The 2025 NHL Draft is in full swing on Day 2 and the LA Kings have made some solid selections, led by defenseman Henry Brzustewicz. However, they also traded away defenseman Jordan Spence to the Ottawa Senators and they may regret that if this potential rumor becomes a reality.
According to Darren Dreger, the Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs have had ongoing discussions about a potential sign-and-trade for top free agent Mitch Marner. This not only means the LA Kings would miss out on the opportunity to sign him, but he goes to a division rival in the Golden Knights, a team the Kings have chased in the division.
Players like Mitch Marner, who has been very productive and is still in the prime of his career, rarely reach free agency. It has been reported for some time now that he had a list in mind of teams he was considering and the LA Kings were part of that group.
On the surface, this would have been a great move for the Kings as he has been a highly productive forward who has averaged around 96 points per season over the past four seasons. He would have easily slotted in as one of the top scoring options next to Adrian Kempe.
Mitch Marner in Vegas makes the defense even more of a priority for the LA Kings
There are still a lot of potential issues that can ruin the sign-and-trade between Vegas and Toronto, as Vegas almost simultaneously needs to agree to a new contract with Marner, clear cap space to make that contract fit under the salary cap, while working out compensation for the Maple Leafs. However, if all those things do happen, the Kings need to pivot quickly and figure out how they are going to address their defense.
As it stands right now, they are going to have at least two new players in their Top 6 with Jordan Spence in Ottawa after the trade on Saturday, and Vladislav Gavrikov set to be a free agent on July 1st. My guess is that if the Kings believe this sign-and-trade has a real chance of getting done, they figure out a way to get an extension done with Gavrikov. This will help their defense, and they have one less hole in their roster to address.
It will certainly be an interesting few days but if the Golden Knights and Maple Leafs are talking sign-and-trade, they have to know that Mitch Marner will play in Vegas, and that is not good news for the Los Angeles Kings.