The deadline is coming. Yes, THAT deadline. The trade deadline. The most exciting boring day the NHL regular season has to offer to those who are professed arm chair GMs.
Who is getting moved? Why? For what return? Is it worth it? Which team "Won"?
It is a pretty fun day for roster theorizers and evaluators alike. So what is the word on the Kings? What do they need? What have they been poking around at?
Well, if you follow The 4th Period on twitter or on their site, you have probably seen it mentioned countless times. Apparently the Kings want a defenseman. They were big on pushing the Kings being "All-in" on Dustin Byfuglien just a few weeks prior to him being retained by Winnipeg. But with TFP the Kings are also interested in Vrbata, Ladd, Hudler, Eriksson, Russell, Hamhuis, Yandle, and pretty much everyone who can skate and is on an expiring contract.
Thus is the nature of the trade deadline. Contenders are apparently interested in everyone to win. The reality is no one really knows 100% what any GM is looking for, and no one really knows the significance of the second hand information they get in one place or another. I highly doubt any GM is strolling up to Dennis Bernstein (No offense Dennis), and saying "Ya know, I talked to Dean Lombardi last week and he told me he would trade Jordan Nolan and Adrian Kempe for Yandle!"
It just does not work like that.
The idea of the Kings going after a defenseman, even after the Luke Schenn trade, has been something swirling outside of the realm of The 4th Period though. Hamhuis has been mentioned by Bob McKenzie, LeBrun also mentioned this in a round table discussion with other TSN guys. Where there is smoke there is fire right? With this many pundits saying the Kings are looking into a defenseman, it is hard to believe that there isn't at least some murmurings coming from the Los Angeles direction that they don't feel entirely comfortable with their group on the backend.
I am here to say they should be.
Back about a week ago, friends of the blog Jewels From the Crown put a solid piece together analyzing why the Kings don't need a defenseman. Check out Eric's take right here. This was from a position of the market for defensemen not being very fruitful, and the inevitable fact the Kings just simply don't have the cap space or assets to make that kind of move. These are all true facts. The Kings lack a first round pick, they lack a blue chip prospect not named Adrian Kempe (Whom they will need in the future) and they do not have the cap space to make this a deal that can be built upon in the future. They got burned on the Andrej Sekera trade in that regard, and I doubt that Dean Lombardi sticks his hand onto the same hot pot twice. Most of his "Rental" moves are made with a long term potential twist. We are seeing and hearing that with Luke Schenn as well, whom the team has already discussed as a long term replacement for IR ridden Matt Greene. There are several things like that that make this seem like a nonstarter from the get go.
From a roster evaluative standpoint it does not make sense either to push for a defenseman.
The Kings are the 4th best team in hockey in goals against, with a 2.31 goals against per game.
Their penalty kill is sitting at 12th overall. Not bad.
They are the best corsi for % team at even strength.
They are 6th overall in scoring chances against per 60 at even strength, and 4th overall in high danger chances against.
They are 5th in even strength shots allowed per game at 26.7.
A fun chart of note was put together by Sean Tierney of Today's Slapshot, showing that Quick faces the easiest shots in the league based on distance.
Average distance of shots faced Rinne, Quick facing the easiest shots. Ramo, Lack, Lundqvist, the hardest. #NHL#NYRpic.twitter.com/xN9n0zNQTM
When you look at that group on paper does it look like a Stanley Cup winning defense? Then again, at the time did the defensive group of Doughty, Scuderi, Greene, Martinez, Voynov, and Mitchell? Were we really sold on Martinez and Greene? What about young Voynov?
What about when it was Robyn Regehr in there, no Mitchell, and Jake Muzzin?
It has to always feel like this going into a playoff run where you have a legitimate roster that could win a cup. Dean Lombardi wouldn't be human if he wasn't asking himself "is this enough? Are these guys going to do it? Am I giving this team the best chance to win?"
And the answer to this, with respect to the future, is probably yes he is. You can't sell the entire future just to add Dan Hamhuis or (Blargh) Kris Russell to the mix on a stretch run.
Besides, internally, the Kings have some pretty good defensemen and shouldn't be worried.
They have a capable group of Doughty, Muzzin, Martinez, McNabb, and Schenn playing 1-5. Read those names again and think about other teams in comparison. That's a pretty solid 1-5 group that you could pit against any other playoff team. Washington? Carlson, Alzner, Niskanen, Orpik, Schmidt, Orlov. Chicago? Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Svedberg? Rozsival? TVR?
The Kings compare favorably. The 6-7 position may look a little questionable, but Jamie McBain has looked surprisingly competent this year. Also, Derek Forbort was pretty darn good actually in his limited appearances with the Kings.
In an even smaller sample size, Kevin Gravel has looked capable (Despite Sutter harshly calling him out on a goal that broke down on two more...senior players. Erhrm Mr. 77 and Mr. 3)
The Kings also have two emergency NHL vets in Jeff Schultz and Christian Ehrhoff waiting in the minors. Yes, they were waived in the first place, but in an imperfect scenario where Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, or Drew Doughty gets hurt, it is not the worst possible thing in the world to have to slot Jeff Schultz or Ehrhoff in as your 7th D.
Again, taking in all the statistical team strengths, does this seem like a team that needs to take a run at a defenseman?
They have left right balance, good depth, a good core group, decent emergency options, and a pretty rotatable and scenario driven 6-8 group with McBain, Gravel, and Forbort.
The concern for the Kings moving forward should be the wing position. With Marian Gaborik out long term and another year where the Kings are really lacking altogether offensive punch, a scoring winger in the top 9 would be a nice addition.
Maybe the Kings want more experience in the backend for a playoff run, but some of these young players have to get it somewhere. It cannot always be "The vets" you rely on.
All that experience certainly helped Dan Hamhuis not make this play right?
If the Kings can get a cheap depth addition on the blueline without giving up too much, yea, certainly pull the trigger. However, if it comes at the expense of a young asset or roster player (Ala Tanner Pearson), then just say no. It would be a surplus to the requirements.
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