The Los Angeles Kings were going to be one of the important teams to watch leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. For most of the season, they have been in a playoff spot, but recently have struggled and currently are in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
They clearly had a need to add more scoring and improving their power play, which is one of the worst in the league. As Rob Blake is evaluating how to improve the roster, other teams in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference were making big moves like the Dallas Stars adding Mikko Rantanen or the Colorado Avalanche trading for Brock Nelson.
The recent performance along with the other moves could have caused the Los Angeles Kings feel like they had to make a trade to keep pace. In those situations, teams typically overpay in a trade and they don't always work out.
To Rob Blake's credit, he didn't go that route and decided to stay the course while making a low-risk, high-reward trade with the Flyers for Andrei Kuzmenko. It is unlikely that the Kings are going to get the same player that had nearly 40 goals as a rookie but he is a player that should provide some scoring but also contribute on power play where he has scored four of his eight goals this season.
He was able to do that by only giving up a third round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft while also getting back some draft capital in the form of a seventh round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft. Meanwhile, the Kings were able to keep their first round picks as well as players like Brandt Clarke, Quinton Byfield, and Jordan Spence. All three are younger players that the Kings can build around after veterans like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty retire.
The patience and restraint Rob Blake showed at the NHL Trade Deadline is why he receives as high of a grade as he did.