Kings acquire forward Nikita Alexandrov from St. Louis in exchange for forward Akil Thomas

The LA Kings have acquired forward Nikita Alexandrov from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forward Akil Thomas.

Alexandrov is currently on a one-year, two-way contract, which expires at the end of the 2025-26 season. Alexandrov is currently on track to become a Group 6 unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, though if he appears in 29 NHL games, he would be a restricted free agent. Alexandrov has 14 points (3-11-14) from 18 games played this season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and has amassed nine points (3-6-9) from 51 career NHL games with the Blues. More on the move below.

Instant Analysis
On paper, this is a pretty like-for-like swap of players here in what feels like a change of scenery-type transaction.

Alexandrov was a second-round pick by the Blues in 2019 and has become an impact scorer at the AHL level but he hasn’t yet been able to translate that production into a full-time NHL role. He’s played in NHL games, meaning he’s been on the radar, but hasn’t quite cemented himself. Sounds familiar, because it’s a very similar situation to where Thomas was at in the Kings organization. Thomas appeared in NHL games over the last two seasons but was placed on waivers this fall and has spent the entire season to date in the AHL with the Ontario Reign. Thomas was a second-round pick by the Kings in 2018 and is a strong AHL player who hasn’t broken through yet on a full-time basis in the NHL. Both players can play both center and wing, both players have the same cap hit at the NHL level. Both players are 25-years-old and in most cases, that’s around a make-or-break age at the NHL level. For both players, that hasn’t happened yet, so a swap makes sense on that front.

Maybe there’s a potential change of scenery boost here. I can’t speak as much for Alexandrov, because I haven’t really watched him play, but for Thomas, there’s an opportunity here to get a fresh start with a new organization. Thomas faced a situation where he just couldn’t stake his claim on a spot in the lineup the way that Alex Turcotte did last season. His versatility is good and he’s got a decent blend of skill and sandpaper, but he wasn’t quite able to take that step from a bubble player to an everyday player. Perhaps on a struggling St. Louis team, there could be more room. Always enjoyed working with Akil when he was up with the Kings and hoping he’s able to stick around the NHL level. Good dude.

For Alexandrov, he’s tied for the lead in scoring on the Thunderbirds and was over a point-per-game last season at the AHL level. A quick look at a few different scouting reports describe him as playing both sides of the puck and bringing some physicality along with the scoring at the AHL level. In limited NHL action, Alexandrov ranked very favorably in therms of penalties drawn and wasn’t too shabby in hits either. The offensive production in the AHL is certainly there and a couple of the intangibles seem to be there. It’s rare you see a player simply become a top-six forward in the NHL out of nowhere, so having some of those other intangibles will be needed to break in lower in the lineup. Does Alexandrov play an NHL game for the Kings or not, who’s to say. But if he does, more likely than not he’ll have to earn it lower in the lineup off the bat, so a one-dimensional scorer is probably not going to cut it. Sounds like there’s more to his game than that, which is positive.

Should find out soon if Alexandrov will start with the Kings or the AHL’s Ontario Reign. The Kings do have a roster spot open with Drew Doughty on injured reserve and they currently only have 19 healthy skaters. So, he could start in either place, though I certainly wouldn’t expect him to be in the lineup tonight against Washington. Should he be assigned to the AHL, the Reign don’t play until the weekend, so he’ll have some time to fly to California and likely get a couple of practice days to settle in with his new team. More on that front, especially should he remain in the NHL, to come.

From the team’s official release –

Alexandrov, 25, has skated in 18 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, recording a co-team leading 14 points (3-11=14) with one power-play goal and eight penalty minutes (PIM).

Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Alexandrov recorded nine points (3-6=9) in 51 career NHL contests with the Blues. In 188 career AHL games, Alexandrov has registered 61 goals and 143 points (61-82=143) with 15 power-play goals, eight game-winning goals, 72 PIM and a cumulative plus-21 rating across six seasons split between Springfield (2021-25) and Utica (2020-21). His best professional campaign came last season in Springfield, where he posted career-bests in goals (21), assists (28), points (21-28=49) and power-play goals (6). Alexandrov’s 21 goals and 49 points both finished the season tied for second among all Thunderbird skaters. The 25-year-old forward has also notched 10 points (2-8=10) in 23 career Calder Cup Playoff outings.

Prior to his professional debut, Alexandrov spent three seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) from 2017-20 where he registered 63 goals and 146 points in 172 games. Following his time in the Canadian junior ranks, Alexandrov appeared in one season with KooKoo Kouvola of SM-Liiga, Finland’s top professional hockey league, collecting nine points (3-6=9) in 28 contests.

Internationally, Alexandrov represented Russia at the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men’s World Junior Championship, picking up a pair of goals and eight points (2-6=8) in seven contests to earn a silver medal.