Top 6 Center Possibilities

With Anze Kopitar‘s retirement, among the biggest needs for the LA Kings this upcoming offseason is a top-six centerman. As we sit today, the only centers under contract in Los Angeles are Quinton Byfield, Samuel Helenius, and Alex Turcotte. While the hope is that Byfield takes the next step and becomes a true 1C, that is still a question mark. Undoubtedly, Ken Holland is going to have to find a center that is at least of Byfield’s caliber to share the top two spots down the middle.

Given the dire UFA market, this has to come via trade. There may be more options than you’d think.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres are into the second round of the playoffs, and they’re doing so without Jiri Kulich, who started the season as the team’s 2C but is out for the season due to a blood clot. They were also without center Josh Norris for parts of the first round due to injury, while another top center prospect, Konsta Helenius, made his playoff debut in Game 4 in Montreal. And, oh, for good measure, 22-year-old Noah Ostlund also spent plenty of time as a center.

Point being: the Sabres have a plethora of centers. Not mentioned above were Tage Thompson and Ryan McLeod. While those two aren’t going anywhere, could the promising youth movement of Kulich, Helenius, and Ostlund open up the door for a Josh Norris trade? When healthy, Norris is a perfect fit for LA to share the top two center spots with Byfield. Norris, who was acquired in a trade with Ottawa for Dylan Cozens, has always been a solid contributor when healthy. The problem is, he’s rarely healthy. Over the past five seasons, he’s not played more than 53 games in any one campaign.

Beggars can’t be choosers. Norris, who has four years remaining on his contract at $7.95M AAV, is capable, and LA may not be able to find anyone as good as him. But there’s risk.

On the other hand, could one of the youngsters end up being an odd man out in this scenario? Any one of those would be a 2C behind Byfield but with upside for more.

Side note: while I’ve given up suggesting fixes to the blueline for this organization, the phone call I’m making to Buffalo is for Michael Kesselring.

New York Rangers

I won’t pretend to have a clue what’s going on in Chris Drury‘s head, but he and Ken Holland made a pretty big trade when Artemi Panarin was dealt to sunny LA. Maybe there’s a center that Holland can bring over as well.

Like Buffalo, there are potentially a few options. Mika Zibanejad is still a very good center, and although the age (33) and contract (four years remaining at $8.5M AAV) aren’t ideal, again, LA isn’t in a position of strength here. If New York is looking to get younger and/or shed this contract, Zibanejad would comfortably be LA’s 1C. Zibanejad is coming off a 34-goal, 78-point season and has been a pretty consistent point producer in his career. He does, however, have a full no-movement clause.

Also armed with a full no-movement clause is Rangers’ captain J.T. Miller. Of the options, he seems the least likely to be dealt. He also has four more years at $8M AAV.

Vincent Trocheck‘s name was out there quite a bit leading up to the trade deadline, but a move never materialized. At 32, he’s probably not quite a 2C at this stage on a contending team, but he would be in LA. Trocheck has three more seasons left on his deal with an AAV of $5.625M and has a partial no-trade clause.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Ok, I admit, I can’t quit this guy. I’m still a believer. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I’d be willing to take a flier. Kotkaniemi has fallen completely out of favor in Carolina, so his modified no-trade clause shouldn’t be a problem. The 6’2″ center will turn just 26 this summer. He’s yet to eclipse 43 points in his career, so while it’d be pretty optimistic to think he can be a 2C, like I said, I can’t quit the player.

Then again, considering his acquisition cost could be cheap, he’d be my preference for 3C as well. He has four more years on a contract that pays him $4.82M AAV.

Shane Wright

This seems like a player who could really use a change of scenery. I’m not all that into Shane Wright, but coming from the guy who can’t quit Jesperi Kotkaniemi, take that for what it’s worth.

Wright hasn’t been able to take hold and become the impact player Seattle expected him to be. They’re a team looking for significant NHL upgrades, so I’m not sure LA is the perfect match, but Wright is a center, so by default, he’s an option.

Coming off a 12-goal, 27-point season and still on an entry-level contract, the cost shouldn’t be that high. At this point, you’d be paying for draft stock (of which fell on draft day anyway).

Robert Thomas

I’ll be honest, I don’t get this. The St. Louis Blues have a 26-year-old top center (with a no-trade clause) under contract for the next four years at a good number ($8.125M AAV). There’s no real need for the Blues to move Thomas, but his name was brought up quite a bit leading up to the trade deadline. LA doesn’t have the prospects to pull this deal off should St. Louis decide to blow it up.

Auston Matthews

Times they are a-changing in Toronto with a new President of Hockey Operations, GM, and soon, a head coach after Craig Berube‘s firing. The Leafs missed the playoffs in what was a disappointing season, and now all eyes are on their star captain, Auston Matthews. The 28-year-old  has two years left at $13.25M AAV, and there are all sorts of questions about his future.

If we pretend this is a realistic possibility, I don’t know how LA pulls off a Matthews trade without including Quinton Byfield.

Elias Pettersson

Once a 100-point player, Elias Pettersson has been an NHL enigma. He’s seen his point totals drop considerably since his 102-point campaign in 2022-23. In the three seasons that followed, Pettersson registered 89, 45, and most recently 51 points.

There’s clearly talent here, but the farther we get from it, the more that 102-point season looks like an aberration. With six years left on his contract at over $11M AAV, Vancouver would have to be willing to eat some of that contract. And even then, I just don’t know what the player is anymore.

As I said earlier, though, LA is in a position where they’re probably not going to be getting a sure thing in this trade. There’s going to be a level of risk. But few have the upside that Pettersson has shown.

Pierre-Luc Dubois

Ok, he’s not available, but boy would he be nice to have right about now as opposed to a 36-year-old backup goaltender.

All in all, there are probably more options here than I would have originally thought. Every one of these comes with some sort of risk or warts. But that’s the nature of this situation LA is in. Can Ken Holland get creative and pull off a Panarin-type deal? Or perhaps there’s someone else up his sleeve. We’ll find out in a few months.

Main Photo Credit: Simon Fearn, Imagn Images