The first player the Kings acquired in the active roster lineup and on the trade deadline late this week on Friday morning wasn't actually coming from a trade move from Holland and the LA front office yesterday in the West in the Pacific Division.
It was reported yesterday morning that the Kings had signed winger Mathieu Joseph to a one-year contract deal for the rest of this 2025-26 season in the West. This news came after the St. Louis Blues had terminated the rest of Joseph's contract and he hit the unrestricted free agent open market yesterday morning for the Kings.
Joseph brings familiarity and necessary depth and another big body to the active roster lineup with the bottom-six forward lines group core this regular season for the Kings' coaching staff in the West. Smith coached up Joseph for a few seasons with the Senators in Ottawa behind the bench in the early-to-mid 2020s decade a few years ago.
Grade: C+
The second big trade move the Kings and Holland in the front office made at the deadline yesterday on Friday afternoon was for a veteran center who was moved at the deadline for the second time in as many years in the East. The Kings acquired veteran two-way center Scott Laughton for a return of a conditional third-round draft pick in 2026.
If the Kings make the playoffs in the postseason this upcoming spring in the West in the next couple of months, then the draft pick becomes a second-rounder.
The Kings and Smith are getting a valuable two-way center who can play proven bottom-six roster minutes at the center position for the coaching staff in the West this regular season in the Pacific Division. Laughton played mostly middle-six and bottom-six minutes in the East for the Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers in the East in this past decade in the late 2020s and early-to-mid 2020s.
Laughton has been a proven penalty killer on special teams on the key top unit and has played mostly a bottom-six role at the center position for the Maple Leafs this regular season in this past few months.