Arthur Kaliyev of the Los Angeles Kings had a stretch a few seasons ago where he was the player the Kings drafted. Since then, he has struggled to produce and get ice time. He has voiced his displeasure and has asked for a trade. Where does he end up? Here are a couple of suggestions.
Kings’ Kaliyev unhappy, seeks trade
With the Kings looking to reload this off-season Kaliyev does not appear to be in the plans going forward. As of right now, he is a depth player who does not seem to be part of the core and could be on the move. Two teams that come to mind who need secondary scoring with whom the Kings are familiar are the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Philadelphia Flyers.
The three teams have made trades in the past and may get together for a trade for Kaliyev’s services. He would fit in well with Columbus due to the Blue Jackets not having much scoring depth. In Philadelphia, he could find his way onto the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Flyers, as a starting point. He may need to start in the AHL and work his way up like he did with Los Angeles.
As a 33rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, he scored seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 51 games last season with Los Angeles. This brings his total to 35 goals and 36 assists for 71 points in 188 games, far underachieving since his NHL debut. He seems to play his way out of the lineup and could not find his way back in. He does have talent and a heavy shot but his overall game needs some work.
Columbus (Jonathan Quick, Joonas Korpisalo) and Philadelphia (Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Cal Peterson, Sean Walker) have ties to Los Angeles and a trade between the teams could be worked out as the 2024 NHL Draft approaches.Columbus has five draft picks between rounds three and seven, including two in round three. Philadelphia has two picks in rounds five and six.He will not garner a first-round pick but rounds two, three, and four may be where the Kings may want picks from.
The Kings may want picks instead of a roster player in exchange for Kaliyev. Their talent throughout the pipeline is a bit thin and draft picks could certainly elevate that pipeline again. While Kaliyev does have promise, he has struggled over the past few seasons and may not get a high return because of this. Teams may see him as a project and may not want to jeopardize the future by trading a high pick. Los Angeles trading Kaliyev would be good for both parties as they look to move on from a disappointing career from Kaliyev.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (photo: lakingsinsider.com; Zach Dooley) (photo: lakingsinsider.com; Zach Dooley)
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