After landing Milan Lucic via trade at the draft, the Los Angeles Kings had a free agent frenzy to forget. The team looked to either re-sign Andrej Sekera, whom they gave up a fair share of assets for at the deadline, or add a replacement to move the puck on the blue line. Neither scenario came to reality, as the Kings lost Sekera to the Edmonton Oilers and have yet to add a capable blue liner to replace him.

One notable unsigned defenseman who could interest the Kings is Cody Franson, who the Kings kicked the tires on at the deadline before acquiring Sekera. If the massive puck mover isn’t signed into August — unlikely, but not impossible — a one-year, “make good” deal with the Kings could be in both parties’ interests. Franson would be given a chance to showcase himself on a good team and parlay that into a bigger payday via multi-year deal next summer, while the Kings would get to stop the bleeding on defense by landing a legitimate NHL defenseman on the cheap.

If the Kings took a few losses on defense, then they really got beat up front during the first three weeks of free agency. Losing 2014 Conn Smythe winner Justin Williams to the Washington Capitals was a huge blow, as few players in league history have the playoff resume that the winger does and his veteran presence would surely be missed in that room. An argument can be made that the team “replaced” Williams’ productivity in landing Lucic, but given the differences in their styles of play as well as Lucic’s noted inconsistencies, it’s clear the Kings aren’t as strong up front as they were at the start of last season.

With the team losing Sekera, Williams and very likely center Jarret Stoll –who will be replaced internally, likely by Drew Shore — while landing no free agents of note, it’s tough to give the Kings anything above a D in free agency. There’s about seven weeks to go until the start of camp meaning a lot could happen, but as of right now the Kings’ bad luck in 2015 has continued into the summer.

Offseason Grade: D+