While You Were Sleeping: LA Kings Trade Deadline Edition

The Los Angeles Kings have remained idle to start the final day of the Trade Deadline. They also remained idle last night, as was the status quo all week. But around the league, things started to pop off.

The West has continued to be a race in which the Kings looked utterly outclassed. The Colorado Avalanche acquired longtime Islander Brock Nelson for a haul. Oliver Kylingon, Calum Ritchie, a 2026 first, and a 2028 conditional third went back the other way for New York. It is annotated across many insiders that this move is a rental, but it is still very much a win-now move that I respect trying to go all in for another run at it with Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon in their primes.

The Dallas Stars reportedly had Mikko Rantanen in a sign and trade, but talks show the two camps are not on the same page regarding the value of the contract. Rantanen reportedly wants a max contract and the value of Leon Draisaitl's contract. If this ends up landing for Dallas, which is at or near the finish line, there's no trade to be made for the Kings to compete with that type of team.

Vegas and Edmonton, the two teams the Kings have been limping to try to catch in the Pacific, both have made moves bolster their group towards a deep run. Vegas reunited with Reilly Smith, a Cup winner with the 2022 team and one of their original members when the club was indoctrinated into the league.

Edmonton made savvy moves with Max Jones and Trent Frederic earlier in the week, then circled back for a Jake Walman upgrade to their blueline. With uncertainty around Evander Kane, I'm curious to see if they are calling it quits for the deadline. Vegas falls into that category, too.

Meanwhile, the Kings remained silent as their juggernaut foes in the West continued to acquire more munitions, and the struggling Kings circled an empty wagon. In many ways, Rob Blake shows an incredible amount of restraint. How that is helpful for a team on a five-game losing streak (two of those games past regulation) at the worst time of year is something of an enigma.

The Kings have already lost out on some big names and are now looking for sloppy seconds. Will that be in the form of Kyle Palmeri, the 34-year-old from the Islanders? Recent word on social media is that the Islanders have told him he's staying put. Regardless, there is still time left for Blake to execute a much-needed shot in the arm for a floundering team with an abundance of home games left to capitlaize on.

Brad Marchand has been a name thrown out there as a possible trade candidate. Could Blake swing a Marchand and Connor Geekie trade out of thin air at the final leg of this race? Or will he stand pat with an ailing roster, doomed to be overtaken in the first round for a fourth straight season?

Tick tock.