The very thought of seeing Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty wearing a sweater other than LA’s probably seems blasphemous to Kings fans, but should it be? Ageing superstars or even ones in their prime get traded. Even the Great One ended up in St. Louis and eventually New York.
As of this writing, this year’s trade deadline looks like a seller’s market. Tampa Bay gave up a 2nd-round pick, two 1st-round picks, and Mikey Essyimont in their deal to acquire Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from Seattle. Imagine what a contender might part with to acquire the veteran leadership and Stanley Cup bona fides that Anze Kopitar or Drew Doughty bring to the table.
Both players carry large cap hits – 7 million for Kopitar and 11 million for Doughty, so the Kings would likely have to retain some salary in any potential deal, but it could allow them to replenish their draft picks. In other words, start a rebuild that was never really done.
Of course, both players would have to agree to any move. As per The Fourth Period, Doughty has a 7-team trade list and Kopitar, a no-movement clause.
Approaching two franchise cornerstones to discuss moving them might lead to some hard feelings, but the Kings have done it before. Arguably the greatest American goalie in NHL history, Jonathan Quick, was dealt to Columbus before eventually landing in Vegas in 2023. The move shocked much of the fanbase but brought in Vladislav Gavrikov, a key component of LA’s current defense corps.
Although reportedly not happy with being moved, the trade worked out very well for Quick. He won a third Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights and is now playing for the team he grew up rooting for as a New York Ranger.
Thus, the question is, how does an organization do right by its legendary core? Keep a player like Dustin Brown on a fringe contender that doesn’t have the horses to win it all or move him somewhere where he has a legitimate chance to go out a Stanley Cup winner again?
When you think of just how much winning is embedded in the DNA of players like Brown, Doughty, Kopitar, and Quick, wouldn’t finding a way to send them to a contender be the best way to truly honor them? There is always time to plan a jersey raising ceremony a little later down the road.
