LOS ANGELES -- The NHL trade deadline is just over one week away, meaning rumors are flying and GMs are making calls.
Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake is certainly one of those GMs making calls and testing the market, as he's still searching for a missing piece, or two, to help them get over the hump that is the first round.
We've seen a lot of names thrown out in relation to the Kings, some more realistic than others, and the Kings are a bit limited in what they can do because of their cap situation and limited assets, but I'm sure LA will make a move.
What is that move? Well, let's talk about that.
First, I'll refer back to an article from a few months ago, the Kings need to decide if they're willing to go all-in with this core, and how much they're willing to bet their future on them. Are they convinced by this team enough to trade a third first-round pick in four years? Or move one of their few top prospects? If the answer to either of those questions is no, the top players on the market are likely out of reach for the Kings, if it's yes, then things could get interesting.
If we assume they're willing to make a significant move, there are two areas we can assume the Kings will target.
We all know they want a top-nine winger, preferably a right-shot who can score goals. I'll take that one further and say it needs to be a top-nine winger who can play with Anze Kopitar.
That left wing opposite Adrian Kempe on the Kings' first line has become an elusive puzzle piece for them. Alex Turcotte's filled that role admirably for most of the season but the coaching staff's faith is clearly waning on him in that spot. Starting before the 4-Nations break, Hiller was looking for different combinations for that line and has started rolling their extra forward in the 11-7 setup through the first line instead of the fourth line.
"That line, with Turcotte or whoever hasn't got a lot of traction lately, so I think that's a fair comment," said head coach Jim Hiller when asked if that top-line left wing spot is a hole on his roster. "I don't like to say it's a hole, but we're just trying to get that line who's carried us in many ways in the first half of the season, just get some traction again, get feeling good about their game, some consistent time in the ozone, some chances and it just hasn't happened lately, that's the reason to move things around a bit."
It wasn't a cry to help directed at Blake from Hiller, but it's clear they're acknowledging their forward group missing something at the top. There are some names available that could help the Kings I'll get into them later this week.
The other big area the Kings are lacking is a fourth-line center, for most of this season it's been Samuel Helenius or Trevor Lewis filling that role. One is a natural winger and the other, frankly, isn't ready for the NHL, especially not the pace of the NHL playoffs. Playing 11-7 has been their solution for that problem, and maybe they could get away with that into the playoffs, but the Kings are one injury away from only having 10 NHL forwards they trust, and that isn't a good spot to be in.
Getting a responsible, ideally big, fourth-line center to anchor their bottom line could be huge for this team. Of course, if you fill the top nine winger spot you can move Turcotte to the fourth line and give yourself 12 forwards you trust, but that's a far more difficult role to fill.
Those are the two obvious spots, but I'll throw in a potential out-of-left-field add, a backup goalie. David Rittich has been just okay when called upon for the Kings, but I don't think anyone would be confident in him if Darcy Kuemper went down with an injury. The Kings are more likely to just hope and pray that Kuemper doesn't get hurt, rather than spending assets on a better backup, but it could be a proactive move to secure their net down the stretch,
Lastly, there was a report recently that Quinton Byfield could be in play for the Kings but I'm not buying it. I don't doubt that Nick Kypreos heard his name somewhere or from someone, but I'll bet it's in an "if you're willing to trade *insert bonafide superstar*" kind of way, not the Kings actively shopping him to improve their roster.
This should be an interesting potential last trade deadline for Blake, who's on an expiring contract. We'll get into some names that could fill the above mentioned holes later this week.