It's that time of year again. It's the middle of summer and there is not exactly a plethora of NHL news. Nevertheless, there have been several notable contract extensions in the past week, including that of Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown. Brown, who captained the Kings to the 2012 Stanley Cup, was extended for eight years.

Brown is a good player and makes his presence known on both sides of the puck. He can be a very effective scorer and playmaker, but what is most impressive about him is the physicality that he brings. Brown is one of the hardest-hitting top-six forwards in the game and is one of the many reasons that teams have trouble scoring on his Kings.

A concern that arose, however, was that Brown had a terrible playoff season in 2013 despite going to the Conference Final. If he underachieves in future postseasons like he did this past season, this extension is a big waste of money.

Dustin Brown has the potential to be a game-changer, but he didn't show up in Los Angeles's series against the Chicago Blackhawks and was a big reason why his team was ousted in five games.

Also, the Kings have some other important players that will demand pay raises in the coming years, such as Anze Kopitar after the 2015-16 season and up-and-coming defenseman Jake Muzzin after the 2014-15 season. The Kings are already in a tough spot when it comes to cap space, and it will not get any easier for them in the coming years.

Brown's extension, which starts in 2014-15, will command $5.875 million a year. That isn't a ton of money compared to some other captains, but it is definitely substantial enough to hinder the Kings' cap space. If a glaring weakness pops up some time in the next few years, the Kings will hardly have any space to try to sign an important free agent or trade for a big-name star without having to worry about dumping some other big salaries.

Extending Brown showed that Los Angeles is extremely confident in it's captain's ability to lead the team in the future and that the Kings organization has set a direction towards its next Stanley Cup.