Équipe: 2022-23 Kings de Los Angeles

Date de création initiale: 30 juin 2022

Publié: 6 juill. 2022

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

Now that GM Rob Blake has successfully fulfilled our number one priority this summer (acquiring a top-flight high-scoring forward), some draft-improvement strategies have occurred to me.

TRADE ONE: GETTING BACK INTO THE FIRST ROUND
Buffalo gets a 200-foot top-6 LW who is signed for three seasons and would immediately become their best defensive forward. The Sabres also fill their open RD slot for two seasons.
Buffalo’s top 9 would be:
Skinner – Thompson – Olofsson
Iafallo – Cozens – Tuch
Krebs – Mittelstadt – Quinn/Peterka,
allowing the youngsters to get sheltered minutes.
In my opinion, Iafallo is worth the Florida first, and Walker and the third are worth a high second, so that should properly account for the invisible "move up" from #28 to #16, but additional assets could be added (such as the other 2023 third, or a prospect, or both).
Los Angeles moves right back into the same stratum where they've been looking at mid-first-round prospects. This trade would be an especially good idea for the Kings if LD Kevin Korchinski or RW Brad Lambert were still on the board.

TRADE TWO: PROSPECT AND PICKS FOR A HIGH SECOND
Arizona needs roster players, and Anderson-Dolan should be able to make the team this season. The picks alone are worth a high third, so if Anderson-Dolan's value is similar, the package is fair. But again, additional assets could be added (or the prospect could be changed) to make the deal more appealing to Arizona. Or the offer could be restructured, with Jordan Spence going into the Buffalo trade and Walker and the fourth going here.
This would be an especially good idea for Los Angeles if LD Owen Pickering (whom mocks have all over the place) or RW Jimmy Snuggerud were still on the board.

TRADE THREE: MOVING UP IN THE SECOND ROUND
This is a straight pick swap based upon the draft pick value chart. Arizona goes from #43 to #53 and gets #116 to compensate. This is comparable to the 2021 trade by which Los Angeles moved up from #49 to #42 to select Francesco Pinelli at the cost of #136, but not quite as good as the deal by which Los Angeles acquired Brock Faber in 2020 (#45 for #51 and #97). If necessary, the 2023 Pittsburgh third could be substituted for the 2020 fourth. Los Angeles might be looking at C/RW Nathan Gaucher or G Tyler Brennan here.

The Buffalo trade and one of the Arizona exchanges result in Los Angeles getting some better-quality draft picks because I think that we're now in the "quality, not quantity" stage. The trade with the Sabres is also important to the Kings because it gives us the cap space to address the LD deficiency going into the draft and summer.

There are plenty of permutations and combinations available to effect the Buffalo trade and at least one of the Arizona trades. Of course, neither of the latter is likely if the Kings trade for Jakob Chychrun, and the assets in the Buffalo trade would probably be required to achieve that objective, so this entire construction would then be moot.

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