Trade Deadline Recap – 5 Takeaways As Deadline Day Passes

Deadline Day has come and gone, Insiders.

To start, a recap of the moves the Kings have made here over the last few days, including three made today on Trade Deadline Day.

In
Vladislav Gavrikov
Joonas Korpisalo
Zack MacEwen
Nate Schnarr
Erik Portillo
Future Considerations (From CHI)

Out
Jonathan Quick
Brendan Lemieux
Frederic Allard
Austin Wagner
2023 First-Round Pick (Conditional)
2023 Third-Round Pick
2024 Third-Round Pick
2024 Fifth-Round Pick

The bulk of Rob Blake’s media availability the other day came with regards to the trade involving Gavrikov, Korpisalo and Quick. Blake’s remarks and takeaways are available HERE.

Audio of Blake’s conference can be found below.

Sharing Five Additional Deadline Takeaways From The Kings’ Deadline –

Winning Mentality
The Kings mindset has shifted several times throughout the course of the rebuilding process. It changed when they initially set a plan towards rebuilding. It changed again when veterans from the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup teams were traded to other organizations for future assets. It shifted in another direction in the summer of 2021, when players like Phillip Danault, Viktor Arvidsson and Alex Eldler were acquired. It shifted again when a first-round draft pick was traded for forward Kevin Fiala, who committed to being here long-term. While the Kings had traded that pick for Fiala, it was for a player who will be here for the long haul. In the biggest move made at this season’s deadline, there’s no guarantee of that, which makes this another shift forward in mentality for the Kings.

Watching Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty address the trade yesterday, it’s obvious they’re hurting and it’s expected that they would be. They were also able to recognize that adding the players they did does help the team win now, despite the difficulty in losing a teammate they consider to be a brother. Doughty has always been outspoken about making the team better and acknowledged as such yesterday.

“You do love seeing that part, we have a really good team here and we think we’re playing for the division title right now and we think we have a really good chance,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it that [Blake] added some good pieces for us, so from that standpoint I think we’re really happy with that.”

But What About That Cap Space?
There’s always a misconception going into the deadline about how much cap space a team truly has. The Kings could have added between six and seven million dollars in salary, per Cap Friendly, on contracts for this season. Players with term also could have been added, and would have been sorted out in the offseason, but it’s not as if the Kings actually had six to seven million in cap space. In reality, CapFriendly estimated it at just over $1.5 million, a number that.

Offering up one reason behind not choosing to utilize that space. The Kings currently have at least $750,000 in performance bonuses to pay out off of this season’s contracts, via Alex Edler hitting both of his games played markers. Depending on what the bonuses are for Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev, and if they achieve them, that number could rise. If a team has cap space left over, those bonuses come out of the 2022-23 total, but if a team is out of space, those bonuses are subtracted from the 2023-24 salary cap, meaning the Kings would not be able to spend to the cap next season if they maxed out this season. So – not saying the Kings did not look into potentially adding another player, because I’m not sure I believe that to be true. In the deals made today, though, the Kings actually gained a bit more space with the MacEwen / Lemieux swap. Perhaps consider one positive to not utilizing it being that it could be the difference between something coming together next season.

The Kings could also use that cap space internally, with roster limit of 23 players going away after the deadline passed. With Trevor Moore close to being ready, the Kings no longer are required to make a corresponding roster move to bring him off of injured reserve when he’s ready to go. They could also add extra players from AHL-Ontario should they so choose. Lots of flexibility, though they opted not to make an additional move this morning.

The Big Mac
The biggest add of deadline day came in the form of rugged forward Zack MacEwen, who joined the Kings from Philadelphia. The Kings added a player who does have some of the same tendencies and qualities as Lemieux, but he is his own player. He’s a big body who has the ability to play both center and wing and reports in Philadelphia see him as a guy who seems to embrace the role he’s assigned to play.

“We’re getting a big, heavy, strong right-handed shot, which we don’t have very many of,” Todd McLellan said during today’s media availability. “He’s a character player that will come in and fill a role for us as well.”

Going the other way was Brendan Lemieux, who McLellan is naturally more familiar with. He called the move a “fresh start” and a “good opportunity” for Lemieux, admitting that as organizational depth built up front, Lemieux was one of the players who was hurt in playing time by the growth of others. When you factor that in against the injuries he’s had this season and other circumstances that kept him out of the lineup, perhaps this is a good chance for Lemieux to re-establish himself as an everyday player with the Flyers.

MacEwen will wear number 17 with the Kings.

NCAA Pipeline
The Kings have made some serious inroads over the past several seasons when it comes to successfully signing NCAA free agents. Current Kings Blake Lizotte, Alex Iafallo and Sean Walker were all undrafted players who joined the organization from the collegiate ranks. Cal Petersen was a draft pick who did not sign with the team that drafted him and eventually chose the Kings. Though less successful, the Kings also got NHL games from Daniel Brickley and Sheldon Rempal from the undrafted, NCAA ranks. Over the last five seasons, the Kings have gotten 795 games from players they’ve signed as undrafted, college free agents, the most in the NHL in that span. Add in Cal Petersen and that number climbs to 896.

While he is not undrafted, the Kings acquired goaltender Erik Portillo from a similar route. Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, it was reported that Portillo did not intend to sign a contract with Buffalo and Blake stepped in to acquire him for a third-round selection, which has been the going rate this season for players in that boat. Portillo is a 6-6 goaltender who has posted excellent numbers with the University of Michigan. He’s only 22-year-old and while it’s unlikely that any goaltender will just step into the NHL out of college, he’s a promising addition to the pipeline.

Just On Paper
If you scoured the AHL’s Transactions today, you’d see Kings forwards Quinton Byfield and Rasmus Kupari listed as being assigned to Ontario. Both players did spend time in the AHL this season, but are not expected to be loaned there for the long term. Players need to be added to the AHL roster on this date in order to be eligible for the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. The hope is that this is a formality and that the Kings are playing deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with both Byfield and Kupari playing a key role. There’s not a guarantee that either player would even be loaned in the scenario that the Reign went deeper into the postseason than the Kings. But, it does create the option to do so and that’s that.

And with that, Insiders, the trade deadline has come and gone. Kings are back in game action tomorrow at home against the St. Louis Blues, as the pursuit of a playoff berth continues. More to come this weekend, Insiders, with full game coverage tomorrow and a continued look at the newest members of the Kings on Sunday.