The Vegas Golden Knights were the early winners of free agency when they were able to agree to a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the top free agent Mitch Marner. There were a number of reports that the Los Angeles Kings would have been one of the teams Marner would have considered if he reached free agency but the Kings would not get the chance to speak with him.
It would appear that as the Marner-to-Vegas discussions became serious, the Kings would pivot and look at the trade market. One player they were reportedly very interested in was Rasmus Andersson but once again they couldn't get a deal done. It was due in large part to Andersson not wanting to sign a long-term deal with the Kings.
It seems that the Golden Knights might be the team to get that deal done and if they were to add Andersson as well this offseason, it would be a pretty bitter offseason for Kings fans.
LA Kings are really chasing the Golden Knights and not the Edmonton Oilers
While the Oilers have been the team to knock out the Kings in the playoffs the past four seasons, the Pacific Division is really chasing the Golden Knights. Since joining the NHL, the Vegas Golden Knights have won the division four times in seven seasons.
If the Golden Knights are able to bring in Marner and Andersson this offseason, while the Kings have only improved their depth, it is hard to make the case they have closed the gap and gotten any closer to passing them in the division rankings. However, if the Kings were able to pull off those two moves, it would have been a much different story at this point of the year.
At this point of the offseasons, teams can't win Stanley Cups but based on some of the moves it feels like they can lose it, or at least hurt their chances. For the Kings, the best they can hope for is that the moves have kept them even with last year's team but they haven't had the improvements they need to keep pace with what the Golden Knights have done.