The Trade Deadline Thread

It looks like the team flipped the playoff switch after the two night debacle in Alberta. The game on 2/29 in Vancouver through the game vs. the Sens have all had a more physical and faster pace than the vast majority of games this season.

I see a team focused on securing a playoff spot and more eagerly throwing their bodies around to make the tough plays tougher on their opponents.

Byfield, PLD and Fiala in particular are using their size in impactful ways. Getting Grundstrom and Kempe back should give all four lines physicality that will be needed for any sort of playoff run. A healthy Mikey Anderson will also help add some grit to the blue line. He rarely lays big hits but when he’s on his game he makes life hell for opposing forwards.

My preference would’ve been for Blake to pick up a big Center for the 4th line but I guess that deal wasn’t out there.
A big center like say Bjugstad would have been nice for sure as I love Grundstrom but he's almost too nice. PLD when he's motivated is awesome and it's usually after someone gets him angry like Perry he can get quite chippy. I would have loved a 4th line of Grundstrom,Lizotte,Maroon but we'll just have to let it ride with this group. The D group is pretty aggress with one tough guy on each pairing being Anderson,Roy and England so I'm ok there but the 12 we'll roll out isn't the toughest and I don't mean fighting.
 
I don't know where the PLD rumor came from, but the Ulmark rumor came from Frank Seravalli, who is one of the most plugged in reporters out there. TSN also discussed the trade in a segment, saying the deal was all but done and fell apart at the last second.

Friedman said recently it is believed the Kings approached Nashville about Saros last trade deadline.

It makes sense. They need a long-term solution in net and Talbot and Rittich ain't it. And whatever Talbot's numbers are this season, I'd still rather have last season's Vezina winner going into the playoffs. Talbot fell apart earlier this season, who's to say he won't again?
Agree.... The Ulmark trade was not a rumor, just the fact that the Kings and PLD being involved was the rumor. I could see the Kings going after him (maybe) if he had more term and the B's were willing to eat some cap $. Well, and the Kings had any assets and cap room.

I fear Blake is going to have to dumpster dive for goalies again next year.
 
Agree.... The Ulmark trade was not a rumor, just the fact that the Kings and PLD being involved was the rumor. I could see the Kings going after him (maybe) if he had more term and the B's were willing to eat some cap $. Well, and the Kings had any assets and cap room.

I fear Blake is going to have to dumpster dive for goalies again next year.
Erik Portillo should be on the NHL roster next season. Being Ullmark’s understudy for a year makes a lot sense for his development.

I imagine Blake will re-engage trade talks this summer around the draft. It’ll be easier to find a 3rd team to eat some of cap hit then.
 
2024 NHL trade deadline's biggest winners, losers: Golden Knights, Panthers gear up for Stanley Cup runs

Loser | Los Angeles Kings
The teams around them at the top of the conference, including the Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars, all made upgrades. Meanwhile, Los Angeles stood pat.

The Kings had obvious needs on the wing and in goal, and they failed to address either of them in even the most minor of ways. Maybe the scoring issue corrects itself when the team's scoring percentage regresses to the mean, but there's no guarantee that happens. Are the Kings comfortable heading into the playoffs with Cam Talbot and David Rittich as its goaltending tandem? They better be because that's what they've got now.

The path to the Stanley Cup in the West is a gauntlet, and now the Kings seem to be a notch or two behind their biggest competition.
 
If I were the Kings GM, my highest priority would be to trade Drew Doughty this summer. That contract is, was and always will be an albatross - Drew hasn’t played like an $11 million/season player since that deal was signed. Maybe Treliving would sell the farm to get him after the Leafs get bounced out of the playoffs again this year. If the Kings eat 1/4, maybe they can find a third team to eat another 1/4.
 
Last edited:
If I were the Kings GM, my highest priority would be to trade Drew Doughty this summer. That contract is, was and always will be an albatross - Drew hasn’t played like an $11 million/season player since that deal was signed. Maybe Dubas would sell the farm to get him after the Leafs get bounced out of the playoffs again this year. If the Kings eat 1/4, maybe they can find a third team to eat another 1/4.
Nonsense.
 
Basically, Quick didn’t have a choice. He didn’t get a NTC/NMC from Lombardi (I recall being kinda shocked at that omission at the time it was signed.)

Kopitar and Doughty have NMCs and can’t be dealt or sent down without their consent,’They can be waived and bought out, but that’s it. If Blake or his replacement wants to trade them, they get to say no if they choose to.
So....Quick....who has already won a Cup with the LVGK and has a pretty good chance to win another with the NYR did pretty well?
 
That was my opinion of Doughty’s contract when he signed it. glad to see you agree with me.😁

Doughty's playing as well as he ever has, despite having slowed down a little bit. He's only got 3 more years after this one on his deal, and while I'll grant you he's 34 years old and has played a hard game, but the guy is still an elite defenseman and among the heart/soul of the team. I think it would be a bad idea to trade Doughty this year.
 
Doughty's playing as well as he ever has, despite having slowed down a little bit. He's only got 3 more years after this one on his deal, and while I'll grant you he's 34 years old and has played a hard game, but the guy is still an elite defenseman and among the heart/soul of the team. I think it would be a bad idea to trade Doughty this year.
Yes, I agree that DD is having a bounce back year. But I was having a little fun with a new poster and was only half serious… still… I do have an issue with $18 million in cap space tied up in 2 guys on the back side of their careers. It will delay properly retooling this franchise until both those contracts are gone.
 
Doughty is on a 3 year 33 million dollar deal after this season.

He's arguably (definitely?) been the Kings best player this season, and is their heart + soul either way.

