The Los Angeles Kings certainly made a splash when they acquired forward Vincent Lecavalier and defenseman Luke Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers in January. And it appears as though they aren't done trying to upgrade their contenting roster ahead of the trade deadline on Feb. 29.
The Pacific Division-leading Kings are looking to enhance their defense through the rental market, Bob McKenzie reported on TSN's "Insider Trading" segment Thursday.
"Los Angeles clearly wants an upgrade on the blue line and they're going to look at their rental possibilities," McKenzie said. "Dan Hamhuis from the Vancouver Canucks would be one of those, Kris Russell from the Calgary Flames would be another one of those."
McKenzie notes that one problem the Kings are facing - as well as other teams looking to upgrade their blue line right now - is that the aforementioned players are "technically" not yet on the market.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Russell goes on the market, but he and the Flames are still on a little bit of limbo in terms of whether he's going to sign, or whether he's going to become available," McKenzie said. "As for Hamhuis, full no trade clause in his contract. It will probably be at least another 10 days before the Canucks decide which way they want to go on Hamhuis, and that's assuming he wants to waive."
Los Angeles cleared cap space Thursday, assigning defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to the AHL's Ontario Reign after he cleared waivers. It's evident the Kings are hoping to make another splash via trade in the coming weeks.
