Los Angeles Could Make Defensemen Available During Season

The less talked about part of TSN’s “Insider Trading” segment last night was when Pierre LeBrun mentioned that the Los Angeles Kings could decide to make either Jake Muzzin or Alec Martinez available later in the year to boost their scoring. While it does seem like speculation at this point on the venerable insider’s behalf, it is an interesting concept. As LeBrun states:

It’s not every day that a top-4 defenseman—in season—is made available. Or one that’s not a rental player; both these guys have term past this year. So yes, this is something I believe the Kings have discussed internally, the possibility of doing this. Again, later in the season.

Martinez and Muzzin would both easily become some of the most sought after names in the league should they be made available. Both come with a reasonable $4MM cap hit, for two and three more years past the 2017-18 season respectively. While that term takes out some options that could only afford rentals, it opens up the trade market to teams who aren’t necessarily in the hunt this year.

When LeBrun mentions that Kings may not have the offense to sustain this beginning, he could be right. Though the team is 4-0-1 to start the season, they’ve scored just 16 goals in those games, eight of which have come from the sticks of Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. While it’s nice to see bounce-backs for both of those Kings’ legends, relying on them as the only real source of offense is a tough ask. It’s entirely likely that Jeff Carter will get back to scoring, and that Tyler Toffoli takes a step forward offensively, but at the moment just two forwards outside of that core four have even two points. The Kings are a very top heavy team, that relies on their defense and goaltending.

So, perhaps there is room to move one of the star defensemen for an offensive upgrade. With the way Derek Forbort has burst onto the scene as a top-pairing player, and a player like Paul LaDue struggling to crack the NHL lineup, their defense could likely survive a subtraction. Still, it’s a tough package for any team to make in-season, as nothing short of a blockbuster will pry Muzzin or Martinez out of Los Angeles.