Los Angeles Kings Need an Offensive Right Wing
Scoring has more often than not been the root of the Los Angeles Kings struggles. While this season the injury to Quick has taken center stage, the Kings still aren’t scoring enough to win games. With their reliance on goaltending to win the close games, they need to start scoring more if they want to push for the playoffs again.
Current Picture
The Kings currently hold down the second wild-card spot with one point more than the Nashville
Predators. The Predators look determined to turn their misfortunes around and continue playing into April. The Kings look to continue plugging away as they have this season, and GM Dean Lombardi needs to bring in some help before the deadline. This tactic isn’t new to Lombardi, and it isn’t new to the Kings. In the past, around this time in the season, the focus for the Kings becomes their need for more offensive production. This season is no different, as the Kings desperately need an upgrade on right-wing to help them become a more offensive threat.
Trade Market
Potential trade targets could be Oilers Jordan Eberle, as he has consistently been in the rumor mill, but with the Oilers recent play, the price will be high.
Lee Stempniak was great last season and has a modest season total so far. Since Carolina will more than likely choose to protect their younger assets, Stempniak could be a great rental option.
Another fantastic grab could be prying Michael Grabner away from the New York Rangers. He’s had a resurgent season with the Blueshirts scoring 21 goals and eight
Wings on the Move?
Two other forwards have been floating around trade talk since last season, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar. Both have had downturn seasons the past two years but have shown flashes of what made them both burst onto the scene with the Detroit Red Wings. With the expansion draft looming and a wealth of talented forwards, Detroit may be willing to part with one of these for assets instead of losing one to the draft. While many could see their slow starts as a cautionary tale, their recent play has them looking back to form.
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The right wings on the Kings aren’t getting it done. They’re lead in points by former captain Dustin Brown, who only has 21 points on the season. With Brown and Trevor Lewis manning the wing in the top six, the lack of offense has been felt. Devin Setoguchi and Jordan Nolan have been serviceable bottom-six wingers.
With even a slight uptick in production would be a boon to the Kings. As the trade deadline quickly approaches, we’ll see if Lombardi swings to add another chip to his offense.