Ah, the NHL trade deadline, the time when franchises that have any shot at the Stanley Cup look to load up and push as hard as possible for as long as possible into the postseason.
For the Kings, Friday’s deadline may represent a paradox: on one side, they’re very much reestablished in the playoff hunt, on the other, they’ve got virtually no flexibility to pursue upgrades or reconfigurations at the trade deadline.
Where they stand
The Kings have won seven of 11 games under Interim Coach Jim Hiller. That has left behind a rancid January and reaffirmed them as at least a wild-card club after they went from soaring through the first two months of the campaign to bouncing off the playoff bubble. Money Puck places the Kings’ odds of qualifying for the playoffs at 92.3% as of Monday.
Though the team’s performance has been strong, particularly of late when they won consecutive games by a 10-2 aggregate score, injuries have become an issue. Viktor Arvidsson missed 50 games, played three and then returned to long-term injured reserve. He joined Carl Grundstrom and Pheonix Copley there. Soon after, Mikey Anderson and Adrian Kempe sustained injuries. The good news is that all but Copley are at least expected to return before the end of the regular season. The bad news is that that means the Kings won’t have much LTIR-related cap space to work with at the deadline as they look to build on their recent success.
“We’re organized, we’re working both ways, we’re playing the game the right way and we’re playing with some passion,” Hiller said. “It’s always very close, the teams are very even so it doesn’t always translate into wins. But we like the spot we’re in.”
Recent history
Rob Blake is in his seventh season as the Kings’ general manager but he only had one ambitious deadline as a buyer, last season. In 2022, the Kings’ returned to the playoffs after a three-year absence defined by selling at the deadline, but were extremely…
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