LA Kings and Chicago Blackhawks could come together for a blockbuster deal
Hockey Insider Frank Seravalli has Chicago Blackhawks sniper Alex DeBrincat as his number one player on his trade bait board. Many GMs around the league feel it's just a matter of time until a DeBrincat trade happens. The Blackhawks are heading for a rebuild and he's their best trade chip.
The 24-year-old, is entering the final year of his contract with a cap hit of 6.4 million and will be a restricted free agent (RFA) once it expires. Although the Blackhawks will still hold control over his rights, he is also getting closer to his unrestricted free agent (UFA) eligibility. He would be due a $9 million qualifying offer due at the end of next season if he isn't signed long term by then.
The Fourth Period David Pagnotta reports that the LA Kings are calling Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson on DeBrincat. LA had a much better season than many predicted. They finished third in the Pacific with 99 points. Some of their young players had breakout seasons like Adrian Kempe, Trevor Moore and Sean Durzi. Jonathan Quick had one of his better seasons in a long time. His 23 wins are the most he's had since the 2017-2018 season.
Longtime King Dustin Brown announced his retirement at the end of the season. LA could use some additions to their top six. The Kings have around $20,000,000 according to capfriendly. They do have a quite a list of RFAs to deal with in Adrian Kempe, Carl Grundstrom, Brendan Lemieux, Gabriel Vilardi, Michael Anderson and Sean Durzi. They have the space to add Debrincat with maybe a couple of the Kings' potential RFAs packaged to go the other way.
LA have the prospects and picks to really put an enticing deal on the table. With rumours the Kings are willing to move Quinton Byfield, you have to wonder if a package involving two of Quinton Byfield, Gabriel Vilardi, Sean Durzi and LA's 1st round pick is this year's draft get the conversation going?
The Blackhawks are looking to acquire a first round pick. They traded their own first round pick last summer in the trade to acquire Seth Jones from Columbus. LA holds the 19th spot in this years draft.
A first line of captain Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe and DeBrincat is an exciting dream for King's fans.
| POLL | ||
If DeBrincat is traded which team will acquire him? | ||
| LA Kings | 71 | 31.6 % |
| New Jersey Devils | 67 | 29.8 % |
| New York Islanders | 30 | 13.3 % |
| Other | 57 | 25.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
