The Los Angeles Kings had an interesting month leading up to the trade deadline. Shortly before the Olympic break, the Kings acquired Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers and signed him to a contract extension, signaling that they were in win-now mode. However, after a string of losses following the break, Ken Holland traded two veteran players, Corey Perry and Warren Foegele, prompting questions about the team's direction. To finish it off, the Los Angeles then acquired depth forward Scott Laughton from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
There were definitely more questions than answers after the deadline. The acquisition of Laughton made it seem like Holland was still trying to set his team up for a playoff run this season, but trading Perry and Foegele was counterproductive to that. The strategy feels like a younger, faster team under interim head coach DJ Smith, which is fine, but some of that veteran leadership may be lacking once the playoffs roll around.
The Kings are 1-1-1 since the trade deadline, but they are still tied with the Seattle Kraken with 67 points. They are currently outside the playoff picture because they have an extra game played, but Holland has to like his chances down the stretch against teams like the Kraken, San Jose Sharks, and Nashville Predators. With the Utah Mammoth stretching their lead in the wild card to six points, the prize for Los Angeles if they get in is likely the first-place team in the Central Division, which is less-than-ideal.
Kings will miss Corey Perry if they make playoffs
Los Angeles acquired a second-round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Perry. It is one of four second-round picks they'll have this year. The thinking could be that they could package some of those picks at the draft to move up and get a better player, but it feels like if Holland truly wanted to contend, three picks would've been enough if he just wanted to keep Perry for the postseason.
The Kings might be content to get to the playoffs and take a beating from the Colorado Avalanche, the likely winner of the Central. The Avalanche could be ripe for an upset in the first round, but the Kings, as currently constructed, seem unlikely to be the team to do it. Perry might not have been enough to push them over the edge against Colorado, but his playoff experience and ability to elevate his game certainly would've helped.
Holland feels fine with the moves he made for the Kings at the trade deadline. However, there might be a time in a potential playoff series when he says he would've really liked to have hung on to Perry.
