“knowing (his) value” and signed a two-year deal that put him on a path to 2026 free agency. He also posted outstanding underlying numbers in terms of expected goals for percentage in particular, and now he’ll take his talents north of the border to the nation’s capital.

A major reason the Kings were moving on from Spence, despite struggling to find defensive depth last season and potentially losing a top blue-liner in Vladislav Gavrikov, seemed to be trust. In the first-round playoff series loss to Edmonton, Spence was scratched for one game and effectively shelved for the other five despite being in uniform.

“I wish I were able to contribute more in the playoffs. It was unfortunate for me to just kind of sit there and not be able to be on the ice,” Spence said during his exit interview. “There was more to bring that I could probably have done in the playoffs, but we move on.”

While the men who made that decision, coach Jim Hiller and assistant D.J. Smith, remained with the Kings after a first-round fold that joined the 1993 Stanley Cup Final in franchise ignominy, a new general manager had the chance to appraise Spence.

Veteran executive Ken Holland recognized Spence’s fine regular season but acknowledged that Spence did not “want to go backward” in his career or responsibilities. Holland said Wednesday he would have to thoroughly evaluate Spence’s status, and clearly made his decision by Saturday.

“If he’s not in the lineup every night, I think he’d like to be somewhere where he could be in the lineup every night,” Holland said.