Kings’ Cody: General managers around the league always look for ways to upgrade their rosters in the offseason. For Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland, he felt his team needed a boost on the back end, and he brought in veteran right-hander Kings’ Cody Ceci. Turns out, things haven’t worked out as expected.
Ceci, 31, shockingly signed a four-year contract with the Kings, worth $4.5 million AAV, and he was also able to get a 10-team no-trade list included in the deal. Early returns? Through 22 games, Ceci is averaging 17:33 of ice-time, he’s playing on the second power-play unit, and has chipped in with one goal and six points.
Ceci has landed just 11 hits, while blocking 25 shots. It was a head-scratching moving by the Kings, considering they have Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke already on their right side, so why pay all that money for someone they need to plug on their bottom pair.
Recently, The Score’s John Matisz called out Ceci for being the worst acquisition in the NHL:
Cody Ceci, Kings: Los Angeles has been outscored 15-7 during Ceci’s 339 five-on-five minutes this season. That 31.8% goal share is tied for 423rd out of 451 players who’ve logged 200 minutes. It’s not simply bad puck luck, either, as the Kings are getting dominated territorially with Ceci on the ice.
If used and deployed carefully, Ceci can be a decent third-pair defenseman. If he isn’t, well, the opposition feasts. The worst part of the equation is his contract. Kings’ Cody On July 1, most pundits said the Kings were insane for giving the slow 31-year-old a four-year deal at $4.5 million per season, and here we are.
