It’s deadline season!

[DoubleMinor]

I simply don’t believe St. Louis is going to trade Robert Thomas. He’s on a team friendly deal through 2031. He’s won a Cup in StL. There’s no internal replacement. Unless he requests a trade he’s the type of player you rebuild around.

Elias Pettersson is the type of player who occasionally becomes available and everyone who didn’t watch him at his peak says he’s not worth his salary but the Kings are in a position where cap doesn’t matter. They’re desperate for a #1 C and they’d be lucky to get a player of his caliber. 4x All Star. 3x 30 goal scorer. 100 points in 2023. Established relationship with our homegrown star forward. It all makes sense.

I think this is correct re Thomas. But if he is available he’s the best option by far and you give up what it takes to get him, even if it’s three top assets.
My concerns with Pettersson are that clearly Vancouver wants him gone, and in their most recent playoff series he looked like he shied away from the physical play in a noticeable way. That’s not a $10M player.
It’s why he’s available and I just don’t think you can make a mistake in that salary range. It’s too risky and too costly.

 

[FBJ]

I think this is correct re Thomas. But if he is available he’s the best option by far and you give up what it takes to get him, even if it’s three top assets.
My concerns with Pettersson are that clearly Vancouver wants him gone, and in their most recent playoff series he looked like he shied away from the physical play in a noticeable way. That’s not a $10M player.
It’s why he’s available and I just don’t think you can make a mistake in that salary range. It’s too risky and too costly.

PLD Part Deux

 

[Clif]

I think Laffy is a cornerstone for the next decade. He will score 20 goals once his bad luck with disallowed goals passes. He is not ever going to be the best player on any team but he’s the consummate secondary player. Do not trade him.

That’s how I, and I think a lot of Kings fans, see him. I also think he can get to 30 goals multiple seasons.

He’s the type of player you need to win. Obviously so is a 1C! But I don’t like losing a top 6 to gain a top 6, when you don’t have someone else who can slot in to top 6.