LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings achieved their goal of adding a quality defenseman near the trade deadline. It came with a heavy cost.
The Kings acquired defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo in a trade with Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, Los Angeles sent two-time Stanley Cup winning goaltender Jonathan Quick, a conditional 2023 first-round draft pick and a third-rounder in 2024.
“The team’s performance over the last month put us in position that we felt as a staff we needed to go out and address needs that we had identified previously to help this team continue to push for the playoffs,” Kings vice president and general manager Rob Blake said during a conference call on Wednesday.
Los Angeles is tied with Vegas for most points in the Pacific Division with 76. The Kings got to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2018 but lost in seven games to Edmonton in the first round. They have not won a postseason series since winning the Cup in 2014.
The first-rounder is conditional on the Kings making the playoffs, as expected. If they do not, Columbus — which has a league-low 46 points — gets a second-round pick from L.A. each of the next two drafts as part of the trade completed late Tuesday night and announced Wednesday.
Quick found out about the trade in a phone call from Blake after Tuesday night’s 6-5 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Blake was not with the team during the five-game trip.
Quick backstopped the Kings to their Cup titles in 2012 and ’14. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2012 after recording three shutouts in 20 starts. He also allowed only seven goals in the six-game finals victory over the New Jersey Devils.
TRADES: The reigning champion Avalanche, who want to get back atop hockey’s mountain, acquired center Lars Eller from the Washington Capitals for a 2025 second-round pick. Eller scored two of the biggest goals on Washington’s 2018 title run, including the winner in the clinching game of the final, and can win faceoffs and kill penalties and fill a void down the middle.
After buying low on underachieving winger Jesse Puljujarvi, the Hurricanes made another under-the-radar pickup by getting defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere from Arizona for a 2026 third-round pick.
He was not the only Coyotes defenseman on the move. They finally traded 24-year-old Jakob Chychrun, with the Senators sending Arizona a conditional 2023 first-round pick, conditional 2024 second-rounder and a second-rounder in 2026.
“A defenseman we’ve coveted, Jakob is big and plays imposing,” Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion said. “He possesses a quality skill set: He defends hard and is highly skilled. He uses his heavy shot with accuracy and is effective at creating offense as a threat at the offensive blue line.”
The Penguins, fighting to extend their playoff streak to 17 straight seasons, made a handful of moves to clear salary cap space and bolster an inconsistent bottom six forward group.
Pittsburgh sent center Teddy Blueger to Vegas for defenseman Peter DiLiberatore and a 2024 third-round pick. The team then assigned forward Brock McGinn and defenseman Mark Friedman to the minors to clear enough salary cap space to acquire veteran forward Mikael Granlund from Nashville.
The 31-year-old Granlund has nine goals and 27 assists this season for the Predators. He is signed through the 2024-25 season with an average annual value of $5 million. Granlund has experience both on the power play and the penalty kill, a role he will likely be asked to play with Blueger now in Vegas.
Tampa Bay and San Jose swapped forwards with Mikey Eyssimont going to the Lightning in exchange for Vladislav Namestnikov. Tampa Bay retained half of Namestnikov’s $2.5 million contract through the end of the season but still saved some room under the cap with Eyssimont owed only $750,000 this season.
The 30-year-old Namestnikov has six goals and nine assists in 57 games this season. The 26-year-old Eyssimont, had four goals and nine assists in 39 games this season for Winnipeg and San Jose.
Among moves looking ahead beyond this year, Buffalo acquired a 2023 third-round pick from L.A. for the rights to unsigned Swedish goaltending prospect Erik Portillo, who is wrapping up his junior season at the University of Michigan.
RED WINGS: The Detroit Red Wings signed center Dylan Larkin to an eight-year, $69.6 million contract, banking on their captain being a key player in the next phase of their rebuilding plan.
Larkin’s new contract will pay him an average of $8.7 million per year.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
RANGERS 3, FLYERS 2: Vladimir Tarasenko scored the winner 2:32 into overtime, and had assists on goals by Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider to lead New York to a win at Philadelphia.
The Rangers won their final game before Patrick Kane, acquired Tuesday in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, makes his debut for the team on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
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