The LA Kings, despite being outside of the playoffs picture looking in, are buying, as seen by the acquisition of Artemi Panarin. Now Kevin Fiala will miss the remainder of the season unfortunately, so there is more cap space and more of a need to add multiple pieces up front.
The Kings are hunting for a center, whether that be as a rental or someone with term. They should also be looking for a winger who can play anywhere from the top line to the third line. If the Kings approach the Chicago Blackhawks, or the other way around, a deal could be worked out to send multiple players who fit the needs of the Kings over to LA.
Chicago is 10 points out of a playoff spot with an extra game played, so they are seemingly out of the race with 25 games remaining unless they go on a crazy run and also jump four teams.
Assuming the Blackhawks won't pull anything amazing off for the remainder of the season, it is in their best interest to sell what UFAs they have. There are more than enough young players waiting for their opportunity in the AHL, whether to come back up or get their first chance.
So the Kings need center help and now a player on the wing. The Blackhawks have Jason Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev, and Nick Foligno, but I would lean much more towards the first two.
Dickinson has proven in the past that he can step up and even play on the top line, though that won't be needed in LA. He is a strong defensive forward and that fits the Kings' system well. Mikheyev is the same, can log good minutes for a winger, and kills penalties efficiently as well. He also has a bit of offense to his game, more than some of the struggling forwards the Kings have at the moment.
LA has plenty of draft capital to pull off a multi-player deal, and while there are many more options out there, a trade with the Blackhawks could be an intriguing one to address multiple needs in one deal.
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