NHL Trade Rumors: LA Kings Linked to Islanders' Pending UFA

The Los Angeles Kings will have two focuses at the trade deadline, according to Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. One will be a fourth-line center, the other a "scoring winger"—who he suggests might very well be NY Islanders pending UFA Kyle Palmieri.

I think in a perfect world, they would want a right handed shot presence. I think they're a winger short.
A guy like Kyle Palmieri will be a great target for them. The Islanders power-play hasn't done great, so maybe you change the scenery there.

Palmieri does own a 16-team no-trade clause, but the Islanders have so far insisted they're not planning on trading either Palmieri or fellow UFA Brock Nelson, but with the team wallowing around in second-last spot in the Eastern Conference, eight points back of a Wild Card spot, it doesn't appear that the playoffs will be in reach as we get closer to the deadline. They may very well change that stance of hanging on to those two, who will have nice trade value.

The Kings are currently 3rd place in the Pacific Division, but own the 4th-worst power play in the league, and their offense is ranked far below their defense. They could certainly use another scorer. Trevor Moore, for instance, who was relied on quite a bit last season, has missed some time this campaign, and when he's played, has just six goals in 33 games, coming off his 31-goal breakout last year.

As for a 4C, that would also be a target for them at the deadline. He notes that the Kings have played with only 11 forwards for a big part of the season, and the 11-7 lineup has certainly worked for them thus far, especially on the defensive side.

"But the question is," asks Bernstein, "how long can you play 11–7 before your forwards get tired? You could do it for half a season. Could you really go 82 games going 11-7 or would you like to have another veteran presence?"