That's not a huge long term commitment for a (still) elite defenseman. Would it be nice if it was a 9 million dollar cap hit? Sure, but for 3 more years, for a guy with no real injury history and eats minutes like nobody else in the NHL (literally) it's a fair deal.

His contract is 100% moveable. We've seen time and time again how players flourish after leaving the Kings. When you move to a more open system, or just the East in general, your stats will go up. Doesn't make you a better player per se, but the numbers on your stat sheet improve when you leave the Kings. GMs know this and have seen at least a dozen examples over the past 5-6 years.

So it will be quite interesting to see what happens. I could see a half a dozen teams in the East being interested. It would leave a MASSIVE hole on the Kings back line though. It would have to bring back a younger, high pedigree emerging RHD for starters.

I think he ends up riding out the contract in LA, unless another team really wants to go all in for him, which is not unfathomable in the least.
 
Doughty is on a 3 year 33 million dollar deal after this season.

He's arguably (definitely?) been the Kings best player this season, and is their heart + soul either way.

That's not a huge long term commitment for a (still) elite defenseman. Would it be nice if it was a 9 million dollar cap hit? Sure, but for 3 more years, for a guy with no real injury history and eats minutes like nobody else in the NHL (literally) it's a fair deal.

His contract is 100% moveable. We've seen time and time again how players flourish after leaving the Kings. When you move to a more open system, or just the East in general, your stats will go up. Doesn't make you a better player per se, but the numbers on your stat sheet improve when you leave the Kings. GMs know this and have seen at least a dozen examples over the past 5-6 years.

So it will be quite interesting to see what happens. I could see a half a dozen teams in the East being interested. It would leave a MASSIVE hole on the Kings back line though. It would have to bring back a younger, high pedigree emerging RHD for starters.

I think he ends up riding out the contract in LA, unless another team really wants to go all in for him, which is not unfathomable in the least.
Oh… I completely agree that he is having a great year. He is unique in his voracious consumption of TOI. But daydreaming about the potential return is an attractive distraction… and provides some refuge from the incessant “Trade PLD” droning. And I admit to engaging in some intentional hyperbole…😎
 
Oh… I completely agree that he is having a great year. He is unique in his voracious consumption of TOI. But daydreaming about the potential return is an attractive distraction… and provides some refuge from the incessant “Trade PLD” droning. And I admit to engaging in some intentional hyperbole…😎

There's definitely a precedent for trading for expensive, elite (ish) veteran d-men. I understand it's different because you are not giving up assets, but how many teams would give Drew a 3 year 30 million dollar deal next year if he was an UFA? 10-12 teams easily would figure out a way to make it work.
 
If I were the Kings GM, my highest priority would be to trade Drew Doughty this summer. That contract is, was and always will be an albatross - Drew hasn’t played like an $11 million/season player since that deal was signed. Maybe Treliving would sell the farm to get him after the Leafs get bounced out of the playoffs again this year. If the Kings eat 1/4, maybe they can find a third team to eat another 1/4.
Biggest hurdle is getting Dewey to agree to it. If I'm him, I'm only agreeing on a trade to a top tier contender that's one of the cup favorites. Otherwise, I'm staying in LA, living near the beach and doing everything I can to try and help the Kings win during the last 3 years of my contract here.
 
Biggest hurdle is getting Dewey to agree to it. If I'm him, I'm only agreeing on a trade to a top tier contender that's one of the cup favorites. Otherwise, I'm staying in LA, living near the beach and doing everything I can to try and help the Kings win during the last 3 years of my contract here.
As I originally said, it would take a new regime coming in to rebuild the rebuild… something I would hate to see. But should Luc & Rob be shown the door after this season, any incoming GM would have to look at that potential for a big return.
 
Doughty is NOT an elite d-man. He is very good, but he has -- and always has had -- flaws in his game, not the least of which are mental. At this point in his career, not worth $11M. Maybe $7.5, $8.0, if you add in his fan appeal.
 
Doughty is NOT an elite d-man. He is very good, but he has -- and always has had -- flaws in his game, not the least of which are mental. At this point in his career, not worth $11M. Maybe $7.5, $8.0, if you add in his fan appeal.

He's 18th in points at +10.

6 guys above him in scoring are at -26, -17, -9, -2, +2, +2, so just there he's looking more like a top 10 / "elite" guy, statistically.

10 of the 16 guys above him are in the East. The East is at least a 6-8 point advantage for a Dman over the season, so that cements him even more as "elite". Drew on the Leafs or TB or NYR and he'd be top 5-8 in points easily.

He is #1 in TOI and kills penalties for the best unit in the NHL. Drew Doughty is elite.
 
He's 18th in points at +10.

6 guys above him in scoring are at -26, -17, -9, -2, +2, +2, so just there he's looking more like a top 10 / "elite" guy, statistically.

10 of the 16 guys above him are in the East. The East is at least a 6-8 point advantage for a Dman over the season, so that cements him even more as "elite". Drew on the Leafs or TB or NYR and he'd be top 5-8 in points easily.

He is #1 in TOI and kills penalties for the best unit in the NHL. Drew Doughty is elite.
Of course he’s elite. He’s been elite his entire career. And while his cap hit is high he’s actually #8 in salary for the league for Defensemen. And he’s worth every dollar.
 
Of course he’s elite. He’s been elite his entire career. And while his cap hit is high he’s actually #8 in salary for the league for Defensemen. And he’s worth every dollar.
Doughty is the 2nd highest paid defenseman in the NHL. In no world is he worth $11m / season of the 2nd best defensemen in the league.

He is elite though, I will give you that.
 
Back
Top