You might have taken note of the fact that the Kings have yet to officially announce the signing of Jarret Stoll. The reason? There’s a question about how much money Stoll will actually earn each season. His salary-cap hit will be $3.6 million over each of the next four seasons, and that won’t change. The question is, how much cash will Stoll actually pocket each season?

The difference? Dean Lombardi operates off a “cash” budget each year, rather than simply the salary-cap figure we’re all familiar with. The Kings are operating on a cash budget of roughly $40 million this season. The salary-cap number can, and almost certainly will, be higher. Because of the way the Kings’ roster is structured this season, and because players such as Kopitar and Johnson will soon be due significant raises, the Kings are looking to “front-load” Stoll’s contract, and give him more money in the first year, so that they can conserve budget space over the next three years. I hope that made sense…