The Los Angeles Kings have been stuck in a rut after losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Edmonton Oilers for the last three seasons.
While the Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights battle for the top spot in the Pacific Division, the third-place Kings’ 67 points are as close to the Calgary Flames (62), which are one point out of a wild-card spot, as they are to the Oilers (72), which are second in the Pacific. They’re also four points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks (63), which sit in the second wild-card spot.
Whether or not the Kings face the Oilers yet again in the first round, they do face pressure to lock in their playoff spot and, more importantly, eliminate whichever club they do take on first. They likely need to make a trade by March 7 to give them the best chance possible, because there are doubts about Los Angeles right now.
In a way, Drew Doughty feels like a trade deadline acquisition. He made his season debut on Jan. 29 after recovering from a fractured ankle. His goal and two assists on Saturday were crucial in Los Angeles beating the Utah Hockey Club 5-3. He even logged 31:09 of ice time on Feb. 8 and looked solid for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
But don’t kid yourself: Kings GM Rob Blake is under a great deal of pressure to put this team on a deeper playoff run.
Los Angeles has about $3.56 million in cap space to play with by the NHL trade deadline, and Blake should look at available forwards.
The Kings remain a strong defensive team thanks to coach Jim Hiller. Doughty’s return gives them more offensive power from the back end as well.
But the Kings average just 2.87 goals-for per game, which ranks 19th in the NHL. Their power play is even worse, as their 15.2-percent success rate ranks 29th overall.
There could be forwards available via trade who can help with offense without Hiller’s defensive system falling apart, including the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell, Chicago Blackhawks’ Ryan Donato and a bottom-six option, the Philadelphia Flyers’ Scott Laughton.
Los Angeles will have to outbid the many teams that will be interested in those players, and it may take including a top draft pick to get a deal done. Blake has all three of his first-round picks in the next three years, as well as two second-rounders. It doesn’t make much sense to hang onto all of them at a time in the Kings’ competitive cycle when they’re trying to go further in the playoffs.
