Hope is a strong word. I like Wagner. There's just no room for him.

Lemieux is a gritty forward with scoring potential that didn't really provide any grit or scoring during the games he played with the Kings last season. I'd be fine letting him get snagged off waivers or recouping a 4th round pick for him in a trade.

Yeah, I had trouble with that verb, but didn't want to spend a lot of time thinking up a better way to phrase how we think. You did better.

Not sure we have anyone to stand up for our guys if Lemiuex is gone. Our defense got ragdolled last season without some grit.

He had several chances last season to "stand up for our guys" and didn't. For a player meant to provide "grit", he wasn't very gritty.

Yeah, I wonder how we’d do against San Jose and Calgary without a fighter. He just needs to be a serviceable 4th liner which I think he can be.

AZ would want more than this for Chychrun. I think my last best offer would be Turcotte, Anderson, Faber and a 1st. All those pieces would fit AZ’s rebuild. That might be a bit rich for other Kings fans but any deal for Chychrun is going to be painful.

We would need a Lemieux backup plan if a team claims him. We traded away Imama, so we’d probably need to trade for someone else.

I think Strand might have some sandpaper to his game, but I really can't think of another player who is willing to drop gloves or throw heavy retaliation checks. If you move Lemieux, we need someone who at least provides his physicality.

I'm waiting for someone to step up to provide that while not being terrible at hockey. Grans looks like a solid candidate for that type of play, as does Helenius, but those guys are still a year or more away from the NHL. If you're insistent on having a player like that in the lineup at all times, then the Kings are probably going to have to look outside the organization.

I obviously didn’t get to see the AZ game, but I heard Lemieux’s line got high marks as play drivers to the net. What I saw in the Kings v Kings matchup seemed positive too. I think much of him being passive last year had a lot to do with him not being comfortable with a new system coming over late in the season. I would give him at least another month since his upside as an agitator and penalty drawer is pretty high. That would give them some time to find a trade if it doesn’t work.

Not sure I'm willing to waive one of the other guys while we wait to see if he works out. LA is going to have to waive or trade two of Frk, Lemieux, Wagner, and Grundstrom. Frk is the easy choice. I'm not ready to give up on Grundstrom just yet. That makes it a coin flip between Wagner and Lemieux. I'd keep Wagner if I had to choose.

Pretty good trade

I have an alternate version I posted yesterday. Check it out!