Why the Los Angeles Kings would do this trade
In return for Kaliyev, the Los Angeles Kings would get goaltender Ville Husso, who has spent the past three seasons with the Red Wings. Prior to that, he played two seasons with the St. Louis Blues and was incredible in the 2021-22 season when he went 25-7-6 with a save percentage of .919.
During his time with the Red Wings, he hasn't been able to return to that level and was recently assigned to the AHL affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins. However, this season in the AHL he is 6-1 with a GAA of 1.86 and save percentage .935.
The reason this is a trade that might make sense for the Kings is that it gives them an experienced goaltender to call up if the Kings were to lose Kuemper or David Rittich at any point this season. The long-term answer would be Erik Portillo or Carter George but neither are ready to play extended time in the NHL.
Pheonix Copley would more than likely be the option this season but he is coming off an ACL injury last year but has only 77 career NHL games. A player like Husso would seemingly be a better backup plan in case there was a need for a goalie to be called up.
In the end, there is no denying that the Red Wings would be getting the better value as Kaliyev has a much higher ceiling. However, it doesn't seem like he is going to be apart of the Kings plans any time soon and ensuring they have good depth at goalie makes a lot of sense for this season.