The Los Angeles Kings are a win-now team that doesn’t win enough. It is a reality and a conundrum they’ve put themselves in as the years pass.
Barring a collapse over the final month, the Kings can be fairly secure in planning for a fourth consecutive playoff berth. They boast a stingy defense that’s among the NHL’s best and the league’s top home record, which has them holding firm to third place in the Pacific Division. But all that may get them is another meeting with the Edmonton Oilers, who’ve ended their last three seasons in the first round.
The Kings are inferior on the road with just one win and eight regulation losses among their last 10 excursions. Three came on a recently completed trip in which they were outscored 15-4, the last defeat a 5-1 thumping by the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. It’s kept them from catching the slumping Oilers for second place and home ice advantage.
While the Kings will play 16 of their final 23 games at home beginning Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues, the trip resurrected an issue: their erratic, 23rd-ranked offense with an often-impotent power play as its core. And when their defense and goaltending show signs of slippage, as they did this past week, the Kings don’t look like a team that can get out of the first round.
Same as it has been? Or can GM Rob Blake do something by Friday’s trade deadline to strengthen his club? Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala could reach 30 goals this season, but there are no pure scorers beyond those two. The Kings are built on hardworking depth, but they don’t have enough of the scoring variety consistently.
Blake isn’t operating from a position of strength as he doesn’t have a second-round pick in this year’s draft, doesn’t have a lot of salary-cap space and has a prospect pool that’s slipped to 26th in The Athletic’s 2025 rankings. But the Kings don’t have enough as it stands, and the rumblings are that they’ve checked in on a few forwards. Trevor Moore and his $4.25 million cap hit with no trade protection could help in a money-in, money-out transaction, but that could merely be subtracting one regular to add another.
Just two days are left to get something done. Let’s look at five possible targets and potential trade matches.
Rickard Rakell
Remember when Rakell was scoring 30 goals in back-to-back seasons for Anaheim? He’s now 31 and has been with the Pittsburgh Penguins for three-plus seasons. And the versatile winger should be back in that 30-goal territory soon as he leads the Penguins with 29, topping his total from two years ago.
Rakell may not be a complete forward, but he has demonstrated the ability to perform effectively alongside star centers like Ryan Getzlaf and Sidney Crosby. He has power-play acumen and finish. The Kings have the rising Alex Laferriere but he’s not a finished product, particularly as a right-handed shot on their 29th-ranked power play.
With Rakell comes a $5 million cap hit for three more seasons. It locks in a goal scorer for beyond this playoff run, which would be welcomed by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty as they chase after another Cup in their remaining seasons. Rakell can veto a trade to eight teams but obviously has the experience of spending his formative NHL years in Southern California.
It will take a lot to get him. Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe lays it out from Pittsburgh’s viewpoint:
“The Penguins are in a position of power here,” Yohe said. “Rakell is making a fair amount of money, is under contract for multiple more seasons and fits beautifully with Sidney Crosby. They don’t have to trade him. They don’t even want to. But he can be had for the right price. My guess is that it would take a first- or second-round pick — 2025 or 2026 — and a top-tier prospect like Liam Greentree. That might seem like too much, and perhaps it is. But the Penguins have the leverage here and it’s a seriously strong market for sellers.”
Greentree, who is one of the best players in the Ontario Hockey League this season, would be a massive blow to their thin pipeline and therefore is probably off-limits. A young NHL player and a first seems to line up better. Would Alex Turcotte be enough? Probably not. But would the Kings consider sacrificing Brandt Clarke? If they were focused on the future, he’d be playing. Right now, Clarke is either scratched or playing very little as a seventh defenseman.
If the Kings still have Clarke in their long-term plans, Jordan Spence could be the one to deal, but the Penguins would likely prefer Clarke and his higher upside. Meanwhile, the Kings coaching staff clearly has more trust in Spence’s defensive game than Clarke’s in this stretch run.
Buffalo’s Alex Tuch could be an attractive forward addition for the Kings. (David Kirouac / Imagn Images)
Alex Tuch
Tuch, 28, might be the one who checks everything the Kings want in a forward. He can play in any situation, he’s got size (6-foot-4, 219 pounds) and is a terrific skater, he’s on a great contract ($4.75 million cap hit through next season) and he can score (23 goals). The Kings can view him as more than a rental but also wouldn’t be tied down by term right away.
All those qualities also mean it’s reasonable that the Buffalo Sabres aren’t in any hurry to trade him and would demand a lot if they considered such. He’s also a Syracuse native who has given the Sabres something good out of the Jack Eichel trade to Vegas. Buffalo continues to spin its wheels, but dealing Tuch for futures would send another bad message to an angry fan base.
“I definitely don’t think Tuch will be on the market in the traditional sense,” Sabres beat writer Matthew Fairburn said. “They aren’t shopping him, but teams will continue to call. The price is high, and the Sabres would want players who can play in the NHL and help them win now/next season. Prospects and picks aren’t enough for Tuch, I don’t think.”
Fairburn suspects the inclusion of Turcotte or Moore doesn’t get a trade done. Clarke, however, is an interesting idea and would bring an offensive right-shot element the Sabres currently don’t have and either deepen their defense or allow them to use Bowen Byram or Owen Power as a trade asset to improve the roster elsewhere. But while Tuch would be a great addition, it doesn’t feel like he’d be the final piece for a Stanley Cup run and the cost would eat away at the Kings’ future.
