The 2023-24 season has been a tale of two halves for the Los Angeles Kings. After starting 16-4-3, the team has just nine wins in their past 28 games, pushing them back into the wild card race. For the Nashville Predators, they have found struggles in all aspects of their lineup and sit considerably back in that same wild card race. The Toronto Maple Leafs are well positioned to make a playoff run but still seek help defensively, especially with John Klingberg being on the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and out for the season. With the three teams all in different mindsets approaching the trade deadline, they could become great trade partners to help each side.
Los Angeles Kings
For the Kings, the reasoning for acquiring a goaltender is obvious. Having Cam Talbot and David Rittich be your goaltending tandem in the playoffs in a year you are expecting to make a deep playoff push is a risky move, and a trade for a goaltender seems inevitable. While Rittich has been great to start his NHL season, Talbot started his tenure in Los Angeles the same way before becoming an underwhelming starter as of late. They have the assets to make a trade work but are more likely to struggle to make the move work by fitting Saros and his $5 million salary under the cap. However, moving on from a key defenseman may be the best way to make a trade work.
Matt Roy has been a great defensive defenseman for the Kings in his six-year career, but his time may be coming to an end soon. A free agent at the end of this season and top prospect Brandt Clarke doing well in his short stints in the NHL, Roy may become a cap casualty to address a bigger need in the net.
Jordan Spence is another name that could come up in trade talks in place of Roy, but making the cap space work would be more difficult. Spence and Clarke play a similar style of hockey, both benefiting from playing alongside a defensive defenseman. However, Spence is just 22 years old and is making $820,000 until the end of this season, meaning if he were to get moved, it would likely be as a restricted free agent this summer. However, if the cap space were to work in a trade with Spence, he would likely be a trade chip at this season’s deadline in place of Roy.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs may not be the focal point of this trade, but would still be cashing in on a great addition. The right side of their defense has been a struggle in recent years, and they have yet to find that shutdown partner for Rielly they are looking for. While they have been linked to Chris Tanev, the reported asking price of a second-round pick is not likely to be met since the team does not have one for three more years. However, utilizing their 2024 first-round pick to make a package for a better and younger defenseman to fit the same need makes a lot of sense. Moving on from their first-round pick would be a tough loss, but going all-in with Auston Matthews’ historic season may be what is necessary to make a deep playoff run.
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With the Maple Leafs having a 23-man roster that fits right now, they will be able to find a way to make Roy and his $3.15 million salary fit under the cap. As well, the team has many smaller assets that Nashville could want in the trade. While three-team trades are often complicated, this one would be worth the confusion for all three teams.
Nashville Predators
Moving on from an elite goaltender is never an easy decision, but it may be what is best for the Predators. The return in a trade would need to be well worth it for first-time general manager Barry Trotz, who understands the value of having elite goaltending after coaching Braden Holtby, Robin Lehner, and Ilya Sorokin in his career. However, with Yaroslav Askarov waiting in the wings for his opportunity in the NHL, moving Juuse Saros may be what is best for the team’s future.
There are many reasons why the timing could not be better, but the most important is the difference between a team acquiring Saros for two playoff runs compared to just one. He is a free agent after next season, and the Predators would be unlikely to pay him $8 million or more since he would easily fetch that on the open market. So, maximizing his value is what is best for the team’s long-term outlook.
The two first-round picks are nice but are most valuable because they could be used to move up in the draft. For Nashville, taking one or both of the acquired picks, both expected to be somewhere in the middle to the late first round and pairing them with their own first-round pick, expected to be in the 10-18 range, would move the team up into the upper echelon of the draft to bring in another elite talent. While holding onto Saros for a move like this could also be done, the picks have more versatility and provide value to all teams.
Making a Trade Work
To predict exactly how the logistics would work out is difficult since the teams’ salaries could be drastically different a few weeks from now. However, with what we know now, it is not hard to make a blueprint of what a trade could look like.
Kings Receive: Juuse Saros ($1.75 million retention from Nashville), Conor Timmins (from Toronto)
Maple Leafs Receive: Matt Roy (from Los Angeles)
Predators Receive: 2024 first-round pick (from Los Angeles), Martin Chromiak (from Los Angeles), 2024 first-round pick (from Toronto)
Using Roy as an asset in the trade is the best way to maximize his value since Los Angeles is essentially trading him to Toronto for a first-round pick and Conor Timmins before flipping the first-rounder to receive Saros. As well, Timmins is an established NHL defender and can replace Englund or Clarke when needed.
The hardest part of this trade to come to terms with will be for the Kings to say goodbye to Roy or the Predators to lose Saros. Both staples of their respective franchises who have played with future Hall of Famers, moving on will be hard. But the departure in the future of both of them seems inevitable, and asset management will be pivotal.
