The Los Angeles Kings are said to be "all-in" on this NHL season, meaning GM Dean Lombardi is willing to pull out all the stops to ensure another Stanley Cup championship finds its way to So Cal. But as well as the Kings have played this year, further tweaks by Lombardi are expected ahead of the NHL trade deadline. One player the team is said to be targeting is Arizona Coyotes forward Mikkel Boedker and it may take top organizational prospect Adrian Kempe to get it done.
According to ESPN's Craig Custance, Boedker is one of the players the Kings are eyeing as a short-term replacement for the injured Marian Gaborik, who they are likely to keep shelved until the postseason. Boedker is a forward with size and serious speed and a guy the Kings would apparently "love" as a complement to their heavy-handed forward group.
The Coyotes have been trying to re-sign Boedker, but negotiations haven't been fruitful and according to TSN's Darren Dreger, may be all-but dead at this point.
It's believed Arizona has backed off a previously tabled offer to extend Boedker, which further supports the likelihood he will be traded.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 23, 2016
The trouble for the Kings and Lombardi is their lack of ammunition to pull off a trade. They don't have first or third-round picks in the 2016 NFL Draft and shipping out their second would leave them with almost nothing.
Enter, Kempe.
Per ESPN's Corey Pronman, via Custance, the Kings are willing to deal their No. 1 prospect. Boedker's price tag is difficult to discern - he's not Andrew Ladd and his production to date has been good, not great (his best season came in 2013-14 when he collected 19 goals and 51 points), but he brings a special skillset that would play very well in L.A.'s system. Really, his limited production likely has as much to do with the fact that he's been forced to play on a mediocre Coyotes team his entire NHL career than it does with his actual ability.
Kempe, 19, is considered by Pronman to be the 15th-best prospect in the entirety of the NHL. He has "elite speed" and has managed to bulk up, giving him more power to his already bulldog-like game.
Drafted in the first round in 2013, Kempe has immense NHL promise at a very young age. Moving him won't be a decision made lightly by Lombardi and the Kings. But if it helps land them Boedker or a top blueliner as they gear up for another Cup run, it may be worth the long-term price.
