10:59 AM: PuckPedia reported the financial aspects of the three-year agreement between Portillo and the Kings organization. The team will pay their top goaltending prospect a salary of $775K in year one, with a minimum salary of $115K and a guaranteed salary of $175K for the two-way portion. He will once again earn $775K in year two as it transitions to a one-way pact before ultimately receiving $800K in the final year of the contract. Shortly thereafter, the signing was made official by a public announcement from the Kings.
10:00 AM: The Los Angeles Kings are expected to re-sign goaltending prospect Erik Portillo to a three-year deal today, as reported by John Hoven at Mayor’s Manor. Similar to other new contracts for restricted free-agent goaltenders this offseason, the first year of the deal is expected to be a two-way agreement before transitioning to a one-way deal in the second and third years of the contract.
After a dominant season with Frölunda HC J20 of the J20 SuperElit in Sweden, Portillo was drafted 67th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2019 NHL Draft. Portillo spent one year in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints before committing to the University of Michigan beginning in the 2020-21 NCAA season. The 2021-22 season was Portillo’s coming out party on the heels of high expectations for him and the Wolverines program.
He finished the season with a 31-10-1 record in 42 contests, a .926 save percentage, and a 2.14 goals-against average. By the end of the season, the Wolverines were the second-ranked team in the nation, headed into the Frozen Four tournament after sweeping the Big Ten tournament and Portillo being crowned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The team was one of the favorites heading into the postseason but was eliminated by the eventual champions, the Pioneers from the University of Denver, in the semifinals.
Instead of signing with the Sabres after his sophomore campaign, Portillo returned to Ann Arbor for his junior year. His numbers dipped slightly from the prior year, but Portillo still finished with 25 wins by the end of the season. By this time, Buffalo’s net was becoming more crowded with the signing of Devon Levi and the promotion of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. This led to Portillo announcing he would not sign with the Sabres and instead become a collegiate free agent when he could.
The Sabres appeased Portillo at the 2023 trade deadline by dealing his signing rights to Los Angeles in exchange for a third-round pick in 2023. A little over a month later, Portillo signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Kings organization, officially ending his tenure at the University of Michigan.
Last season became the first for Portillo in professional hockey as he spent the entire campaign with the Kings AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. The young netminder elevated his status as a prospect with a 24-11-3 record in 39 games with a .918 SV% and 2.50 GAA. In the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Portillo backstopped the Reign to a Western Conference Division Finals finish for the first time in team history on the backs of a .916 SV% in eight games.
With Portillo’s contract becoming a one-way agreement after the 2024-25 NHL season, it is a commitment by Los Angeles that he can serve as the team’s backup once David Rittich’s one-year agreement runs its course. Portillo’s new contract will conclude simultaneously with the remaining years of Darcy Kuemper’s contract meaning the Kings could then keep Portillo around long-term if he proves successful at the NHL level.
Flipping hated Sabres letting him go. Should’ve figured something out with him. Only getting a third round pick for him is a loss. But when the brass for the Sabres is in charge you just shake your head and wonder what might’ve been. Hard to argue a team in more dire straits with a worse current owner and gm.
This take would be alright if it was not absolutely devoid of context and of logic. Context: EP had declared that he was not going to sign with BUF (because he perceived that his chances there were remote. As it turns out, that was an astute observation). The Sabres had little leverage and were very lucky to extract a third. (BTW, the prospect they took has a legitimate shot at one day making the NHL.)
Logic: there was not really any logic behind your rant.
He was drafted in the 3rd round so it’s a wash for Buffalo and a well spent pick for the Kings!