Three trades that shaped landscape of LA Kings rebuild
These three trades have shaped and will continue to shape the LA Kings rebuild.
When Rob Blake took over as vice president and general manager of the LA Kings in April 2017, the organization still featured much of the core that won two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. However, the Kings had missed the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, ending Dean Lombardi’s time as general manager.
Blake took over with the mindset of another deep postseason run. When that appeared unlikely, it was time to start looking towards the future. There we three significant trades that have shaped the Kings’ rebuild, with the first domino to fall being 29-year-old Jake Muzzin.
“We feel this trade was necessary for the future of the organization,” said Blake. “Moving Jake was not easy as he has been a key player for us and a significant part of our most historic and memorable achievements. We are grateful for his contributions to the Kings and we wish him the best of luck in the future.”
Let’s break down the Muzzin trade and two other trades that have led us to where the franchise currently stands.
Trade #1: LA Kings trade Jake Muzzin for Carl Grundstrom, Sean Durzi, and 2019 first-round pick
Early 2021 marked a changing of the guards in terms of the LA Kings. In January, the team traded the ever-steady Jake Muzzin to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 21-year-old winger in Carl Grundstrom, defender Sean Durzi, and a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. A few months later, the Kings hired Todd McLellan to be the leader of the organization’s rebuild, overseeing the development of Grundstrom, Durzi, and having a say in who the first-rounder would be.
At the time of the trade, Grundstrom had tallied 13 goals and 29 points in 42 games for the Maple Leafs’ AHL outfit. Once acquired, he played in 15 games for the Kings, scoring five goals and six points while also seeing time in Ontario. Last season, Grundstrom wasn’t as productive in his second stint with the Kings, but he’s off to a tremendous start in the 2021 season, scoring three goals and four points in 11 games while giving the team’s fourth line a much-needed boost.
Now 22, Durzi is a former second-rounder in 2018 but has yet to log a minute in the NHL. With the Ontario Reign in the 19-20 season, the Toronto, Ontario native tallied two goals and 14 points in 39 games. He’s an excellent facilitator of the puck from the team’s blue line, and that has proven to be consistent at every stop. After this season, Durzi has one-year left on his three-year entry-level contract before he hits restricted free agency.
The LA Kings will likely want to see what Durzi can potentially offer, especially with the taxi squad being implemented for the 2021 season, it would make a lot of sense to do so this year.
As for that first-rounder in 2019, the LA Kings selected some player named Tobias Bjornfot, who projects to be a steadying force along the blue line one day. The 20-year-old has logged four NHL games, three last season, and has already drawn rave reviews from players like Drew Doughty while being named one of the three best players for Team Sweden in the 2021 World Juniors.
Trade #2: LA Kings trade Jack Campbell, Kyle Clifford for Trevor Moore, 2020 third-round pick, 2021 third-round pick
The Jake Muzzin trade tilted the franchise towards a rebuild, taking away a steady force alongside Drew Doughty on the team’s top pairing, with the expectation that Bjornfot will develop into a Jonas Brodin-type player for the next great LA Kings team. About a year later, the next domino fell when backup goalie Jack Campbell and fan-favorite Kyle Clifford were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On February 5, 2020, the LA Kings were in the basement of the West Division, and with the trade deadline approaching, Campbell showcased himself enough in place of an injured Jonathan Quick to show a glimmer of hope of being a 1A-type goalie. Clifford won two Stanley Cups with the Kings, and while he was never a major point producer, he was a physical forward who always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
In exchange, the Kings acquired a bottom-six forward in Trevor Moore who played well in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies but never got a fair shake at the NHL level. After the trade was completed, the 25-year-old tallied three goals and five points in 15 games. Thus far in 2021, Moore has been a valuable winger on the fourth line, showing good speed and forecheck abilities in the opposition’s zone. He recorded his first goal on Tuesday against the Wild and has five assists and a 46.2 xGF% in five-on-five play.
While the 2021 third-round pick has yet to be determined, the third-rounder in this past year’s draft produced Alex Laferriere, who led the Des Moines Buccaneers with 19 goals and 45 points in the 19-20 season. He was expected to play collegiate hockey at Harvard, but the Ivy League canceled the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Laferriere returned to Des Moines and while he got off to a slow start, aided by a two-game suspension, he’s third on the team with 19 points in 26 games.
The future looks bright for the Chatham, New Jersey native.
Trade #3: LA Kings trade Tyler Toffoli for Tyler Madden, 2020 second-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick
Tyler Toffoli‘s tenure with the LA Kings came with a bittersweet ending. The 28-year-old scored a hat-trick in the team’s Stadium Series against the Colorado Avalanche on February 15, 2020. Two days later, he was shipped off to the Vancouver Canucks for Tyler Madden, a 2020 second-round pick, and 2022 fourth-round pick.
Madden was a third-round pick in 2018, tallying 19 goals and 37 points for Northeastern University in the 19-20 season. The 21-year-old center turned heads in the Reign’s preseason schedule, consistently lighting the lamp. Through five regular-season games, Madden has two assists and is tied for third on the team with 11 shots on goal.
Similar to the previous trade, the full return has yet to be determined, but LA Kings Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Yannetti has been so good at finding gems in the middle rounds. Kings fans shouldn’t be worried about what yields from the 2022 fourth-round pick.
Perhaps one of the most underrated acquisitions-draft picks was the 2020 second-round pick from Vancouver, which turned out to be none other than…Brock Faber. The 18-year-old looked outstanding in the 2021 World Juniors, recording five assists in seven games in Team USA’s quest for Gold. He’s continuing his development at the University of Minnesota with one goal and five points in 18 games so far.
All signs point to Faber being a top-six defenseman on the right side of the LA Kings defense for a long time.
Conclusion
While the LA Kings sacrificed talent for the next couple of seasons, they acquired talent for the foreseeable future. I’m not 100 percent sold on Trevor Moore yet, but if he continues to play like he has this season, there definitely is a spot for him on the Kings’ fourth line for years to come. Carl Grundstrom has brought an element of physicality that was lost with Clifford, and he currently is second on the team in hits.
Given how deep the LA Kings’ prospect pool is up the middle, it will be interesting to see if Madden sticks at center or eventually moves to the wing. And while they’re still developing, Bjornfot has five NHL games under his belt, Faber has looked outstanding, and Laferriere continues to put up points in the USHL. Add two more draft picks to the Kings’ arsenal, these three trades were pivotal in establishing the rebuild for the next great LA Kings team.