Photo Credit: LA Kings Twitter
Not long ago, the LA Kings were presented with a free agent situation and whether they should sign him or not. That free agent was forward Andreas Athanasiou.
Athanasiou came to the Kings as a free agent on December 28, 2020. The 6-foot-2 and 190-pound skilled forward was brought in to add some depth and scoring punch from the bottom six.
After a successful beginning to his career with the Detroit Red Wings, in which he scored 30 goals in the 2018-19 season, he had a difficult stay in Los Angeles. He could never get into the lineup, he was often injured or simply a healthy scratch.
Coming to Los Angeles, fans knew that he was offensively gifted, but his weaknesses came from his defensive play or lack thereof.
He finished his career with the Kings after just two seasons, scoring 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points in 75 games. There was never room for him going into next season as he wore out his welcome by not being productive on both ends of the ice.
Is he still productive on the offensive end?
Yes, but until he fixes his defensive issues, he may not be looked at as a top-six forward again.
The decision not to re-sign Athanasiou was a good one as the Kings pride themselves on having players who can play a 200-foot game.
The decision not to bring him back also freed up some cap space, which they were able to re-sign some RFA’s and bring in forward Kevin Fiala via trade with the Minnesota Wild and sign him long term.
This was a move the Kings needed to make. It was a business decision that was made to better themselves for the future and had nothing to do with the attitude of Athanasiou.
He is a quality player who may have a rebound season with the Chicago Blackhawks. This was just no longer a match in Los Angeles.