Kings send Gilbert to Washington, acquire conditional fifth round pick

Good morning, Insiders. The Kings made a small trade on Wednesday morning, sending veteran defenseman Tom Gilbert, who had played five games in Ontario, registering one assist, to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a conditional fifth round draft pick. Via Stephen Whyno, there is a high bar for the conditions to be met.

Gilbert cleared waivers earlier this month. Capitals will send Kings 5th-rounder if he plays in 50+% of playoffs and they win 2+ rounds.

— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 15, 2017

Gilbert, who put up one goal and five points in 18 games with Los Angeles, was waived on February 1 and assigned to Ontario one day later. He will report to Hershey, Washington’s AHL affiliate.

Signed to a one-year, $1.4-million contract on July 1 while the Kings dealt with questions surrounding Matt Greene’s ability to return from injury and the readiness of some young defensive depth, Gilbert was also brought on to provide a veteran right-handed shot from the blue line. He had played only one of the team’s final 17 games prior to getting waived on February 1.

Via Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com, the Kings retain 20% of Gilbert’s salary and cap hit, which comes out to a retention of $280,000, according to figures provided by Cap Friendly.