According to a variety of reports, the Kings may trade Arthur Kaliyev imminently. Is he a player that could make sense for the Red Wings?
According to a variety of reports, the Kings may trade Arthur Kaliyev imminently. Is he a player that could make sense for the Red Wings?
Per a number of recent reports, the Los Angeles Kings may trade 22-year-old forward Arthur Kaliyev imminently.
One such report came from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, who recently said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast that "The Kaliyev thing is interesting: I do think they would move him now, it's been made pretty clear behind the scenes there that Kaliyev's time to go somewhere else where he can have a bit more of a role has probably come."
Last year in 56 games, Kaliyev scored 13 goals and provided 15 assists for 28 points. This season in 38 games thus far, he's scored six times while giving eight assists for 14 points.
Coming out of junior (where he was a prolific scorer for the OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs as well as a World Junior gold medalist for Team USA in 2021), Kaliyev was billed as a power forward who combined above average hockey sense with strong finishing skill.
He hasn't quite realized that potential at the NHL level, and this season, he hasn't seemed to capture or maintain the favor of Kings' coach Todd McLellan, who has made him a fairly regular healthy scratch.
Still, Kaliyev would hardly be the first young player to benefit from a change of scenery, and it's clear he has the tools to be a functional NHL player, so would he make sense for the Red Wings?
First, it make sense to gauge the acquisition cost. To that end, Friedman also said, "I do think the Kings would do it if they found maybe a depth player with some edge that they could replace him with, I do think LA would do that."
If the Kings' only desired return is "a depth player with some edge," Detroit may be an unlikely trade partner. The obvious candidate fitting that bill on the Red Wings' roster is Klim Kostin, but because he is probably the only Red Wing who meets that description, the team may be eager to hold onto his services.
However, even if Detroit could overcome that concern, there are more pressing reasons Kaliyev to the Red Wings doesn't make a ton of sense. If he wants out of LA to be a fixture of the lineup with a new team, I'm not sure Detroit meets that description.
Would Kaliyev jump ahead of Jonatan Berggren in the Red Wings' queue of young scorers struggling to crack the NHL lineup? I'm not sure, and even if he did, he would still have to supplant one of Detroit's NHL scorers—most likely Daniel Sprong or Robby Fabbri.
Because of those obstacles, I struggle to see a fit between the Red Wings and LA when it comes to Kaliyev.
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