With the NHL’s trade deadline approaching and several teams in need of upgrades, the Los Angeles Kings are gaining some attention as a possible seller.
Two specific teams even sent scouts to the Kings’ game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night, including one Canadian outfit.
“There are three scouts there from each of the Winnipeg Jets and also the Vegas Golden Knights,” Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported during the Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “We believe that those two teams are among the teams interested in Alec Martinez. Also Tyler Toffoli is getting a lot of interest. I think Pittsburgh is a team that would like to get in on him, maybe the Calgary Flames among others.”
Martinez, a 32-year-old left-shot defenceman who has won two Stanley Cups, has one year remaining on his contract with an AAV of $4 million. Toffoli, 27, has 14 goals and 16 assists in 54 games with the Kings this season. He’s set to become a UFA at the end of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Chris Kreider and Jean-Gabriel Pageau remain two of the top pending UFA forwards ahead of the deadline. However, one of them is about to enter negotiations for a possible extension.
“Talks are now set to begin with the Rangers and Chris Kreider’s representation at least to explore if there’s there’s any traction there for a contract extension for him,” Johnston said of Kreider’s contractual situation. “It doesn’t sound like that has happened with Ottawa and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, that there hasn’t been any real negotiations, any talk about where they’re at. And so obviously, those situations loom large with the deadline a little bit more than two weeks away.”
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