Mitchell had a strong year, scoring 12 points (1G / 11A) in 76 regular season games, but it was his postseason that drew a lot of attention. He was sensational en route to winning the Stanley Cup and has been rewarded with $4.25 million per year. He is reunited with Roberto Luongo, who he played with during his time in Vancouver.

Marian Gaborik signed a 7-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings, clearly benefiting from the chemistry he built with C Anze Kopitar after being acquired at the trade deadline. Gaborik finished the Stanley Cup playoffs with 22 points, 14 of those were goals which led the playoffs.  Gaborik has always been known as a prolific scorer, but he is also known for getting injured quite often.  That's why the 7-year deal is a rather risky investment.  If he stays healthy, and that's a big IF, and shows the kind of chemistry with Kopitar that he displayed upon his arrival in LA, he can be fantasy gold. LA has been busy as they continued wrapping up their free agents and signed defenseman Matt Greene to a 3-year deal on the heels of their Stanley Cup championship. Greene is a steady factor on the Kings defense and will be part of a very god Kings defensive corps for years to come.  UFA defenseman Willie Mitchell is on the cusp of re-signing with the club is the latest word. The Edmonton Oilers are shoring up their defense by signing D Nikita Nikitin to a 2-year deal after acquiring him from the Columbus Blue Jackets prior to the free agency period. Nikitin adds defensive depth and can contribute some on offense.  A good signing by the Oil. Ryan Callahan signed a 6-year deal to remain in Tampa Bay when all indications pointed to the Lightning were preparing to let him walk. Rumor had it that Callahan would be signing somewhere in the Northeast like Buffalo, but will now remain in sunny Florida. Ryan Malone was bought out of his contract and is now an UFA.  It was a good move by the Bolts as they are in the process of bringing up the young talent that has been developing in their farm system. Some depth signings in Carolina as the Hurricanes signed D Ron Hainsey to a 3-year deal and C Nathan Gerbe to a 2-year contract. Both are complementary players with Gerbe having some offensive upside if given the opportunity. Sidney Crosby adds to his trophy case by adding the Hart, the Art Ross trophy and the Ted Lindsay award. Crosby deserves every piece of hardware as he has molded himself into an all-around NHL Superstar.

Marian Gaborik signed a 7-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings, clearly benefiting from the chemistry he built with C Anze Kopitar after being acquired at the trade deadline. Gaborik finished the Stanley Cup playoffs with 22 points, 14 of those were goals which led the playoffs.  Gaborik has always been known as a prolific scorer, but he is also known for getting injured quite often.  That's why the 7-year deal is a rather risky investment.  If he stays healthy, and that's a big IF, and shows the kind of chemistry with Kopitar that he displayed upon his arrival in LA, he can be fantasy gold.  LA has been busy as they continued wrapping up their free agents and signed defenseman Matt Greene to a 3-year deal on the heels of their Stanley Cup championship. Greene is a steady factor on the Kings defense and will be part of a very god Kings defensive corps for years to come.  UFA defenseman Willie Mitchell is on the cusp of re-signing with the club is the latest word. The Edmonton Oilers are shoring up their defense by signing D Nikita Nikitin to a 2-year deal after acquiring him from the Columbus Blue Jackets prior to the free agency period. Nikitin adds defensive depth and can contribute some on offense.  A good signing by the Oil. Ryan Callahan signed a 6-year deal to remain in Tampa Bay when all indications pointed to the Lightning were preparing to let him walk. Rumor had it that Callahan would be signing somewhere in the Northeast like Buffalo, but will now remain in sunny Florida.  Ryan Malone was bought out of his contract and is now an UFA.  It was a good move by the Bolts as they are in the process of bringing up the young talent that has been developing in their farm system. Some depth signings in Carolina as the Hurricanes signed D Ron Hainsey to a 3-year deal and C Nathan Gerbe to a 2-year contract. Both are complementary players with Gerbe having some offensive upside if given the opportunity.  Sidney Crosby adds to his trophy case by adding the Hart, the Art Ross trophy and the Ted Lindsay award. Crosby deserves every piece of hardware as he has molded himself into an all-around NHL Superstar.

Mitchell has not played since game six of the first round because of an upper-body ailment, but will be back this afternoon in Chicago. Mitchell will replace Matt Greene on the Kings' blueline and is expected to skate with Alec Martinez.

Mitchell has been out since game 6 of the first round and that could mark his last game of the season if the Kings are bounced from the playoffs tonight. Should the Kings move on, Mitchell has a chance to play in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

Mitchell has missed the last seven games with a lower-body injury that he suffered in game 6 vs. the Sharks. We don't expect that head coach Darryl Sutter will reveal his status for game seven, but consider him a game-time decision.

Mitchell skated on Tuesday, but is not on the ice for the Kings' gameday skate this morning. He has not played since game 6 of the first round, and won't return tonight as the Kings look to keep their season alive. Matt Greene will stay in the lineup with Mitchell still sidelined.

Mitchell was injured on a penalty kill in game 6 and it will keep him out of the important game 7 tonight in San Jose. Mitchell will likely be replaced by Matt Greene.

The Gretzky Era ended in Los Angeles when the Kings traded the Great One to the St. Louis Blues in 1995-1996 and you would think the team would flounder without the presence of Gretzky in the lineup. The Kings however were able to qualify for the playoffs in 4 of the next six season but without much success; losing in the 1st or 2nd round. The Kings went on to miss the playoffs for the next 3 years and prompted management to hire Dean Lombardi in April of 2006 to right the ship.  And right the ship he did!  Even though the team missed the playoffs in his first 3 years as GM, he was building a Championship caliber team in Tinseltown.  In 2009-2010 the Kings returned to the playoffs but lost in the 1st round and repeated the same results the following season. In 2011-2012, with more than half a season left, Darryl Sutter was brought in to coach and the Kings barely eked into the playoffs but went on such a tremendous run through the playoffs capturing their 1st Stanley Cup. Their efforts to repeat were thwarted by the current Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks, but we can see them returning for another chance to raise the Cup. Goalie When you start with the perhaps one of the top 3 goaltenders in the NHL, your chances of getting to the Stanley Cup finals are greater than most teams. Your odds increase when that goalie is none other than Conn Smythe trophy winner Jonathan Quick.  Quick was hampered by injuries early last season but should return to form for the current year.  Although they traded away Jonathan Bernier, they did receive back Ben Scrivens in that deal and he is more than a capable backup, although he is no Bernier.  Expect Quick to get majority of the starts and should post better than average stats.  You can do no wrong with building your fantasy team around Quick. Defense The blue line begins with Drew Doughty but there is a new star-in-the-making coming up quickly. Ever since his sophomore season where he scored 59 points in a full season, high expectations have been put upon his shoulders by fantasy poolies but he has never come close to that level since.  He did have 40 and 36 point seasons following that career year, but that is about all you can expect from DD.   Slava Voynov is entering his 3rd NHL season and after a somewhat breakout year in the Lockout season with 25 points in 48 games, he turned it up in the playoffs with a 6-7-13 performance in 18 games. Look for Voynov to continue that trend.  With injuries on the back end...

As reported earlier in the week, Mitchell injured his knee last fall and underwent arthroscopic surgery in December.