One of the key focuses for the Los Angeles Kings with the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline is improving their power play unit. They are one of the best teams in the NHL in 5v5 but rank near the bottom in power play goals.
Fortunately for general manager Rob Blake, there are a number of players who could be available that could drastically improve this part of the roster. The question will be how much the Kings are willing to give up and that should dictate the return they get.
These are three options for the Los Angeles Kings to improve their power play at the NHL Trade Deadline.
Jason Zucker
The Los Angeles Kings are reportedly one of the teams interested in forward Alex Tuch. However he probably will cost more than the Kings are willing to give up because the Sabres would really need an offer too good to pass up to move Tuch.
That doesn't mean they won't be interested in making a trade at the NHL Trade Deadline and one of those players could be Jason Zucker. The Sabres signed Zucker as a free agent before the season to a one-year deal and he has been excellent this season with 18 goals and 23 assists.
Where he has made a big impact though is on their power play with nine power play goals and six assists this season. If the Sabres don't believe they could sign him to a new contract, he makes perfect sense to be traded at the deadline and the Kings should be interested if that happens.
Chris Kreider
The New York Rangers are a team that looked like they were destined to be sellers at the NHL Trade Deadline after a few moves earlier in the season. However, they recently traded for J.T. Miller and are now only three points outside of a Wild Card spot which could be an indication that they might want to stay the course.
If they do want to continue to move veterans then Chris Kreider is a player that makes sense and one that the Kings might want to inquire about. He is an older player and has only five power play goals on the season but has been very productive on power plays in the past. Last season he had 18 power play goals and two years before that led the league with 26.
The biggest concern with Kreider is that he does have a pretty sizable cap hit at $6.5 million this season and next. If the Rangers are willing to retain some of that, it makes this trade more plausible for the Kings.
Jonathan Marchessault
It has been a pretty disastrous season for the Nashville Predators and they probably are going to be sellers but unlikely to completely tear down the roster. One of the players that could be made available is Jonathan Marchessault, who they just signed to a five-year contract before the season.
The reason they may want to trade him this quickly is that he is older at 34 years old and it is unlikely his value will go up at any point of the contract. He earned the free agent contract after scoring 42 goals last season with the Vegas Golden Knights, including eight power play goals.
This season with the Predators, he has four power play goals but an impressive 13 power play assists. As a right-handed forward, he would be a nice addition to put on that top power play unit replacing Alex Laferriere.
Similar to Kreider, the Kings have to decide if they want to take on the cap hit of $5.5 million but not only that but the remaining years, which runs through the 2028-29 season, at his age. Thankfully the salary cap is expected to increase significantly so the contract's impact will diminish.