Another sign that new general manager Ken Holland and the Los Angeles Kings in the front office are taking on the role of sellers at the trade deadline on the block late this week on Friday (March 6) appeared this morning after the team traded winger Warren Foegele to the Ottawa Senators earlier this week on Thursday.
Los Angeles Kings send forward Corey Perry to the Lightning in the East for a future second-round draft pick in 2028
On Friday morning, the Kings traded veteran winger Corey Perry to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a second-round draft pick.
Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the news on March 6 on the block that the Kings at the trade deadline have sent Perry to the Lightning for a second-round draft pick in the West. Perry will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season this upcoming spring.
Soon after it was reported by Friedman and multiple other sources and reporters on Friday morning (March 6), the Kings made it official that they have traded Perry to the Lightning for a 2028 second-round draft pick.
We have acquired a second round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Corey Perry. The Kings will retain 50% of Perry’s contract.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 6, 2026
📲 https://t.co/giPZV8Qe0X@Enterprise | #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/8eUXjZ182m
To make this trade happen on the block this morning on Friday, the Kings retained half of Perry's salary cap hit on the roster cap sheet for the front office and the team, and he waived his no-trade clause in his contract.
The news of the Kings trading Perry comes less than 24 hours after it was being reported first that Holland and the LA front office management personnel were potentially discussing contract extension terms with the veteran winger.
In this past 24 hours late this week and for the trade deadline today, the Kings and Holland have traded for a couple of second-round draft picks in future entry draft classes. The Kings now have a half-dozen second-round picks in the next three upcoming NHL Entry Drafts (through the end of the 2028 draft).
It looks like the writing is on the wall that the Kings are either selling to bolster the prospect pool and future draft asset picks for the franchise in the future years. This could also be a sign that Holland wants to make a bigger move on the block for the trade deadline today in the West.
The Kings signed Perry this past offseason in the summer of 2025 to a one-year contract. Perry missed most of training camp and the preseason last fall for former head coach Jim Hiller and the Kings. Perry clearly found playing in Tampa Bay to be appealing in the East in the Atlantic Division after he had a good season with the Lightning team a few years ago in the early 2020s in the 2021-22 season.