“(Quinton) Byfield was actually the first name that came to mind for me, but obviously that’s a different level of trade,” Fairburn said. “Long story short, I guess, is that the Sabres have set the bar pretty high for a Tuch deal. And he has a year left on his contract, so the situation isn’t particularly urgent.”
A fallback option from the Sabres could be veteran Jason Zucker. Zucker ($5 million cap hit) is having a nice season with 18 goals but has missed the last three games after blocking a shot against Anaheim. The Sabres do want to re-sign him but could put him on the market if they don’t think it’s possible. Zucker, who was born in Southern California and grew up in Las Vegas, does play a solid two-way game and has a knack for scoring around the net.
Brock Boeser
Boeser, 28, has struggled to follow up his big 2023-24 season when he busted out for career bests of 40 goals and 73 points. He’s been one of a few Vancouver Canucks to regress as he has just 18 goals and 36 points — although he ranks second on the Canucks and third in points, which probably speaks to the erratic season he and the team have had.
The drop-off in a contract year comes at a bad time for Boeser, who’ll be a UFA for the first time. But it’s also highly likely he’ll be a rental — it’s been long speculated he could sign with Minnesota and return to his native state — and that could mean a lower cost to send out, given he’d be with Los Angeles for a short stay.
Canucks beat writer Thomas Drance said an extension could still get done between Boeser and the Canucks but also notes little progress has been made between the two sides for months. As to what Vancouver might want as a return if it does deal Boeser, Drance said, “Think the price would be a 2025 or 2026 first and a prospect, ideally a center.”
The center prospect is something the Kings don’t have unless you can sell the Canucks on Turcotte as someone they can plug into their lineup in the middle or on the wing. They haven’t built regular healthy scratch Akil Thomas into a player who can do more than fill fourth-line minutes. And there is Boeser’s $6.65 million cap hit to contend with. Vancouver only has one salary retaining slot left.
Subtracting Moore’s cap number would also help, but would Boeser be that much of an upgrade? Boeser, with five 20-goal seasons and closing in on a sixth, has the higher ceiling as a scorer, but Moore is more well-rounded as a solid defender who also kills penalties.
Ryan Donato
The 28-year-old has dramatically increased his profile at the right time; he’s having a career season and positioning himself for a pay raise as he finishes out his two-year deal with the Blackhawks. He’s got 22 goals, 19 of them at even strength, and only carries a $2 million cap hit — few are providing that kind of offensive production for his salary.
Donato would be the best option for the Kings from a cap standpoint in that they wouldn’t need to subtract from their current roster. Blackhawks beat writer Scott Powers sees it that way in terms of a potential ask by Chicago, which will move him if it gets the right offer. This is the definition of selling high.
“It doesn’t appear as if they’re going to re-sign him, and while he does have some value on their current roster, the future is still where the organization’s focus is at,” Powers said. “If the Kings were to offer a first-round pick, that is probably enough. The assumption has been Donato wouldn’t fetch a pick that high, but it sounds like the trade market may be trending that way. If that’s true, the Blackhawks may able to push a team to a first-round pick and a bit more.”
The red flag with Donato is that he’s never had more than 16 goals previously and could be taking advantage of more ice time and a larger role on a bad Blackhawks team. And in his only substantial postseason experience, Donato didn’t score and had only two assists in 14 playoff games with Seattle in 2023. But he can play either center or wing, having done both throughout this season.
As to Turcotte being a trade piece, Powers said, “Turcotte probably doesn’t make sense considering all the young forwards the Blackhawks have coming in, but he is a local kid and was in the discussion when they were picked third in 2019.” On the Kings’ end, that doesn’t seem likely, given Turcotte is still cheap labor you don’t want to give away unless it’s for a substantial upgrade that can fuel a Cup run.
Reilly Smith
The New York Rangers are holding Smith, 33, out for asset protection. Trading him is something they want to get done. There is real concern over his declining play. With 10 goals and 29 points, Smith didn’t flourish in some top-six minutes with the Rangers. This comes after a highly underwhelming solo season with Pittsburgh.
Smith had some productive seasons in a six-year run with Vegas; he scored 26 goals and contributed to the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup championship run in 2023. Smith offers versatility in a middle-six role. He can play on a power play and kill penalties. Over his career, he’s got 47 power-play goals and 15 short-handed goals.
However, Smith is two years further into his 30s and only has two power-play goals total in these down seasons with the Penguins and Rangers. New York paid a 2027 and 2025 fifth to get him. “I doubt they’d get that much back. Maybe a third? Ideally a second for them, I’m sure,” said Rangers beat writer Peter Baugh.
The Kings can part with a third, whether in 2025 or 2026. And with the Penguins already retaining some of Smith’s salary, the winger cap hit is $3.75 million. That’s more manageable as he’s on an expiring deal but it could still take some financial maneuvering to wedge him in. The Rangers are already retaining salary for Ryan Lindgren after moving him to Colorado, so they may not do the same for Smith.
(Top photo of Brock Boeser and Anze Kopitar battling for the puck: Derek Cain / Getty Images)
