The Kings would be better off conceding this season and trading veterans — at least those whose contracts lack a no-trade clause — in order to collect prospects and draft choices. Remember, former general manager Dean Lombardi traded their 2013 first-round pick (for Jeff Carter, a success), their 2015 pick (a bust, for short-timer Milan Lucic), and their 2016 selection (another bust, for 16 games of Andrej Sekera). Players taken in those draft years have become mainstays on other teams. The Kings have nothing to show for Lucic or Sekera, who left as free agents. Their 2017 first-round pick and 11th overall, forward Gabriel Vilardi, has been plagued by injuries that cloud his future. Rasmus Kupari, their first-round pick and 20th overall in 2018, is playing for Finland at the world junior championships.
Source: latimes.com – Los Angeles Times