing the rebuild. This wasn’t Walker’s best defensive season.

Walker had a CA/60 (Corsi against per 60) of 2.65, a GA/60 (goals against per 60) of 0.209, and defensive standing points above replacement of -2.4. His xGF/60 (expected goals-for per 60) and his CF/60 (Corsi for per 60) were fine, but on the defensive side of things, it wasn’t too pretty. While the point production was there, he actually suffered a tad defensively. Walker appeared in 47 games with the Kings in 2020-21 and had 18 points. It was a fair deal, even though the term was quite lengthy. On September 11th, 2020, the Kings rewarded Walker by signing him to a four-year extension worth $10.6 million.

SEAN WALKER ITRAIN HOCKEY CAREER FREE

For a free agent signing, Walker had exceeded expectations and it looked like he was finally going to be a full-time NHLer. The following season Walker played 70 games with the Kings, tallying five goals and 24 points. It was fair to say at this point, Walker was a lock to make the Kings roster from there on out. The Keswick, Ontario, native had 17 points in 22 AHL games, and 10 points in 39 NHL games. In his first contract year with Los Angeles, Walker split time between the Kings and in the AHL with the Ontario Reign. Signing after one season in the AHL, Walker was 24 years old and looking to prove himself after recording 28 points in 64 games. When Sean Walker signed a two-year entry-level contract with the LA Kings on July 2nd, 2018, he was seen as the ideal defensive defenseman who could turn into something greater in the NHL. After a season-ending injury, the Kings have seen prospects step in and fill the hole that Sean Walker left.

Sean walker itrain hockey career