Since taking over as general manager of the Los Angeles Kings just over three years ago, Rob Blake has done pretty well. He’s been quick and efficient with the Kings' rebuild and has managed to pick a direction and stick to it.
But there have been a few trades in his tenure that haven’t aged so well. Here are three of Rob Blake’s trades that the Kings lost.
- Darcy Kuemper to Arizona for Tobias Reider and Scott Wedgewood -
Rieder had just turned 25 years old and was on pace for about 27 points in the 2017-18 season, while Wedgewood had played 20 NHL games that year, holding a brutal .893 save percentage. Darcy Kuemper had played 19 games, posting an excellent .932 save percentage and had established himself as a legitimate NHL goalie.
The Kings did also have Jack Campbell, so it wasn’t a bad idea to move Kuemper while his value was high. While the return wasn’t bad at the time though, as it seemed like Rieder could become a quality third-line player for the Kings, when you look at where the players are now, it didn't turn out so well for Kings. Rieder played just 20 games with the Kings, where he had six points and Los Angeles let him walk in the summer. Wedgewood never played a game for Los Angeles, also leaving in the summer. Kuemper, on the other hand, has been outstanding for Arizona, posting a .925 save percentage last season, followed by a .928 save percentage this year. He’s legitimately been one of the league’s top goalies over the last two years and looking back, this trade doesn’t look good for the Kings.
- Dominik Kubalik to Chicago for a fifth-round pick
Yes, there were reports that Kubalik didn’t want to come to Los Angeles. So as a result, I'm not saying it’s Blake’s fault (and nobody would’ve guessed Kubalik would have the rookie season that he did), but I also think it’s fair to say that part of a general manager’s job is to sell the team to a player. If Kubalik had made his decision though, this was a no-win situation for Blake, as Kubalik wasn’t going to be worth much at all, based on the fact that he was turning 24 years old that summer and had yet to play an NHL game. However, it just doesn’t change the fact that Kubalik was on pace for 36 goals and 55 points this year with Chicago and all the Kings had to show for was a fifth-round pick.
- Tanner Pearson to Pittsburgh for Carl Hagelin -
This was the definition of selling low on a player. Pearson had a brutal start to the 2018-19 season, with no goals and just one point in 17 games. As a result, the Kings shipped him to Pittsburgh for Carl Hagelin, who was also having a rough start to the season, having scored just three points in 16 games with the Penguins.
There was a lot wrong with this trade. For starters, Pearson was in this slump at 26 years old, coming off back-to-back 40-point seasons. Hagelin was slumping at 30 years old, coming off back-to-back seasons where he was on pace for around 30 points per 82 games. Pearson also had three years left on his contract to bring his value back up, while Hagelin was on an expiring contract and even if he returned to form, he wasn’t likely to be in Los Angeles for long. To top it off, the Kings got Hagelin for the exact same price they were paying for Pearson, at $3.75 million per year. Pearson has since gone on to find success in Vancouver and was on pace for 25 goals and 53 points this year, while Hagelin was on pace for 11 goals and 35 points with Washington.
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