They say that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And right now, there’s a lot of smoke coming out of Los Angeles when it comes to possible destinations for Sam Gagner. The venerable Elliotte Friedman reported that the Kings are heavy into discussions with Edmonton to receive #89. When someone that well connected and respected says the talks are on, then the talks are on.
The Kings and Oilers have been frequent trading partners for years now so a potential trade between them is no shocker, but the Kings are strong down the middle and it’s unlikely that Gagner fits in their plans at the Center position. Certainly to some it would make more sense if they went after Ales Hemsky on the Wing in a trade that would have to cost them significantly less.
But I’m not here to talk the Kings out of dealing for Gagner, although I am concerned about what the Oilers are targeting in return. I have already talked about what I would want from LA once before when I suggested that
Jake Muzzin is exactly what the Oilers need. He has recently been pushed down to the 3rd pairing, but I still believe in this player so I am sticking with him. I would be overjoyed to see the Oil land the big, physical, shot producing Defenseman in a deal, but there are other players on the team with some perceived value.
Uh..actually, I don’t.
“Have You Lost Your Mind?” No really, I haven’t.
“But wouldn’t the Oilers love to add a 230lb Winger into their top 6?” Yeah, and that’s exactly why Dwight King cant be the central piece in the Gagner trade. He isn’t going to be on their top 6, at least not for long.
Dwight King is a HUGE player, one that the Oilers would love to have, but he’s a 3rd liner on the Oilers moving forward. He isn’t Taking Hall, Eberle, or Perron’s spot on the Wing so that leaves just Yak on the LW (the position that King plays). Imagine for a moment that King does crack the top 6 for the remainder of this year. Does anyone really think that Yak wont take his spot down the road?
“But what about King’s 11 goals? That’s more than Yak’s 10.” Yeah, Dwight King is also shooting at a clip of 13.3% this year, almost DOUBLE what he was shooting last season. Let’s also take into consideration that his most common linemate is Anze Kopitar, and without Kopitar his Corsi% dips by 9 percent. That’s a huge dropoff. I think we can safely say that this is a guy who is being lugged around by quality teammates AND is having a career shooting season.
If the Oilers are targeting Dwight King it better be with the expectation that he plays 3LW next year when Smyth retires.
If Gagner goes out then that leaves a hole at 2C that needs to be replaced. If Gagner goes and the most useful piece that comes back is Dwight King then absolutely NONE of the major holes on the team have been filled and, in fact, a new hole has been added.
The plain fact is that if the Oilers aren’t getting back Voynov or Muzzin from the Kings then they aren’t getting back a piece they need.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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