The Los Angeles Kings sit three points out of a playoff spot in the West, but just acquired Artemi Panarin with a contract extension. Their plan is to get in this season and compete while being a better overall team next season as well. They also aren’t planning on doing nothing from here until the trade deadline as they need center help.
The Kings have some cap space to work with, but are still looking to move out a contract up front before the deadline too. David Pagnotta said, “I don’t think LA’s done, and I think they can be a little creative in how they maneuver their roster. We’ve heard Andrei Kuzmenko’s name before, we’ve heard Trevor Moore’s name before, and now obviously Warren Foegele.”
All three of the names mentioned haven’t had the offensive seasons expected of them and all have different lengths left on their contracts. Kuzmenko is a UFA after the season with a $4.3 million AAV cap hit and he has 13 goals and 23 points in 51 games. He is lining up on the third line, but just last season, proved he was a capable top line winger as he has in the past with good offensive performances.
Foegele has one more year remaining on his deal at $3.5 million AAV and has had a really poor year offensively. He is currently a healthy scratch and has six goals and eight points in 43 games. He has a 5-team no-trade clause on his contract, so there’s not much resistance if the Kings were to find a trade partner.
Moore’s ice time has dropped and his production has really dropped for the first time since coming to the LA Kings and breaking out. He’s on the second line for now and has two years left at $4.2 million AAV, but he should also be lower down the lineup if the Kings didn’t always spread out their scoring. Moore only has seven goals and 15 points in 44 games and doesn’t have any trade protection.
It seems as though the Kings may have their pick in who to move and could even send off multiple of the three options to really reshape their team with new faces in an attempt to win. With the acquisition of Panarin, the Kings aren’t sitting still and expect at least one more trade before the deadline.
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