Kings looking for a goal scorer in hopes of improving offense

The Los Angeles Kings have made the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, and they’re currently in a dog fight to extend that streak to five seasons. With 57 points through 51 games, they’re in a tie for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference with the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken.

As we approach the trade deadline, the priority for general manager Ken Holland should be clear. The Kings rank 28th in the NHL with 2.61 goals scored per game, and only the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues have scored fewer than Los Angeles’ 137 total goals this season. The Kings are a team begging for a boost on offense. If Holland can facilitate that before the deadline, it’ll go a long way towards Los Angeles making the postseason once more, and hopefully avoiding the Edmonton Oilers this time around.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by The Fourth Period‘s David Pagnotta to discuss potential trade targets for the Kings.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Is there some pressure on that Kings front office to make a move?

David Pagnotta: I think there’s pressure to make the playoffs. With their lack of scoring, secondary scoring, that’s the priority. It’s trying to find another goal scorer or two to add to this mix. They’ve got cap flexibility, but in terms of (Artemi) Panarin, you want to bring in somebody with less AAV this year, so if (the New York Rangers) can eat half, that’s better for Los Angeles.

But also, I mentioned (Vincent) Trocheck. Anze Kopitar’s retiring at the end of this season. You have Joel Armia right now playing center because Alex Turcotte is hurt. Alex Turcotte has not developed the way that they anticipated. You have (Samuel) Helenius on the fourth line, that’s fine. Then you’ve got Quinton Byfield, still we’re not sure exactly what he is yet at the NHL level. All that to say, going into next season you have one top-six center, and you need two. I think whether it’s now or in the summer, they’re going to have to address that position at some point, and I think there is interest in exploring the possibility of Trocheck to come in because he fits the two-way style and defensive mind of this team.

You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Wednesday’s episode here…