Dustin Brown will not be traded.

Olli Maatta was brought in to satisfy the expansion draft exposure requirement. I suspect that the Kings will either trade him for a bag of pucks or send him to the AHL once it's over. If Seattle takes Wagner in the expansion draft, Clague will be the 3LD. The Kings have no need for Butcher.

JAD isn't going to be a healthy scratch. After Kopitar, he's the best player in the lineup for the Kings on many nights. Grundstrom-JAD-Moore will be the 3rd line until further notice.

The Kings have several players from Ontario looking to make the jump to the NHL next season. They don't need Cizikas, Sceviour, or Bailey. Kupari, ****emo, and Kaliyev will likely all be in the NHL next season. Byfield will get his 9 NHL games in Oct/Nov, but then he'll be loaned to the WJC. The Kings will make a decision on what to do with him when the tournament ends. Turcotte will take his spot in the lineup when he's on loan.

I don't expect the Kings to be especially active in the free agent market. They might look for that under 25 dynamic LHD via trade if one is available. They could also look to sign a short-term veteran center while the kids get acclimated to the NHL. Aside from that, all the players that will play for the Kings next year are already in the system.

Thank you for a detailed and logical description. I appreciate viability of people providing what they see rather than bombarding you with hateful, opinionated propaganda. I had no clue JAD was doing this well and am happy to learn this.

I'm still uncertain about Brown, though. Many kings fans long said Carter was retiring here, and that he would not play on a different team. Here we are today. Brown means more to the kings, but with one year left while still carrying Foglino-esque value, wouldn't he be exactly what many teams are looking for? Perhaps this is a move for next deadline?

I'm also not convinced that LA is satisfied with what they have on LD. I'd be surprised if Maatta gets even so much as a bag of pucks, thus the swap of similar situations. Although, I would agree that he isn't a significant upgrade on what you have, more just a gamble on rebounding.

Carter said he wanted to retire in LA, but he didn't play his entire career in LA, captain the team to two Stanley Cups and set franchise records for games played as a King. Not to mention that Brown and Kopitar are working their way up the list of most games played together as teammates, currently third behind only Howe/Delvecchio and the Sedin twins.

Brown is the heart and soul leader of the Kings, and they'll pay him the courtesy of letting him retire with the team, unless he specifically asks to be traded. I suspect the Kings will sign him to a new, less lucrative contract once his current one ends.

With Bjornfot, Clague, and Anderson all available next year, the Kings have no need of Maatta or Butcher. Maatta hasn't been bad for the Kings this season. He's a serviceable 3LD. Not sure why they would bring in someone that is an unknown quantity when they can just keep him in the AHL as a replacement option for when there are injuries.

Boston accepts. 👍🏻