The Los Angeles Kings have become linked to a few names across the league as the trade deadline approaches. In a realistic vision, do these names truly fix their underlying gaping hole?

Three seasons in a row, the Kings have positioned themselves to compete for the Stanley Cup and have gotten bested by a single team boasting superstar, game-breaking talent. LA is well-positioned to crank out a fourth attempt in a row, possibly against someone not named the Edmonton Oilers. Nevertheless, I'm pretty skeptical the Kings make a significant enough move to move the needle; they have a foundational issue.

The main issue? The Kings lack game-breaking talent or, rather, superstar talent. The Kings have Adrian Kempe, a surefire elite talent, and an inconsistent highlight-reel-type player in Kevin Fiala. Still, there is a dramatic drop-off after those two players, and it is quite a reach for either player to be considered in the 'inner sanctum' of the league's best.

I certainly wouldn't argue with a wall, but it would behoove some ardent Kings fans to open their eyes to the fact that their two franchise superstars were superstars many years ago. During their cup runs, Anze Kopitar could easily have been categorized as the next best center to Sidney Crosby. The same goes for Drew Doughty, who jockeyed the same calling card with Erik Karlsson and Duncan Keith.

Kopitar is seven years removed from his Hart-snubbing 2017-18 92-point season. Since then, he's broken the 70-point barrier just twice. He's on pace to do so again this year, but you're talking to the wrong person if you believe this 37-year-old is still a top five, even top ten player in his categorical position.

Doughty, while two years junior to the captain, still has plenty of pop in his game like Kopitar. However, he will fail to break 40 regular season games for the second time in four seasons. He's still an excellent two-way defenseman but will be known around the league mostly due to his legacy and soaking up either the most or second-most minutes in the league.

Both these first-ballot Hall of Famers players have resumes that speak for themselves. Yet, both are not currently among the top ten players in their positions. Top fifteen? Top twenty? Can you win a championship this way with your 1C and 1D?

Again, that's the concern: An overarching theme that puzzles even the most casual Kings' follower. Changing the formula around two aging players past their championship prime while sacrificing some legitimate homegrown talent is a significant concern. The Penguins were able to make it work around Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, seven years removed from their 2009 championship, but is it too late (11 years since their last cup run) for these two aging cup holdovers in LA?

It begs to be probed deeper into the recent trade discussions involving players such as Alex Tuch. Is that a high-end enough player to push this team past teams like Vegas, Edmonton (again), Dallas, or Colorado? The Kings are set on their 35+ Cup holdovers to compete against a combination of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin, Jack Eichel, Miro Hiskenanen, Jason Robertson, Jake Oettinger, Nathan MacKinnon, and or Cale Makar. By adding a top-six winger, do the Kings give the onus of we are actually now right there?

Trade rumors will continue to pick up and entertain like they do every year. But it is critical to look at the situation as it is.