Kings GM Rob Blake was asked directly today if he concurred with Drew Doughty about bringing in talent via trade. “100%,” he said. “The feeling is the same in the front office… We need to add to the roster to get better.”
Drew Doughty’s comments spark Kings trade talk
There’s a lot of buzz in the NHL rumor mill these days surrounding the Links. That’s due in large part to Drew Doughty’s comments on break up day. “There’s no point just waiting for these prospects to develop when you’ve got guys in their prime,” the Kings defenseman said. “Guys that are hungry to win and guys that are sick of losing so, yeah, we’ve got to bring guys in.”
“Me and ‘Kopi,’ ‘Quickie,’ ‘Brownie,’ we’re all getting older,” Doughty said. “We all had, I thought, phenomenal seasons, but we’re running out of time. You’ve got two of the best players at their position (Kopitar and Doughty), both ways, two of the most complete players at the position. And with all this [NHL salary] cap room, yeah, we’ve got to bring guys in.”
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When was asked if he would be fine should the Kings did not bring in anyone and stayed the course, his response was a quick, “no.” Doughty’s comments were viewed as a public call to action.
Sounds like the entire Kings’ organization got the message loud and clear.
Kings started talks for Jack Eichel at deadline
Trade talk about the Sabres disgruntled center went into overdrive when he stopped just short of demanding a trade publicly. That will happen when you openly state you are not happy with how the Sabres handled your injury. It becomes national news when you say, “trying to get healthy and figure out a way to be available to play hockey next year wherever that might be.”
Recently, it was revealed that L.A. and Buffalo has some discussions about a potential trade. “Don’t sleep on two California teams,” Frank Seravalli said on Insider Trading. “The Anaheim Ducks and their GM, Bob Murray want to make a splash and the Los Angeles Kings.”
“They have the goods to bring in a guy like Jack Eichel and more importantly they’ve had interest,” Seravalli continued. “I can tell you that the Kings had a cursory conversation at the deadline about acquiring Jack Eichel and I expect that to pick up this summer.”
The biggest question facing the Kings is if they are willing to part with Quinton Byfield in a trade for Eichel. Most do not believe that is an option, and some are not sure that Alex Turcotte will move the needle enough to beat out the Rangers who are still considered the frontrunners to land him.
Of course, the Kings don’t need have a desperate a need for a center with Quinton Byfield in the fold. What about going after a player like Patrik Laine? Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau are also rumored to be available. The bottom line is there will be plenty of talent on the trade market and now we know the Kings have a desire to go out and get it.
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