Once a Kings Fan Too
Joined: Jun. 2018
Posts: 39,695
Likes: 24,617
I don’t think that Los Angeles would be interested in this particular exchange.
The Kings expect to compete this year, so a defense prospect who is not ready to play in the NHL yet isn’t high on our wish list. Kupari played 3/4 of a season last year, so he’s a full year ahead of Rathbone in development, and defensemen take longer to learn the ropes than forwards in any event. Plus, you guys don’t really need forwards, but would probably prefer a RhD. Jordan Spence for Rathbone would be a reasonable idea; they have similar stats in both the AHL and NHL so far. (Spence: 2-6=8 points in 24 NHL games, 4-41=45 points in 48 AHL games; Rathbone: 1-2=3 points in 17 NHL games, 12-37=49 points in 47 AHL games.). And in his 24-game tryout last season, Spence looked reasonably good at defense, not just offense.