L.A. Kings: 5 Deals They Should Have Made at the Deadline

The Los Angeles Kings are currently one point behind the San Jose Sharks for the final playoff position in the Western Conference.

Sitting at 72 points, the Kings have one of the top defenses in the league, ranking third overall in goals against and fourth overall in penalty kill percentage.

The Kings also contain one of the best, young, talented forwards in the NHL with Anze Kopitar, who has 55 points on the aging season.

The Kings recently acquired forward Jeff Carter from Columbus before the February 27 trade deadline, in hopes to better their chances at making a playoff run.

With the season coming to a close, here is a list of five skaters the Kings should have made a play for at the trading deadline.

Cody Hodgson

Cody Hodgson is another young forward who has great potential in the NHL.

Only 22 years old, Hodgson has 33 points on the season, with 16 goals and 17 assists.

The Buffalo Sabres recently acquired Hodgson from Vancouver, and he has been giving the Sabres a sold 16 minutes per game.

Andrei Kostitsyn

Andrei Kostitsyn was traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Nashville Predators.

Kostitsyn currently has 26 points on the season, splitting those stats evenly with 13 goals and 13 assists.

In the two games with the Preds, Kostitsyn has a goal and an assist with his new team.

Wojtek Wolski

Wojtek Wolski was previously injured with the New York Rangers and acquired by the Florida Panthers.

At one point in his career, Wolski collect 18 points in 18 games with the Phoenix Coyotes.  So far on his short season, Wolski has two goals and four assists.

Wolski already has three points with his new club, where he has provided the Panthers with a third solid offensive line.

Zack Kassian

Going back and forth from the Buffalo Sabres and the AHL, Zack Kassian was traded to the Vancouver Canucks.

This season, Kassian has contributed to his young NHL career with four goals and five assists.

Recently with his new teammates, Kassian had a two-point performance, notching a goal and an assist against his former organization Buffalo.

Rick Nash

The 2012 NHL trading deadline basically revolved around the Columbus Blue Jackets star forward, Rick Nash.

However, Nash was not traded by the deadline and no one was awarded in the Nash sweepstakes.

On the season, Nash has 47 points with 24 goals and 23 assists.

The offseason should be interesting for Nash, as teams will still try to get the star winger on their roster.