Rob Blake's been on the job for less than two months, but he's already showing he's more than cut out to be a general manager.
The Los Angeles Kings GM checked another significant item off his offseason to-do list Wednesday, signing Tyler Toffoli to a three-year, $13.8-million extension.
It's the second team-friendly contract he's negotiated in less than a month after convincing Tanner Pearson to put pen to paper on a four-year, $15-million pact on May 9.
Pearson has improved from a production standpoint in every one of his four NHL seasons, and he ranked second in goals (24) and third in points (44) on an offensively-starved Kings club this season. Oh yeah, and he's only 24 years old.
Toffoli took a step back in 2016-17, posting his lowest goal and point totals since his first full season, but the 25-year-old missed 19 games with an injury and is a year removed from a 31-goal, 58-point campaign.
Both players would have been eligible for restricted free agency July 1, so getting the Kings' two most promising young forwards signed at affordable rates was clearly a top priority for Blake.
That he was able to do it quietly and efficiently after being promoted to the GM position on April 10 shows just how much he absorbed in his four years as Dean Lombardi's assistant GM.
Blake has been busy in his early days as Lombardi's successor, getting a fourth-round pick from the Dallas Stars for goaltender Ben Bishop's negotiating rights on the same day the Pearson extension was announced.
Getting something for Bishop, who clearly wasn't in the Kings' plans and who was a pending unrestricted free agent himself, was yet another successful maneuver by Blake.
The GM's first task upon being elevated to his new role was replacing Darryl Sutter, the Kings former head coach who was fired along with Lombardi.
Blake wasted little time promoting John Stevens, Sutter's longtime assistant and associate coach, to the top job, and while it remains to be seen whether that move pays off, there's no doubting Stevens' experience or his familiarity with the players he'll now lead.
As for Blake, he still has some work to do - namely ridding the team of some unsavory contracts and finding more offense to kick-start a stalled but gifted possession team - but so far, so good.
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