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Kings are selling and Penguins should be listening |
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The Los Angeles Kings are struggling with their post Stanley Cup window and are starting to think about selling off some of the parts that helped them win championships. Per Elliotte Friedman
This is very intriguing because I think there is potential here to really help the Penguins.
First things first I believe I have underrated Jeff Carter as a player for many years. He’s been great. The issue with Carter isn’t his cap hit, he’s a great value. A potential problem is the term left on his deal. He’s on one of those contracts that circumvented the cap before the league clamped down and limited contracts to seven and eight years. He’s 33 years old and has three more years after this one. That said, the Penguins window is now and I’m not sure they care about four years from now so that is probably a none issue. The real issue is the 5.27M cap hit and as I said that is quality value for a player of his track record. He’s having a terrible season offensively, but we also know he plays for the Kings as did Tanner Pearson. He would definitely get a bump leaving the LA swamp devoid of offense.
I’m not really sure what Los Angeles would be looking for. I assume if they are selling off veteran parts they are looking at a rebuild. Pittsburgh doesn’t really have a ton of futures. A first round pick, Calen Addison, and depending on the Kings preferences younger players like Olli Maatta or Bryan Rust. Pittsburgh might not be a fit for another Los Angeles trade.
The Jake Muzzin rumor is also very interesting. He has been an analytics darling for quite a long time. He’s always had great possession and passing stats and his offense is more than acceptable. If the Kings were willing to do something along the lines of Olli Maatta and a first round pick for Muzzin I would do it immediately. Muzzin will be 30 in February and has two more years left on his deal at a very reasonable 4M per year.
Here's what his recent three year sample looks like (I threw in Alec Martinez for comparison sake because his name is in the tweet as well)
Here is his passing
Well isn’t that exactly what the doctor ordered. Tremendous 1,506 minute sample. This is a great trade target. Again, it depends on what the Kings are trying to do. The Hail Mary hope is that the Kings would be interested in Olli Maatta. The Kings play a slower tempo game and Maatta might be a good fit. He’s younger and similarly priced. I wouldn’t be moving Jake Muzzin for someone like Olli Maatta, but you never know with these former NHL players as GM’s.
Thanks for reading!
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