The Los Angeles Kings have managed to stockpile a ton of draft picks to continue adding to their already deep prospect pool. Last year, the Kings selected seven players in the first four rounds of the draft, including two players in each of the first and second rounds. If they keep all of their picks this year, they’ll be making eight picks in the first four rounds, including the second-overall pick, three second-round picks and two picks in the third round (including one early in the round).
But with an already established prospect pool, it means they don’t necessarily need to use these picks. Los Angeles is already going to have trouble finding a spot in the lineup for many of their prospects as is and that’s only going to get more difficult as their prospect pool grows. So what are their options?
Well to start, they could still just use the picks. The 2020 draft class is very deep and if they’re making three selections in the second round and another one early in the third round, the Kings will have a great shot at landing at least a couple players who could develop into effective NHLers.
Then there is the option to trade up. Normally I’m not a huge fan of trading up, but if Los Angeles wants to trade for another pick late in the first round to get a player they really like, they’ll certainly have the assets to do so.
There’s also the option to shuffle a pick to next year, if the opportunity presents itself. If there’s a team that’s willing to give up a second-round pick next year along with another asset, the Kings could certainly move one of their picks to a team looking to select a specific player this year. Plus, in the salary cap era, it’s key to have a steady stream of prospects who can jump into the lineup for cheap and the best way to ensure that happens might be to stagger the picks a bit between years. To add to that, it’s never a bad idea to have some bargaining chips to use for the Expansion Draft next year.
Finally, there’s the option to package picks as part of a larger deal. I don’t know that I see this happening but it’s certainly an option. If there’s a good young player available who could fit into the lineup right away and factors into the Kings’ long-term future, getting an upgrade while they have the assets to do so could be a good call. That said, I think Los Angeles may want to see what they have with their current prospects in the system, before giving up assets for an upgrade right away, especially considering they likely have another year or two to go before they’ll be contending for a playoff spot.
No matter what they do, it’s nice to know the Kings have the options to make some moves if they feel it could improve the future of the team. They’ve done an excellent job stockpiling draft picks and now they get to reap the rewards of doing so.
***NOTE: Apologies for the lack of content recently. I’ve been caught up covering New York (and formerly, Carolina) in the playoffs but going forward, there should be articles coming out more consistently.***
***NOTE #2: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Kings Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_LAKings for updates on articles, Kings news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here's today's poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Should the Kings look to trade any of their draft picks this year?
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