Dan Cloutier’s victory Sunday at Columbus — positive as it may have been — underscored one of the reasons the Kings are where they are this season: They’ve made some truly regrettable contract decisions.
The next time you hear a Kings fan complain the team doesn’t spend money, correct them. The team spent more than $17 million on free-agent signings last off-season.
Spending money and spending it well are, of course, two different things.
Cloutier wasn’t a free-agent acquisition, but he still underlines that point quite well. Coming off injuries, and before he’d done anything with the Kings, the team signed him to a two-year, $6.2 million contract extension. He went on to post a 6-14 record last year — a season defined by injuries and poor play — while earning $2.55 million under his prior contract, which means Thursday’s win was the team’s first return on that $6.2 million investment.
Unless Cloutier suddenly elevates his game to become a No. 1 goalie, or a team takes him off the Kings’ hands at the trade deadline, he’ll remain the worst of general manager Dean Lombardi’s contract decisions. (That hope for a trade may well be one reason Cloutier has been brought back, given that he was just 4-9 with a 3.50 goals-against with minor-league Manchester).
But with the Feb. 26 trade deadline looming, this might be a good time to assess last summer’s signings, if only to see which contracts the Kings would be happiest to shed.
Here, then, is the free-agent class of 2007, in order of their 2007-08 salary:

Center Michael Handzus, signed to a four-year, $16 million contract.
Career stats at time of signing: 517 games, 115 goals, 185 assists, 300 points; 0.58 points per game.
Average year (eight seasons): 65 games, 14 goals, 23 assists, 37 points, plus 8.
Last season (with Chicago); Eight games, 3 goals, 5 assists, eight points, plus 4. (Sidelined after suffering knee injury in October.)
This season: 58 games, five goals, 11 assists, 16 points, 0.28 points per game, minus-17.
Comment: Second on the team in salary, 13th in scoring, and the second-worst plus-minus. You’d have to say this one is a disaster — particularly since, given those three years remaining on the contract, there’s almost no chance of moving him in a trade.

Left wing Ladislav Nagy, signed to a one-year, $3.75 million contract.
Career stats at time of signing: 397 games, 106 goals, 179 assists, 285 points, 0.72 points per game, plus-37.
Average year (six seasons*): 66 games, 18 goals, 20 assists, 48 points, plus six.
Last season (Phoenix/Dallas): 80 games, 12 goals, 43 points, 55 assists, 0.69 points per game, minus-5.
This season: 38 games, nine goals, 17 assists, 26 points, 0.68 points per game, minus-2. Currently on injured reserve.
Comments: When he’s in the lineup, his production is basically in line with his career figures. The problem is the “in the lineup� part, which should be no big surprise: Two of his previous three NHL seasons, he played 55 games or less, and generally has not been considered the player he was before suffering a knee injury in 2005-06. If he gets healthy, someone might take a chance on him at the deadline, since there’s little contract risk.

Defenseman Brad Stuart, signed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract.
Career stats at time of signing: 507 games, 53 goals, 153 assists, 206 points, 0.41 points per game, plus-11.
Average year (seven seasons): 72 games, 8 goals, 22 assists, 30 points, plus 2.
Last season (Boston-Calgary): 75 games, 7 goals, 15 assists, 22 points, 0.29 points per game, minus-10.
This season: 57 games, 5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points, 0.30 points per game, minus-11.
Comments: You’d have to say he’s been exactly the player the Kings should have expected; the minus-11 ties him for the third-best mark among the seven defensemen who have played at least games. Not sure that justifies the fourth-highest paycheck on the team, though.

Left wing Kyle Calder, signed to a two-year, $5.5 million contract.
Career stats at time of signing: 437 games, 99 goals, 146 assists, 245 points, 0.56 points per game, minus-52.
Average year (six seasons): 73 games, 17 goals, 24 assists, 41 points, minus-8.
Last season (Philadelphia/Detroit): 78 games, 14 goals, 21 assists, 35 points, 0.45 points per game, minus-25.
This season: 50 games, 7 goals, 10 assists, 17 points, 0.34 points per game, minus-9.
Comments: The numbers aren’t impressive, but he’s probably the player least served by raw stats; for much of the season, those who watch the Kings on a regular basis have considered him the most effective of the free-agent signings. The kind of role player who might be attractive to fill a need on a contending team, although he does have a year to go on his contract.

Defenseman Tom Preissing, signed to a four-year, $11 million contract.
Career stats at time of signing: 223 games, 20 goals, 80 assists, 100 points, 0.45 points per game, plus-65.
Average year (three seasons): 74 games, 7 goals, 27 assists, 34 points, plus-22.
Last season (Ottawa): 80 games, 7 goals, 31 assists, 38 points, 0.48 points per game, plus-18.
This season: 53 games, 5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points, 0.32 points per game, minus-5.
Comments: Second-best plus-minus among defensemen (Jaroslav Modry, minus-2, is first). A solid defensive defensemen; a friend of mine who was a Division I college defenseman noted earlier this year that Preissing is a pleasure to watch because he’s always in the right position. A solid pickup.

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin, signed to a one-year, $525,000 contract.
Career at time of signing: 199 games, 75 wins, 77 losses, 11 ties, 4 overtime losses, 2.91 goals against.
Average year (eight seasons) 25 games, 9-10-2.
Last season (Toronto): 20 games, 3-5-2, 3.43.
This year: 19 games, 5-6-1, 3.19.
Comments: No one expected much, and that’s pretty much what he delivered. Back in the minors, at least for now.

If you wanted to grade them, you’d probably say the Calder and Preissing signings were positive, Handzus and Nagy haven’t been, and Stuart and Aubin are, well, neutral. It should be interesting to see if any of them draw interest at the deadline.