Fansided

5 players the Los Angeles Kings could trade before the deadline

By Brad Berreman

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 23: Jeff Carter #77 and Dustin Brown #23 of the Los Angeles Kings talk during the third period of the game against the Arizona Coyotes at STAPLES Center on November 23, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NHLI via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 23: Jeff Carter #77 and Dustin Brown #23 of the Los Angeles Kings talk during the third period of the game against the Arizona Coyotes at STAPLES Center on November 23, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images /

3. RW Dustin Brown

Speaking of advanced age up front for the Kings, Brown is also 35-years-old and showing clear signs of decline (24 points in 49 games this season). He would probably benefit from less ice time (18:26 per game this season), but he’s also not far removed from a 51-point season just last year in 72 games (22 goals and 29 assists) and a 61-point campaign in 2017-18 (28 goals and 33 assists).

Brown’s cap hits are a little more than Carter’s over the same span, at $5.875 million for this year and the next two years. He’s also got a no-trade clause. But if a move meant the kind of chance at winning a Stanley Cup the Kings just haven’t had in recent years, it’s easy to think Brown would waive his ability to block a deal elsewhere.

The Kings drafted Brown in the first round back in 2003, and he’s spent his entire career with them since surfacing in the NHL as a 19-year-old that following season. So there’s surely some sentimentality and inherent loyalty there on both sides. But moving him and getting him to a winning team as his career winds down should trump that, and it’s just smart business for player and team.

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