Next up on the group seasons in review series is a look at the three players who were acquired by the Kings around the 2026 Trade Deadline.

They came in three different shapes and sizes. Forward Artemi Panarin was the big fish and he came with a two-year contract extension. He was acquired to be the offensive producer the Kings have lacked for so long and he scored at over a point-per-game pace with Los Angeles. Scott Laughton was a late deadline deal to fill a third-line center role that no one seized after the Phil Danault trade in December. Lastly, the Kings signed Mathieu Joseph after his contract was terminated in St. Louis, to help fill the spots in the lineup vacated by various trades and injuries.

Three very different players, with different degrees of success. A look at all three below.

Mathieu Joseph
NHL Statline – 12 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, -2 rating
NHL Playoff Statline – 2 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, -2 rating

I liked the thought process that went into bringing Mathieu Joseph to Los Angeles.

At the trade deadline, the Kings were far from a playoff lock but they also were within reach. They moved away two veteran depth players in Warren Foegele and Corey Perry, acquiring two second-round picks in the process. They were also without Kevin Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko for the rest of the regular season. Still, they wanted to continue to push for the playoffs and after things did not work for Joseph this season in St. Louis, he was available for free and came to Los Angeles on an inexpensive, one-year contract.

Joseph is a strong skater and ranked in the 82nd percentile for speed busts of 22+ MPH this season. He had familiarity with D.J. Smith from their time together in Ottawa and made a lot of sense to bring in with no assets going out the other way.

In 14 games between the regular season and playoffs, Joseph did not hit the scoresheet. I thought his best game with the Kings was Game 2 of the playoff series against Colorado. The Kings needed players to go out and set the tone with speed and physicality. He did that, with a game-high six hits. It was a bright spot in a short stint with the team.

I think this stat sums up Joseph’s short time with the Kings. At 5-on-5, no Kings player was on the ice for fewer high-danger chances against than Joseph. At 5-on-5, no Kings player was on the ice for fewer high-danger chances for than Joseph. No player had a lower on-ice expected goals against, no player had a lower on-ice expected goals for.

In Game 2, you noticed Joseph seemingly every time he was on the ice. In the regular season, he rarely hurt the Kings, though he rarely drove play either. He was a low-event player who didn’t impact the game a ton in either direction. At the time, the Kings needed a little bit of that, with two forwards traded and two more lost to season-ending injuries. For that role, he was just fine.

2026-27 Status – Joseph signed a one-year contract with the Kings in March which turned out to be about six weeks long in total. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Kings already have a number of players who play the role that Joseph does, so a fit in Los Angeles could be hard to find. However, Ken Holland said that Joseph liked it here and not every contract has to have an NHL guarantee. With the possibility of coming in to compete for a spot, that could be a fit going forward. If not, he’ll likely find that role elsewhere.

Scott Laughton
NHL Statline – 21 games played, 5 goals, 3 assists, -2 rating
NHL Playoff Statline – 4 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, -2 rating

From how things sounded, Scott Laughton was almost not an LA King by about 30 seconds.

Laughton’s deal was completed within the final minute before the NHL Trade Deadline, as he joined Los Angeles for the playoff push, with the Toronto Maple Leafs out of contention. Laughton was an interesting add. Just 12 months before, there was arguably no player more highly sought at the deadline. He went to Toronto from Philadelphia in a trade that saw a first-round pick go the other way. The Kings got him here for what ultimately amounted to a second-round pick,

Laughton was a solid third-line center and did a lot of things the Kings needed. He killed penalties while offering second-power-play minutes. He was excellent in the faceoff dot and would often start 3-on-3 overtime, win the faceoff and make way for Artemi Panarin. He would earn extra minutes as a second center on late-game defensive draws, knowing he could also play on the wing if the faceoff was lost.

He also brought personality and leadership to a locker room that seemed to lose some of the former over the last 12 months. He was a universally loved teammate no matter which city you’re talking about. There’s value in guys like that.

Laughton’s offensive production was right in line with his career numbers. 8 points in 21 games is just over 30 points over 82 games. He’s got five seasons in his career with at least 30 points, which is in line with what you’d probably be looking for in a third-line center. He’s also eclipsed 40 points just once in his career, so what you see is what you get, at least in the short term.

