As the Los Angeles Kings approached the trade deadline back in March, they were limited in their options but did have one big piece they could sell.

Defenseman Matt Roy. A pending UFA, given the Kings' cap situation the 2023-24 season was likely Roy's last with the organization. 

To take that a step further, it should be Roy's last season with the organization. A very sturdy defender, re-signing the 29-year-old Roy to an extension that would likely hover around the $5 million mark would be a mistake.

The Kings need to make room for Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence to both be in the NHL. 

Which brings us back to the trade deadline. There were two camps of fans at the time, fans who wanted the Kings to cash in on their only big-ticket assets, and those who wanted them to keep Roy for a playoff run.

The organization opted for the latter, which always seemed like the most likely outcome, and that was a mistake.

Keeping a player you can't afford to re-sign in the summer isn't always a bad idea, but it only makes sense if you're actually a contender. If keeping that player is going to help you get past the first round.

The Kings did not, and were always up against the odds to make it out of round one. 

That's the problem with keeping Roy, the logic behind it was flawed. Trading Roy would have weakened the Kings' defense, and depending on the return the team, in the short-term. But that shouldn't have really mattered. 

As we saw, even with Roy this team wasn't good enough to make it past the first round. Now you're stuck either letting Roy walk for nothing, or doubling down and further damaging your long-term future to keep a roster that's shown that can't get it done together.

In Rob Blakes defense, the rumored Linus Ullmark trade, which did not include Pierre-Luc Dubois by most accounts, did seem to involve Roy.

However, that trade didn't seem to go very far, so who knows how willing Blake was to actually pull the trigger.

Regardless, Blake didn't move Roy, and that was a mistake. It's a mistake that happens when he, and the organization as a whole, aren't realistic about where they're at as a team.

It's difficult to do, and if Blake felt that his job relied on this team winning, of course he held onto Roy and then we get back into the cycle of problematic decisions.

If Blake was making shortsighted decision to save his own job, that's a massive problem for the Kings. If he truly believed this team was a contender who could make a deep run, that's also a massive problem.

The front office either didn't have a good grasp on where this team was at, or was making moves to try and salvage their jobs.

Either way, it's a problem. 

Now the Kings are stuck in a no-win situation, either let Roy walk for nothing or re-sign him at a price you can't really afford and hamper the development of two more prospects. Or force yourself into trading Spence to keep Roy. 

The Kings made their bed with the Roy situation and now they have to lie in it, and neither outcome is ideal.