There is no question that the Los Angeles Kings have a lot of pressure on them this season as they try to get over the hump and past the first round of the playoffs. The Kings elected to go with a general manager in Ken Holland, who has a lot of experience to make those moves to get the roster in a spot to compete.
To this point, though, the moves made haven't inspired much confidence, and while the roster as a whole is deeper, it is tough to make the case that the Kings are better right now than last season. They are also getting older between the free agents they brought in and some of their stars, like Anze Kopitar, getting close to the end of their careers.
That was why Nick Kypreos recently said on The Fan Pregame that the Kings might try to go get a top center to take some of the pressure off Kopitar. Unfortunately, the options Kypreos mentioned don't make any sense for the Los Angeles Kings.
Los Angeles Kings should not (and probably is not) considering trading Brandt Clarke
For the Kings to get a top forward, they would need to give up serious value, and right now, their most valuable player is Brandt Clarke. He is a former first-round pick who just finished his first full season in the NHL and led the Kings' defensemen in points.
If he were available, there would be a number of teams that would jump at the chance to add him. However, the moves made this offseason were made to build this defense around Clarke and not trade him. In fact, the Kings traded Jordan Spence in part to wanting to make Clarke a bigger part of the defense.
There is no question that Kypreos' point about the Kings needing a top center to take some of the pressure off Kopitar is valid. It seems like the front office is confident that the way to address that is already on the roster in Quinton Byfield.
At times this offseason, Holland has mentioned that one way to improve the roster is by younger players continuing to develop. Byfield, and Clarke, certainly fall into this category and the expectation is that they will have a bigger role moving forward.