There are a lot of things about Scott Laughton that you’d like to keep around but you also have to look at it within the context of a business. What does a new coach and a new system want out of a third line? If it’s more of a scoring line, maybe a line that you want to let Kevin Fiala drive, then maybe he needs a different kind of center. Maybe you see that fit succeeding, as Fiala has excelled with workers. There’s also the contract to consider. Laughton is an unrestricted free agent and he will have options. He’s 32-years-old and the center market is extremely light. Those factors have to be considered as it pertains to what it would take to keep him around. Charlie Coyle just commanded a six-year contract at 34-year-old, which is a lot of term. All factors that need to be considered.

If the fit makes sense, both now and long term, I am not sure anyone who has been around Scott Laughton wouldn’t want him around. If the price is right.

2026-27 Status – As noted, Laughton is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Laughton expressed an interest in coming back with a new contract. Both sides – Laughton and the Kings – agreed that it made the most sense to let the season play out, feeling out the fit, before talking about a new deal. Ken Holland said that his first priority is to sort out the team’s Head Coach and system, identifying what might need to change heading into next season. Then, he would circle back to internal free agents like Laughton and Andrei Kuzmenko. The Kings have exclusive negotiating rights through the end of June and we’ll see how they use them, once they get a coach in place. The priority this summer is finding a top-six center to compliment Quinton Byfield, but the Kings may need two centers and Laughton could be that second player.

Artemi Panarin
NHL Statline – 26 games played, 9 goals, 18 assists, +9 rating
NHL Playoff Statline – 4 games played, 2 goals, 1 assist, -3 rating

Hard to argue with what Artemi Panarin brought to the Kings.

Acquired at the end of January, Panarin was the highest-profile player on the market. The Kings were able to get him for below market value, with Panarin holding no-movement protection that allowed him to dictate his destination. With that being Los Angeles, the Kings were able to swing a deal that certainly wasn’t for nothing, but it was for substantially less than a player of Panarin’s caliber would have went for on the open market. Combined with a below-market contract extension, the Kings pulled good value in getting Panarin.

Panarin scored at over a point-per-game clip with the Kings and was responsible for all of their offense in Games 1 and 2 in the playoffs. His power-play goal in Game 2 should have served as the game-winning goal but it didn’t, as Colorado won in overtime. He scored in a 1-0 win over Edmonton, the only playoff team Los Angeles beat under D.J. Smith. In total, Panarin had seven multi-point games during his time with the Kings and he got on the scoresheet in 18 of the 26 games he played with the Kings. On a team that was starving for offense, Panarin brought it.

If you’re talking about the long-term direction of the Kings, you could certainly make an argument that acquiring a 34-year-old forward for future assets isn’t the right approach. If we’re talking simply about what Panarin delivered, though, there’s no denying the impact he made. He instantly became the team’s most dangerous offensive player and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe elevated their games after he arrived. Nor do I think it’s a coincidence that the focus on Panarin helped Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore drive their own line, as played their best hockey down the stretch as well.

Panarin was the offensive force the team needed. He was the only King with multiple goals in the playoffs. He did it all as a midseason acquisition who hadn’t played a game in 29 days when he debuted with the Kings. Excited to see what he can do with a full training camp and a full 82 games.

2026-27 Status – With his trade to the Kings, Panarin agreed to a two-year extension with a full no-movement clause, which keeps him with Los Angeles through 2028. It’ll be interesting to see how the Kings envision their forwards next season. They have more high-end talent on the wings than they’ve had in a long time, with Panarin, Kempe and Kevin Fiala all in place, supported by Alex Laferriere and Trevor Moore. The Kings paired Kempe and Panarin this season but Fiala was not an option due to injury. With all three in place, the Kings have more flexibility and options, especially with Laferriere and Moore both able to compliment a number of different skillsets. Probably something we wont have much of an idea for until the Kings add a center or two, but on the wings at least, with Panarin in place, the Kings have options. However they go about it, Panarin will be a focal point of the team’s offensive approach, both at even strength and on the power play.