Dwight King traded to Montreal for 2018 conditional fourth

The Los Angeles Kings have traded Dwight King to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a conditional fourth round draft pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. No exact details of the conditions of the pick are available at this moment, but I’ve been told the pick can be upgraded “depending on team playoff success or player re-signing with the club.”

At the time of the trade, the Kings had not engaged in any serious talks of a contract extension with King, who is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

A 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup winner, King totaled 52 goals, 108 points and a plus-five rating in 348 regular season games and 10 goals, 25 points and a plus-five rating in 69 playoff games since debuting in November, 2010. In 63 games this season, the 2007 fourth round pick had 15 points (5-10=15), 10 penalty minutes and an even rating.

Amongst all NHL players who have logged at least 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, King leads the league with an on-ice 2.46 goals-against per 60 minutes. Only four goals have been scored on Los Angeles during King’s 97 and a half minutes of shorthanded time this season.

King was part of a highly effective checking line with Jarret Stoll and Trevor Lewis during much of the 2012 Stanley Cup run. With his departure, the Kings are down to 10 players who were a part of both of the franchise’s Stanley Cups and remain with the team: Matt Greene, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, Kyle Clifford, Trevor Lewis, Dustin Brown, Alec Martinez, Jonathan Quick, Jordan Nolan and Jeff Carter.

He was a major unsung factor that aided the team in its first Stanley Cup, having accounted for five goals – two of which were game-winners – and eight points while playing in all 20 playoff games in the spring of 2012.

In the 2018 NHL Draft, the Kings own all of their own picks, plus the conditional fourth round pick acquired from Montreal.

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