With the trade deadline approaching and the Los Angeles Kings still sitting in last place, it's time to make some changes.
Los Angeles has been in a hole since the first week of the regular season. With players they acquired last summer not doing what was expected, they will look to be traded.
But who are the Kings willing to give up?
It's been brought up that All-Star defenseman Rob Blake is willing to waive his no-trade clause in order for Los Angeles to make a swap. The most likely destination for Blake at this point is Ottawa—a team that remains the best in the East and would like to add strength to their defensive core before playoffs arrive.
Others likely to fall victim of a trade in Los Angeles are Ladislav Nagy and Jaroslav Modry.
Nagy, signed as a free agent this summer, recently stepped up his game, which was needed long before now. Nagy has a 26 points on the year, 10 of which were scored in five straight games.
Defenseman Jaroslav Modry, who is 36 and now serving his 10th season in a Kings uniform, might also be traded. Modry isn't looked at as a scoring or offensive defenseman—he only five points in 49 games on the year. Modry could be a solid addition to the Senators lineup as well, serving as a good purpose on the penalty kill.
The ultimate question brought up by this is who would the Kings receive in return for these players? It's quite obvious what the Kings need—goaltending.
If a trade was to fall through with Ottawa, would they really be willing to give up Emery or Gerber and have faith that Jeff Glass, who has a 12-10-3 record with Binghamton, can backup the goaltending core?
If the trade to Ottawa doesn't fall through, Toronto could be another destination for any of the three players. This suits Toronto well because they have Andrew Raycroft to give away, but still have Toskala who starts for the Leafs anyway.
Look for the Kings to be in a tight spot in the next few weeks, trying to work out a deal that lands them a solid goaltender. If the Kings get what they need, they could be a dangerous team the rest of the year, as well as next season.
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6 months ago
Im not sure what moves the Kings could make, they'd certainly have to move some talent in order to get some back, last place teams always have a hard time making deals, because the value of the players is cheap, clubs know L.A. is desperate.
I agree that it's time to start looking at moving Blake's contract, aswell as acquiring a goaltender, but I doubt the price will be cheap, and Im sure the Kings don't want Emery or Raycroft, I doubt anyone really does at this point. L.A. would be better off trying to unload his contract so that they could make summer acquisitions, than get any real value in return.
While Emery has a considerable upside that he was in the final, his downside is just too large to ignore, and could you imagine Emery if he was on a losing club instead of the high powered Senators?
Nagy and Modry might move at the deadline to playoff contenders, but I am almost 100% positive that the Kings will do nothing to make a playoff push this year, and concentrate on Free Agency and the Draft.
6 months ago
David, I never said the Kings are trying to make a playoff push. Lets get realistic here, they aren't going anywhere this year.
Why would they not land Raycroft or Emery if they had a chance, instead focus on the draft and free agency. Quite honestly, I don't think the Kings are capable of signing free agents after seeing who they signed last summer and what those five players have done for the team.
Talking about prices with the Kings, if they were to trade Blake and Nagy or Modry for Emery, it would favor the Kings financially.
6 months ago
Well I should probably at least make a comment
We already have our own versions of Raycroft and Emery in Labs and Aubin, Goaltending is not as big a problem as the rest of the league thinks. Its our D not playing any D! ... Labs save percentage is .911 .. while compared to raycroft .874 .. or Emery at .891.
Just becouse ottawa or toronto .. needs to unload a goalie .. and L.A is in a unfortunate position that its a seller ... doesnt mean that it should facilitate a trade. More East Coast Bias, and ontario is the center of the world.
Now if ottawa .. feels like giving up brian lee and a 1rst .. thats a nice start for blake .. and more realistic if you ask me.
Not to mention bernier only bout 2 years away from the bigs .. AHL Goaltentender of the year Labarbara .. im sure can handle these duties
fonze
6 months ago
I really hope you are kidding when you say this "We already have our own versions of Raycroft and Emery in Labs and Aubin, Goaltending is not as big a problem as the rest of the league thinks"
There is no comparison between Emery and Labs and Raycroft and Aubin. Emery and Raycroft are CLEARLY the better goaltenders despite having a bad year, which everyone with the exception of 3-4 guys on the Kings is having as well.
Nobody said Toronto and Ottawa need to unload a goalie. Look at Detroit. They have the two best goalies in the league. Just because they have both doesn't mean they need to trade to get a better foward or defenseman. The better the goalies, starter and backup, the more likely you are to succeed.
A first round pick and Brian Lee for Blake?? If that is realistic to you, you know absolutely nothing about hockey.
"AHL Goaltender of the year Labarbara". Please notice the first three letters of this sentence, AHL. This isn't the AHL anymore buddy. This is the NHL with Zetterberg's, Datsyuk's Iginla's, St. Louis's, Ovechkin's, Crosby's, i can go on and on and on. The AHL is a development league. Of course its and honor to get Goaltender of the year, but its not as easy in the NHL.
6 months ago
It would not favor them financially. All three contracts are up after this season, so regardless of trading or keeping them for the duration of the year, we are clear of over at least 6 million (I don't remember what Nagy was being paid). As far as Raycroft and Emery, neither has proven anything this year except mediocrity, and definitely have not played better than LaBarbera while being on better teams. I'm all for trading these guys to get prospects, picks, or players but they likely won't yield the Kings much, and the goalies mentioned are useless for this year and aren't the bonafide #1's the Kings need. In other words, these trades would be worthless. As far as free agents signing here ... The big ones from last year were never gonna sign here. Drury was going home, Gomez could stay close to where he had been his entire career, play for a team that had a chance to win this year, and play with Drury. Briere was going to Philly since the Biron was traded there unless he resigned with Buffalo. We had little chance of landing those guys regardless of our stature. Teams and players are taking notice of the Kings core and realize in a couple of years, this will be the place to play. Other GM's, announcers, and players are saying it. Free agents will come.
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