The NHL Trade Deadline is only a couple of days away and it is widely expected that the Los Angeles Kings are going to trade a defenseman for some help on offense. It certainly makes sense as the team has some good depth here and they desperately need another goal-scorer up front.
However, it is not a guarantee, and if the Kings keep all eight defensemen currently on the roster, they are going to have to make some significant shifts to the pairings. Since Drew Doughty returned at the end of January, the odd man out has been Brandt Clarke, who was a healthy scratch against the Chicago Blackhawks and has been a healthy scratch four times since the end of January.
When he has been active and when everyone is healthy, he is only seeing around 10 minutes of ice time per game. It is hard to imagine that the Kings can't find more of a consistent role for a player who is currently leading all defensemen in points on the team.
When Doughty returned, the Kings tried their best not to change the pairings too much, but the results haven't been great after a few weeks. When looking at the current roster, these are the best defensive pairings the Los Angeles Kings should implement, and they should start as early as Wednesday night against the St. Louis Blues.