The Los Angeles Kings are not a favorite to win a Stanley Cup this year but they have enough pieces and have done enough to be in that second tier when discussing teams this season. If they truly want to be contenders, they are going to need to make some moves before the NHL Trade Deadline next month.
There is also a historical trend that they should take note that favors the decision to make some trades. Over the past three seasons, each of the Stanley Cup winners made a number of moves around the NHL Trade Deadline that helped propel them to a Stanley Cup.
Let's take a closer look at the last three Stanley Cup Winners and what lesson the Los Angeles Kings could learn at the NHL Trade Deadline.
Florida Panthers (2024 Stanley Cup Champions)
Last season, the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup and made three trades right around the NHL Trade Deadline. They would add forwards Kyle Okposo and Vladimir Tarasenko and goalie Magnus Hellberg.
Of those three players, Tarasenko made the biggest impact in the playoffs for the Panthers as he would have five goals and four assists in 24 games. In the Stanley Cup round though he made the biggest impact with two goals in the seven-game series.
Vegas Golden Knights (2023 Stanley Cup Champions)
During the 2022-23 season, the Vegas Golden Knights would be pretty active at the NHL Trade Deadline with four trades, one including former Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. He wouldn't play during the playoffs and really the only player that made an impact was Ivan Barbashev.
In 22 games, Barbashev had seven goals and 11 assists with a +/- of +14 and finished fifth on the team in points.
Colorado Avalanche (2022 Stanley Cup Champions)
Of the last three Stanley Cup winners, the Colorado Avalanche definitely did the best at the NHL Trade deadline with some impact moves. The biggest was trading for Artturi Lehkonen as he would have eight goals and six assists in the playoffs that season, including four game-winning goals.
The other players were Andrew Cogliano (three goals, three assists), Josh Manson (three goals, five assists), and Nico Strum (zero goals, two assists).
What can the Los Angeles Kings learn from this trend at the NHL Trade Deadline?
If the Los Angeles Kings believe that they can be Stanley Cup contenders this season, they are going to have to be active at the NHL Trade Deadline. It is clear that not every trade is going to work out and not every player they acquire will make an impact.
However, each of these teams made multiple moves and found production that helped them reach their ultimate end goal. The Kings should look to employ a similar strategy over the next few weeks.