For the first time since 2021, the Los Angeles Kings will have a first-round pick to use in the 2024 Entry Draft.
After their first round picks, they only have their 4th, 6th and 7th in 2024, meaning they'll need a hit in round one.
To try and ensure they hit, the Kings should think about moving up in the draft.
The Kings are picking at 21, and while there will be very good players available, if they can get up into the top-15, player quality significantly increases.
Why the Kings Should Trade Up:
Just a few seasons ago, the Kings boasted one of the league's prospect best pools, but that's no longer the case.
They've traded picks and prospects and failed to develop a handful of players, leaving them with a barren prospect pool and just a few impact players from their rebuilding years.
Outside of Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke, it doesn't appear the Kings will have any top of the lineup players from their rebuild and that's a problem.
There's an outside chance someone like Akil Thomas or Alex Turcotte is a late bloomer, but they're likely looking at middle six forwards in those two.
Their best under-21 players are Koehn Ziemmer, Francesco Pinelli and Jakub Dvorak, all good prospects with the potential to hit in a big way. However, they fall into the same middle of the lineup category.
Trading up would give the Kings an opportunity to inject real high-end talent back into the prospect pool.
There are also a few teams who might be interested in trading back for help now.
Someone like the Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild or Detroit Red Wings could all willingly move back.
Depending on where they fell, the opportunity to draft a forward like Berkeley Catton, Cole Eiserman or Beckett Sennecke, or a defensemen like Sam Dickinson would be massive.
The timeline for a high-end forward prospect would also lineup perfectly for the end of Anze Kopitar's next contract.
Having a potential star come in right as you lose Anze Kopitar, who's hinted at retiring at the end of his contact, would be ideal.
It's also never a bad thing to have potential elite prospects to supplement Byfield and some of the more complementary pieces currently in the prospect pool.
Why The Kings Won't Trade Up:
I'd be a little surprised if the Kings traded up in this draft, even if they should.
Simply put, this front office is convinced this team is a contender and is unlikely to trade from their current roster for future assets.
Unless one of the above mentioned teams has a lot of interest in Arthur Kaliyev, it's hard to imagine the Kings finding a way to move up, especially without a second or third round pick to part with.
Because of their, "win now" mentality the Kings will likely stick at 21, and we'll look at some potential picks there later, but they should seriously consider moving up.
Adding a Catton, Eiserman or even someone falling like Konsta Helenius would be huge for the future of the Kings.