In 2007, the best prospect was considered to be Patrick Kane that year and he would ultimately go first overall to the Chicago Blackhawks. It was a great pick for the Blackhawks as Kane would help them win three Stanley Cups and averaged a point per game in 16 seasons with the Blackhawks.
That year, the Kings would be coming off an ugly 68-point season and had the third-worst point total in the league. The fact that the Blackhawks would move all the way up to first overall to select the talented forward pushed the Kings down to having the fourth overall pick.
In that draft, the Kings selected defenseman Thomas Hickey, who would end up not playing a single game in the NHL for Los Angeles. He unfortunately dealt with too many injuries in the AHL and would eventually be waived before being claimed by the New York Islanders.
What if the Los Angeles Kings drafted Patrick Kane?
It might be one of the bigger 'what-ifs' in franchise history because they missed out on a generational talent by not winning the lottery while drafting a player who couldn't help them at the NHL level. If the Kings drafted Kane, he probably would have jumped right to the NHL like he did with the Blackhawks. That season, he would finish with 72 points and win the Calder Memorial Trophy.
In addition to not having Kane as part of their franchise, he actively played a role in the Kings missing out on making history. A few years later, the Kings were coming off their first Stanley Cup trophy in 2012 and looked poised to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final the following season.
However, the Kings would face the Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals and the Blackhawks would advance in five games. In that series-deciding Game 5, Kane would have a hat trick and help the Blackhawks win 4-3 in overtime.
Even though the Kings didn't win the Stanley Cup that year, they would win it the following season and secure their second Stanley Cup in three seasons. If they had beaten the Blackhawks and won the Stanley Cup against Boston, they would have been only the fourth team to have won the Stanley Cup in three consecutive seasons and the first to do it since the New York Islanders in the early 1980s.
If the Kings had ended up winning the NHL Draft, it would have given them the chance to select one of the best in the league and probably added another Stanley Cup to their trophy case.