Welcome to three weeks of craziness here at hockeybuzz. The draft is only 9 days away. UFA day is 13 days. The Rumor Chart will go Live tomorrow. Things are going to be nuts around here…. I feel that I am better prepared for this draft/UFA day than I have ever been.

And we are starting it off with an absolute bomb.

McDavid to LA (e3)

I’ve been sitting on this for about a month because I was asked to. I know this will bring out the haters in force, but my job is to report rumors and I certainly wouldn’t be doing my job if I did the safe thing and just let this one go…

I first heard about this from a great source within the Kings organization. A former player who works with the Kings texted me, “We learned through the grapevine a couple years ago that Connor wanted to play in LA. And now those whispers have turned into actual conversations between mutual friends. A trade would have to be worked out quickly.”

He told me this towards the end of April, and we talked again June 6th, confirming that LA was working out a package for #97. It would be complicated, but Gavrikov is not coming back, and Marner is a “backup plan.” He also told me that this will be Kopitar’s last season. The Kings have a very strong prospect pool, and since McDavid only has one year left on his contract, they will need to be sure they can extend him after July 1 before any deal would be possible. But there is a great deal of pressure to get this done.

I’ve talked to three other people as well. It’s all been done very much in a way that I’ve had to ask them directly ‘Have you heard McDavid is likely headed to the Kings via trade?’ Only then would they talk about what they had heard. However, once they get talking there is an odd “matter-of-factness” to the way those who know are discussing this.

Of course it might not happen, it’s just a rumor for now, but it’s a big one. It’s risky to talk about, and I had to promise I wouldn’t talk about it until the season was over. There is of course, a crazy irony of the Edmonton star player getting traded to the LA Kings, while he is still considered the best player in the world.

The fact that it happened once, has led me to go public with this possibility….

What’s the buzz?
What kind of return would you want for Connor?
Could end up being positive for both sides?
Do you believe it’s possible?

Join the Discussion: » 16 Comments » Post New Comment

» Panthers, Panthers, Panthers!!

» Will the circus continue to Edmonton for one more show?

» Gavin McKenna to Penn State (e4+)

» UFA Rumors: Marchand, Tavares, Boeser….

» UFA RUMORS: Marner, Bennett, and Ehlers… Buzz@ 1 with Luke Ravitz