With Kaliyev requesting a trade out of LA, here are three trades that make sense for the Kings.
The Los Angeles Kings have the potential to shake up their lineup this off-season, especially after Arthur Kaliyev requested a trade.
Now the Kings have a young, promising prospect who wants to be traded and can attach him to a larger deal to push over the finish line. They can also move Kaliyev for another young player who needs a change of scenery and hope that the trade works out.
There are a handful of teams that would be interested in Kaliyev's services and will be in consistent communication with the Kings' GM, Rob Blake, in hopes of landing him.
The Columbus Blue Jackets could work out a deal to send either Patrik Laine to LA in exchange for a package that includes Kaliyev.
For Columbus, this trade would make a ton of sense. If they can get a trade package that meets their needs but also moves out some cap space, it would be a win-win.
Kaliyev could, down the road, replace Laine's offensive production and come at a much cheaper cost. The other benefit of this would be the fact that Kaliyev is an RFA and would likely sign a bridge deal as a "prove it" type contract before asking for a larger contract.
As for the Kings, this deal may seem like a loss on paper to start, but when Laine can recapture his goal-scoring ability and confidence, then it will be worth it.
Once Laine returns from the NHL/NHL Players' Association Player Assistance Program and can find his groove again, he could easily become a 40+ goal scorer per season.
For the Kings, adding Laine on top of Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Anze Kopitar, and Quintin Byfield would give them a very strong top six and may finally be able to get over their first-round hump.
To make this deal work, the Blue Jackets would need to agree to retain some of Laine's $8.7 million cap hit. If they agreed to retain $2.7 million to bring his cap hit down to $6 million per season, the Kings could fit that into their salary cap.
If the Blue Jackets do agree to retain salary, the Kings would likely need to give up another prospect, a pick, or another NHL roster player. Kings' GM Blake would probably be more interested in giving up a younger NHL-ready player like Alex Turcotte than a pick or one of their everyday NHL players.
There will be a ton of leg work that will need to be done to make this deal work; however, both teams could strongly benefit from getting it across the finish line.