The Los Angeles Kings made a major trade before the NHL's Olympic break, acquiring Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers. Unfortunately, they are in need of more moves before the NHL Trade Deadline. Kevin Fiala is out for the season after suffering a scary injury at the Olympics. As a result, they still have a bit of work to do.
Losing Fiala was a massive blow to this team. He is a legitimate top-six scorer whose production at the top of the lineup is hard to replace. Panarin certainly helps, without a doubt. But Los Angeles needs additional help to cover all their bases.
At the same time, Los Angeles has some players it can move off its roster. The Kings can afford to shuffle their deck and change the faces inside the room. They aren't in a money in, money out situation, to be clear. Los Angeles has nearly $11 million in cap space to work with.
This is more a matter of players simply not being the best fit. Perhaps interim coach DJ Smith can get something more out of some of these guys. However, no matter what, there is one player that needs to be traded before the buzzer sounds on March 6th.
Kings' Warren Foegele needs change of scenery
The Kings signed Warren Foegele a couple seasons ago to bolster their middle-six depth. He enjoyed a breakout season with the Edmonton Oilers in 2023-24, scoring 40 points and helping Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final. He built upon this with another 40-point season in 2024-25 with the Kings.
Unfortunately, things have gone downhill in dramatic fashion. At this time, Foegele has just seven goals and nine points through 46 games. His usage has dropped a bit, as he averages about 1:15 less in ice time per game this season. However, this doesn't quite explain his drop in offensive production.
Foegele can certainly benefit from a change of scenery. Those sorts of moves can work out for those involved. In fact, the Kings benefited from one last year. They acquired Andrei Kuzmenko in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers at last year's deadline.
There should at least be a couple of teams looking to acquire Foegele, as well. He is signed at a rather manageable $3.5 million cap hit. And he is also not a rental option. Foegele is signed through next season, providing more value to whichever team acquires him.
The Kings can swing a “hockey trade” if they are unable to find the value through future assets. One potential option could be Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine. Los Angeles could use Foegele's salary to offset some of Laine's massive cap hit.
Of course, this is only an option. There are a lot of difficulties that will go into any trade involving Foegele. One small difficulty is the trade protection in his contract. Foegele can block trades to five teams of his choosing. This is something general manager Ken Holland will need to navigate in any trade discussions.
The Kings have to make some tough decisions over the next few days. Los Angeles has some pieces to work with. And Holland certainly isn't afraid to use what's at his disposal. No matter what, though, the Kings must find a new home for Warren Foegele ahead of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.
