With the NHL trade deadline nearly one week away, contenders look to put the finishing touches on their rosters for their run toward the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Two Western Conference clubs that could burn up the phone lines are the Winnipeg Jets and the Los Angeles Kings. The Jets lead the Central Division and the NHL with a 42-14-3 record, while the Kings are in the familiar spot of being in the top three of the Pacific Division and looking at another first-round matchup with the Edmonton Oilers.
Here is the main area and secondary area of need that each club will likely address before the March 7 trade deadline:
Winnipeg Jets
Main Need: Bottom-Four Defenseman
Winnipeg is one of the few clubs that is excellent in all three areas this season. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina Trophy for the second-straight season. The club has a league-best 2.36 goals-against average and is tied for second in the NHL with 3.58 goals-for per game.
One area where GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could look for reinforcements is on the blueline.
The Jets have two terrific offensive defensemen, Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk, and veteran Dylan DeMelo leads the club with a plus-25 rating. The bottom half of their corps includes journeyman Colin Miller and youngsters Dylan Samberg and Logan Stanley. Miller and Stanley average more than seven minutes of ice time less than DeMelo and Samberg.
Adding one more legitimate bottom-four defender would give Winnipeg some insurance in case of an injury to one of their top blueliners and improve their depth for a potentially deep playoff run.
Secondary Need: Forward Depth
Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers account for more than half of the Jets’ goals. With playoff hockey testing each team’s depth, goals could be hard to come by, even for a club with Winnipeg’s firepower. Cheveldayoff may be limited in his cap flexibility if they do go after a defenseman, but with a legitimate chance to come out of the West, the Jets need to load up and add one more forward who can play in their top nine.
Los Angeles Kings
Main Need: Top-Six Forward
Like the Jets, the Kings have been one of the NHL’s stingiest clubs, ranking fourth in goals against per game with 2.54.
Unlike Winnipeg, the Kings aren’t high-scorers, ranking 18th in goals-for per game with 2.89. They heavily depend on Adrian Kempe (26 goals) and Kevin Fiala (23 goals).
The Kings are on track to face the high-powered Oilers in the first round for the fourth time in four seasons. While they have some secondary offense with Quinton Byfield, Alex Laferriere and Warren Foegele, they need a dependable scorer to defeat their nemesis.
Secondary Need: Bottom-Six Forward
The Kings are solid on the blueline with Drew Doughty’s return and youngster Brandt Clarke’s development.
GM Rob Blake could upgrade his backup goaltender behind Darcy Kuemper to replace veteran David Rittich, who has a .889 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against average.
With limited cap space to work with and few goalies available on the trade market, the best course of action could be to find a depth forward who fits the team’s style with some offense and sandpaper.
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