Los Angeles Kings stock up, stock down

In a Pacific Division now ruled by the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, the Los Angeles Kings held their own last season. They went 47-25-10 and made the playoffs for a second season in a row after missing the cut three years straight. The disappointment of getting booted in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers stings, but the Kings clearly are on the upswing.

Now, at a pivotal part of the offseason, things have gotten interesting. In a blockbuster trade on Tuesday, Los Angeles acquired center Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets for a chunk of its young forward arsenal. In Wednesday's NHL Draft, meanwhile, the Kings don't have a selection in the first round. 

Here's the stock that is either rising, falling or unclear for the Kings:

Rising: Center depth

The sign-and-trade acquisition of Dubois came at a high price: Los Angeles sent to Winnipeg forwards Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Kings general manager Rob Blake made it known he wanted to make a splash this offseason, so the deal for Dubois makes sense. However, the trade hampers Los Angeles' depth at forward for the near term.

Dubois is certainly a welcome top-six addition coming off of a 2022-23 campaign in which he had 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists) over 73 regular-season games. The Quebec native should fit in nicely as the second-line center and share responsibility with an Anze Kopitar-led top line and a Phillip Danault-centered third line. 

Other Los Angeles wingers could be on the move, namely Viktor Arvidsson, an unrestricted free agent in 2024. The depth at center, meanwhile, should remain intact.

Falling: Wiggle room under the salary cap

The downfall to the massive Dubois deal is that the Kings are even closer to the salary cap than they were before, and that's not good.

Following the deal, Spotrac showed the Kings with roughly $4.5 million in cap space. This isn't ideal given that, as LA Kings Insider points out, Los Angeles must "add 2-3 forwards, 2-3 defensemen and a goaltender with that space." That's a lot of pieces needed to finish the puzzle and not a lot of money to work with.

Although Blake has shed financial weight by parting ways with Iafallo, defenseman Sean Durzi and goaltender Cal Petersen, he's still going to need more cap room to fill next season's roster. That means more moves will be made in the near term as the Kings have positions to fill on all fronts.

Stock unclear: Goaltending

Another issue with a tight salary cap is the Kings don't have great means to improve their goaltending — a major weak point.

With Petersen shipped off to the Philadelphia Flyers and reportedly little movement to sign pending UFA Joonas Korpisalo, Los Angeles goaltending platoon consists of Pheonix Copley and Erik Portillo. The newly acquired Portillo is a 22-year-old prospect, and Copley is a longtime AHL netminder, so Blake must add a veteran workhorse.

There is still a chance the Kings could reach a deal with Korpisalo, who ended his 11-game tenure in Los Angeles with a 7-3-1 record, 2.13 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage, but some other moves must be made first. Until that happens, it isn't clear which direction the stock in goal is trending.