With the Kings clawing into the thick of the playoff race as the season approaches its halfway mark, they might find themselves in the role of buyer rather than seller as the April 12 trade deadline draws near.
A recent report from TSN’s Darren Dreger said that the Kings, who have been cautious with salary cap space and assets, might be pursuing a big acquisition.
“(General Manager) Rob Blake of the Los Angeles Kings is another one looking for a defenseman … 25 and under,” Dreger said. “But he specifically wants a dynamic, left-shot defenseman.”
That is a tall order as impact defensemen are not easy to come by, much less those who are under 25 and likely under team control as a result. Blake has long said that if the team’s performance warranted it, he might begin pursuing experienced players, but those who were still on the younger side in their mid-20s.
The Kings are fairly firm on the right side with their most-deployed defenseman Drew Doughty, the calming presence of Matt Roy and the reasonably priced Sean Walker. On the left side, Mikey Anderson has been the only player to find a consistent role this season, typically skating alongside Doughty on the No. 1 pairing.
“When we put him up there with Drew, it was a test. We wanted to see what he could do, and he’s meeting expectations,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “He’s doing a really good job of shutting the other team’s top line down. He feels comfortable there. He and Drew work well together.”
Beyond depth, the Kings could use a bit more offense from their back end, to say the least. Doughty has 17 points in 20 games, and the next highest scorer on the blue line is Anderson with four points. Beyond Doughty’s impressive 10 power-play points (three goals), the Kings have gotten a solitary assist out of their defense corps with the man advantage.
The list of players potentially available who meet the criteria outlined by Dreger is rather short. Columbus’ Zach Werenski, 23, might be a possibility as the Blue Jackets brace themselves for what seems like an annual purge of prominent players. They already traded center Pierre-Luc Dubois and saw Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene and others bolt in the summer of 2019.
Should the Kings look at even more experienced options, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, 29, was the subject of trade rumors last season and might be available as a left shot who has been in the No. 1 role for the Arizona Coyotes. Mattias Ekholm, 30, has been one of the most well-rounded left defensemen in the league. He offers a mix of fearless defense, pace-driving skating, imposing size and offensive savvy. His affordable cap hit ($3.75 million) and term (under contract through 2021-22) will make him even more attractive to potential suitors at the deadline.
ANDERSON-DOLAN ON THE MEND
Forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan was making the most of his opportunity, scoring five points in six games while providing energy, consistency and three-zone effectiveness. He last played on Feb. 18 and has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since.
“He has started to skate again on his own; he’s starting to feel better,” McLellan said. “I wouldn’t expect to see him at all between now and through the weekend.”
SPEED KILLS
The Kings have come up multiple levels offensively from last season when they were dangling near the bottom of the league in scoring and power-play potency for practically the entire campaign. The addition of swift winger Andreas Athanasiou and the continued development of speedy center Blake Lizotte have aided not only their offense but their bottom line as well.
“I feel pretty good. The guys here make it a pretty easy transition, so from that aspect, there’s been no issue whatsoever,” said Athanasiou, who split last season between Detroit and Edmonton.
Both forwards missed time due to COVID-19 protocol-related issues, coinciding with some injuries on defense, and the Kings’ fortunes flagged in their absence. With both players in their lineup, the Kings are 6-3-3, good for a .625 points percentage, better than the St. Louis Blues, who are in second place in the West. Without the two forwards, the Kings are 3-4-2, representing a markedly less impressive .444 points percentage, superior in the West only to that of the last-place Ducks.