After the Rebuild

A couple things:
- I can't see anybody trading for Quick until he proves he can be consistently healthy.
- Carter said he will retire if he's traded and that means LA will take the recapture penalty, so we won't do that.
- Akil Thomas is a RW not a d-man.
- There's no news of Prokhorkin coming to the NHL and I doubt he'll wanna come to LA.

- Quick's injury issues are over-exaggerated. If he had be re-aggravating the same injury, then I would tend to agree, but all of his recent injuries have been unrelated (groin, hamstring, meniscus). It's not like he has missed a ton of time either, he has 60+ starts in 3 of the last 4 seasons and is projecting to get over 50 this season. His return might be slightly reduced, but he's still going to have suitors, especially with several otherwise playoff-worthy teams receiving sub-par goaltending right now.
- Carter has never said that. Look it up. McKenzie speculated that his contract essentially has no-trade protection even though he doesn't have a NTC because he could essentially threaten to retire if presented with a trade he didn't like due to the minimal salary he has over the last 3 years of the contract. Carter has said nothing regarding potential trades except that he likes LA and wants to stay. If he gets traded to Ottawa, then I could see him retiring, but if he goes to a prime trade destination like Boston or Montreal, then he's not going to retire.
- You're right about Thomas. Not sure why CapFriendly has him listed as a D-man. Fixed.
- There is news of Prokhorikin coming back. There was an interview with Mike Futa on LAKI where Prokhorkin promised him that he wasn't signing a new contract in the KHL after this season.

LAKI: Is this the final year of his contract there?
Futa: Yeah, and again, he gave me his word that he wasn’t signing a new deal.

http://lakingsinsider.com/2018/11/26/fresh-off-trip-futa-dishes-on-european-prospects-including-kupari-prokhorkin/

I think Kings should try to mold Kupari into a winger honestly.

Beyond the centermen that is already on the roster, we are not stacked at center. If Vilardi was consistently healthy I wouldnt worry about it. Vilardi's career could be over as I'm sure you're aware of. Healthy, he could be out next Kopitar (a fusion between Kopitar and Jason Allison) but we need to think past Vilardi. JAD I could see him being 2C at best. Thomas probably a bottom 6 centerman. Of course there is Kupari, but i rather have him as a winger. I want Kakko way more than Hughes though so it'll be interesting to see what happens in the next year or two.

If Vilardi's career is over, then it's all the more reason why they should keep Kupari at center. Kopitar/Kupari/Kempe/JAD is a pretty good center pipeline, and that's even before considering what the Kings will get back in trades for their current veterans.

If the Kings do win the lottery, unless Hughes or Kakko runs away with the lead in the next few months, I think the Kings will draft based on whatever position is weaker after the trade deadline passes. If they're weaker at center, they'll draft Hughes. If they're weaker at wing, they'll draft Kakko. If they had to pick right now, I think they'd go with Kakko, as virtually all of their quality young forward prospects are natural centers.