Going into this upcoming season, the Los Angeles Kings and general manager Ken Holland could be a team to watch on the trade market to try to upgrade the top forward lines with a top-tier talented center or winger. The Kings need to get help for some of the top goal scorers among the top six forward lines, including Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala.
Which centers from the Central Division in the West could make viable trade targets hypothetically for the Los Angeles Kings going into the 2025-26 season?
In the past few years, the Kings have made a handful of key trades with Central Division foes from the Western Conference, including getting forward Fiala from the Minnesota Wild back in the 2022 offseason.
If the Kings look to the Central Division to find help with the forward scoring this upcoming season, there are some intriguing names potentially on the trade block to consider in the next few months or so.
Martin Necas, C (Colorado Avalanche)
Center Martin Necas is coming off a career season in the 2024-25 campaign, scoring a career-high 83 points and 27 goals for the Colorado Avalanche. After getting off to a red-hot start this past season, scoring 55 points in 49 games for the Carolina Hurricanes before the trade deadline, Necas put up 28 points in 30 games playing with superstar center Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado.
Necas was dealt by the Hurricanes to the Avs in one of the biggest blockbuster trades of this past season in 2024-25. Necas and Jack Drury were sent to the Avs for star forward Mikko Rantanen to join the Canes in Raleigh.
Since he was traded from the Canes to the Avs last season around the deadline, Necas has been involved in various trade discussions and rumors over the past few months.
Necas can become an unrestricted free agent next summer in the 2026 offseason, making him the topic of a lot of trade speculation and discussion this offseason.
Were the Kings to hypothetically pursue Necas on the trade market in the upcoming season from Colorado, he could give them the top-six scorer and young talent to support the top lines that the team has been looking for the past year or so.
Brayden Schenn, C (St. Louis Blues)
Had it not been for a late-season run by the St. Louis Blues that pushed them into the postseason in the Western Conference this past spring, there is a decent-to-good chance that center Brayden Schenn would've been dealt earlier this offseason or at the trade deadline back in February.
This past season, Schenn was one of the names most often discussed in various trade rumors and speculation in media and fan circles regarding whether he would be traded by the Blues. Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts podcast earlier this summer that Schenn goes from having a no-trade clause to a partial going into the 2025-26 season.
Schenn is one of the most reliable and well-regarded two-way veteran centers in the Western Conference. He's an eight-time 20-goal scorer for the Blues and Philadelphia Flyers and he had 50 points last regular season.
Jonathan Marchessault, C (Nashville Predators)
Trading for veteran center Jonathan Marchessault would be a risk for the Kings from the Nashville Predators going into the upcoming 2025-26 season. Marchessault scored half as many goals this past season (21) compared to his 40-goal campaign with the Vegas Golden Knights in the previous year in the 2023-24 campaign in the West.
Despite only spending one season with the Preds after being traded to Nashville from the Golden Knights last year, Marchessault has been the frequent subject of trade speculation and discussions in the past few months.
If the Preds aren't asking too much for Marchessault, and the Kings believe he is the right fit hypothetically with the top six forward lines, a change of scenery could be much-needed for the 34-year-old center.