NHL Rumors: Capitals' Center Linked To Kings

The Washington Capitals are on the hunt for a defenceman by the trade deadline due to John Carlson's injury, and the Los Angeles Kings present a perfect trade partner for them. Both teams will be fighting for their spot in the postseason until the end of the season and both could benefit from an early move.

The Capitals are willing to entertain offers for Lars Eller if they could get help on defence in return. Since Carlson is a right-shot defenceman, adding someone of the same handedness would be ideal but not necessary. The Kings happen to be stocked to the brim with right-shot defencemen and are looking for a partner to make a deal with. The Ottawa Senators have been in contact with them about Sean Walker or Matt Roy, but the Capitals can step in and take over a trade.

The Kings have some injuries to a number of players, but Eller could be a great fit at centre in their bottom-six. He is usually good for 12-16 goals every year, but his shooting percentage is under his career average this season. This is a sign it will eventually return to the mean and he could be in store for a better second half offensively. What Eller brings that the Kings would be most interested in is his two-way ability. Not only is he great in his own end, he is also winning faceoffs at 55 percent and plays pretty physically. This would help keep more pucks out of the Kings' net which they desperately need.

The Capitals would be able to take one of Roy or Walker off of the Kings' hands to help the Kings stay under the cap and to settle their defensive logjam. How this also helps the Capitals a lot is Roy and Walker are both signed past this season. The Capitals only have Carlson under contract past this season and it would give them one less uncertainty for the offseason.