Tier 2 – Might be something there
Johnny Gaudreau
Johnny Hockey. Gaudreau rebounded from a down year in 2019-20, by his standards. The 27-year-old tallied 19 goals and 49 points in 56 games while shooting the puck at an absurd 17.0% shot rate. Like Forsberg, he’ll be a UFA after the 2021-22 season, so the Kings need to proceed with caution.
Gaudreau’s camp would have to give some assurance of him sticking around in Los Angeles. He was subject to trade rumors at the deadline, but Gaudreau remained in Calgary. Will the Flames offload his $6.75M cap hit this offseason?
Viktor Arvidsson
Nashville had several players reportedly on the trade block at the deadline, including Arvidsson. The 28-year-old is three years removed from a 34-goal campaign with plenty of good hockey left in him. He shot at the puck at a career-low 6.6% in 2021 but still racked up 25 points. The Preds have also reduced his TOI over the last two seasons.
Get him on the top-six forwards in Los Angeles, where he’ll be playing 19+ minutes a night, and he’ll get back to scoring goals at will. That’s the hope anyway. He’s also approaching elite puck possession in the NHL with a career 53.1 CorsiFor percentage.
Arvidsson still has three years left on his contract, coming at a $4.25M cap hit per season, which would allow the Kings to take his contract on and then some this offseason. For the same reasons Forsberg gets dealt, I could see Nashville wanting to offload Arvidsson’s contract.
Plus, the Kings could use another Swedish forward, am I right? His versatility to play both winger positions will be an asset, given the influx of prospects on their way to Los Angeles.