What "need" does this team have?

[lasportzphan]

Who can complain about this start? However, if the Kings have a mid season need, what do you think it is? And can they potentially trade for it?

My sense is they need a grinding, veteran, savvy defenseman. We need our Mitchell, Scuduri, Greene type who has pluck and experience in all situations. Am I off base here?

 

[davnlaguna]

The missing pieces are on LTIR Greene and King.
Now when they are well will they be the pieces they used to be?
That being said I think the Kings might make a deal for a stay at home defender.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

A solid shutdown D-Man, who can also play PK.
If King is not back soon a bottom 6, checking forward.

 

[lasportzphan]

All makes sense, on the same page.

 

[Kings4OT]

Someone that can clear the ice in front of Quick. Brown is an ok King replacement for now, Lewis is a good guy to get back. A good FO/PK C for the B6 would be nice as well

 

[histkng23]

I agree a solid shut down Dman, in the Willie Mitchell mold, but I think the team could use more depth on the bottom 6. Shore is adequate, but a proven 3rd line center could help out quite a bit. The teams that won the cup had Kopitar/Carter/Richards/Stoll (Fraser) as 1-4 down the middle, which was pretty hard to compete against.

As for the defensemen, sure Greene should be back by the playoffs (provided they make them), but how much gas does he have left in the tank? Love his mentality, and work ethic, but not sure he can hold up against the better teams anymore. Don't want to put too much faith in him, sadly.

 

[Kings4OT]

I doubt the Kings could do it, but I would like to see Byfuglien in LA to see how he fits in there

 

[Kings4OT]

Luke Shenn would be an interesting add as well, decent PK...physical needs a simple job on the ice.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Kings definitely need a RH defender, preferably in the SAH mold that has been discussed. More on King in a moment.

But those guys aren't easily available, not to mention the Kings don't have a 1st round pick this season (yet) since it belongs to Carolina from the Sekera deal (2015 if the Kings had made the playoffs, otherwise 2016) so they would need to get creative which likely means a roster player is going for certain. Teams with excess defenders include Philadelphia and Minnesota for starters.

My money is still on Pearson since he is young, affordable, has potential, and hasn't really carved out a niche for himself so the opportunity is there for him to turn into a T6 player so he is appealing but my goal would be Brown but for obvious reasons that would be an extremely hard sell. Now if there is a defender out there who makes about/near as much as Brown, it could be more easy to trade.

Someone who comes to mind immediately is Dan Girardi of the Rangers, he has 4 years/$19 million/$5.5 million cap hit left on his deal and:
- he's a SAH defender
- RH shot
- averages about 20-25 points per season
- 31 (32 in April)

The issues here are he has 2 years less on his deal than Brown does so the Kings would need to up the ante, and he a key piece of the defensive minded Rangers (who aren't looking so defensive right now, but we have seen that in LA as well). They are also in their window to win so the deal would have to make sense to not weaken them.

Back to King, it's interesting because has shown some talent now and again, is a big body and knows the system well. The issue is he never earned a spot in the lineup since he was hurt in the last preseason game, and the Kings have played well without him, not to mention he is maddening - just when you think he has turned the corner into a potential T6 forward he becomes Dwight friggin King again. I think he would be an improvement over the likes of Andreoff, Shore, Weal etc. but he is also expendable at this point. He is in the second year of a 3 year/$5.85 million deal so he would not be a rental.

So in summary the guys who would seem available would be Brown, Pearson and King but I can't see any combination of that package bringing back a long term solution or a guy like Girardi, Byfuglien, etc. unless it's Brown and almost a straight salary swap. It gets Brown near home in NY, but I don't think the Rangers need a Brown.