After a thrilling 4 Nations Face-Off, the LA Kings are back in action and the NHL Trade Deadline looms. The Kings currently sit in 3rd place in the Pacific Division with 67 points with the trade deadline coming on March 7th.
Will Rob Blake and the Kings be buyers?
One of the hot names in the trade rumor mill has been Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones. The 30-year-old is one of the better d-men in the league, and it is beginning to look like the Blackhawks will lean even more into their rebuild and try and get more draft picks.
The Athletic gave some insight into 22 teams and what their interest could be in the blueliner.
LA Kings Interest In Seth Jones
The Athletic article, by Scott Powers, Mark Lazerus, and Chris Johnston, broke the teams down into three categories: Possibly, Maybe, and Unlikely.
If you are an LA Kings fan hoping that Jones laces them up at Crypto.com arena, unfortunately for you, they were put into the Unlikely category.
Also Read: Four 4 Nations Players The Los Angeles Kings Should Trade For
The Athletic wrote: “Would Kings GM Rob Blake be willing to spend more than $20 million for a 30-year-old Jones and 35-year-old Drew Doughty, who’s signed for two more seasons at $11 million a pop.”
Jones carries an average salary of $9.5 million and is not a free agent until 2030, per Spotrac, which is great if you believe in the player and his contract, but is a lot of baggage if you do not long-term.
So far this season, Jones has 6 goals and 20 assists, good enough for 26 points. He does, however, have a -13 plus/minus.
There is a small chance that the LA Kings do decide to make a run at Jones, but I think they will look much harder at some offensive firepower as they could use more scoring as they head into their playoff push.