The Los Angeles Kings have made a few trades this season, most notably shipping Jake Muzzin to Toronto for a solid package of future assets. That’s likely the theme of any additional deal they do between now and the February 25th trade deadline, despite climbing back into the playoff race over the last little while. The Western Conference wild card spots are still basically available for any team to take, including the Kings who have won three straight and are now just five points behind the St. Louis Blues. Los Angeles knows though that they need to change the makeup of their team and GM Rob Blake indicated recently that they are looking for picks and prospects, though won’t rush to sell off everything that isn’t tied down.
It’s interesting then, that Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that veteran forward Ilya Kovalchuk is “definitely available” if a team were to come forward with an offer. The Kings only just signed Kovalchuk in the summer of 2018 to a three-year, $18.75MM contract but have obviously realized that his last few seasons of production might be wasted on a rebuilding roster. Kovalchuk though, picked Los Angeles for a reason and holds a full no-movement clause through the end of next season. If he doesn’t want to go anywhere he doesn’t have to, though LeBrun notes that the winger would “waive it if the right fit presented itself.”
After some strong play recently, Kovalchuk is up to 26 points in 44 games this season but is still a shadow of the dominant presence he once was. If any team does show interest, the Kings would likely have to retain some salary in order to get any kind of substantial return. With that though is the risk that Kovalchuk could disappear again, meaning his 35+ contract would be an empty cap hit sitting on both team’s books. Kovalchuk will have earned $13.8MM of the $18.75MM after July 1st of this year, when he receives his next signing bonus.
LeBrun notes that Boston, Vegas and San Jose also showed interest in the Russian winger in the summer, but all three may be looking elsewhere now to help their teams. Remember that Kovalchuk also passed on any interest from those three to sign in Los Angeles, meaning they might not be an appealing fit to him. Over the next two weeks we’ll find out exactly how much the Kings want to sell off their current roster, but it does appear as though the veteran forward is available for the right price.
Always wished Kovalchuk would play on the Bruins
Dont let his stats deceive you. Kovalchuk has been a very solid player. Desjardins sticking him on the 4th line over a part of the season for no reason has hurt his numbers.
hard to see him traded if they’re in a playoff spot….
They already traded Muzzin. Why stop now
His possession numbers are terrible
Kenleyfornia…. “don’t let the stats fool you”…. oh his stats aren’t fooling anybody. As the article noted, rob blake realizes he needs to completely remake the structure of the team (as you and I debated last off-season, with me stating there was a HUGE need for speed and skill). Instead, he signed an aging and 5 year absentee from nhl competition Kovalchuk.it was a terrible signing for a team that needed the EXACT opposite. Kovalchuk was sent to a different line, because the roster wasn’t producing as a whole. It’s not as though he was lighting the lamp on the first line. Line shuffles are common when a team isn’t scoring…. so they have been VERY common for the Kings over the past few years.
Only chance they have of dumping that contract is by eating it. That’s why he is available in trades. Because they now realize they have him too much money, for less production than expected, during a timeframe where we are in a complete rebuild. That is flat out TERRIBLE roster management
Here he goes again with the speed and skill. Kovalchuk was one of the most skilled players in the sport and pretty good in Russia. It was worth taking a gamble on. Every person on planet earth is aging. The fact your trying to pass Kovalchuks demotion off as a common line shuffling shows your paying 0 attention to the games. He was getting 10 minuits or less for a good stretch of games and the excuse was “he’s not checking enough”. And guess what, when he was demoted and got no playing time he was still a team leader in points for a certain stretch. He was producing and when they made the coaching change Desjardins decided to not even use his best scoring winger on the team. His contract is not even that bad. To trade him maybe eat 1 million so if by eat it you mean more than 25% your just flat out delusional. I have told you multiple times they need to do some makeovers and get younger. But your crying about how this is a massive 3 year punt is just wrong. Unless your the lowcows of the leauge like Arizona, Carolina or Edmonton you can retool your roster to be good enough in 2 years. 2020-21 is a when i expect them to be decent again
Fire sale. Sell everything. Get young. Major rebuild. Kovalchuk, Quick, Toffoli, Martinez, Brown(nobody will take him), Carter, Kopi, everyone but Doughty. Get those top first rd picks.
Good enough or decent? Good enough usually means “good enough” for a cup, is that what you’re trying to say but then you said they’ll be decent in 2020-21? Will they be good or decent?
I never said good enough when refering to the Kings. That was a generalization about teams that rebuild/retool or whatever you want to call it. Decent is what i said about the Kings and that means a playoff team that can get past 1 round
This is a fun argument to see. It’s like
arguing the best way to put out a tire fire. Pour water on it, or remove a few tires.
Kovalchuk to the Leafs for Marleau and a 3rd. Leafs get a bit younger high scoring wing. Kings get a pick and save a 1 year less on contract.