LA Kings Listening To Trade Offers On Arthur Kaliyev [Rumor]

The Los Angeles Kings have been a complete dumpster fire recently and have found themselves spiraling downwards. They will need to make some changes sooner rather than later if they have any hope of remaining in the playoff picture. Their signing of Pierre-Luc Dubois hasn’t worked out as of yet, and head coach Todd McLellan seems to have completely lost his team’s trust. With support from General Manager Rob Blake, the team will likely make trades before firing anybody. That’s where the name Arthur Kaliyev comes in.

With the Kings’ postseason lives in jeopardy, one player’s name has come up as someone the Kings could try and move on from to give a fresh start to — Arthur Kaliyev. Elliotte Friedman believes that the Kings could be willing to move on from Kaliyev if they can make a swap and acquire a depth player. “The Kaliyev thing is interesting, I do think they would move him now, it’s been made pretty clear behind the scenes there that Kaliyev’s time to go somewhere else where he can have a bit more of a role has probably come,” the NHL insider said.

It’s not entirely clear why the Kings have been bullish on this player in this player in the past. Despite a promising start to the season, Kaliyev’s role has diminished, leading to speculation about his place on the roster. Not long ago, Darren Dreger revealed on TSN Insider Trading that Kaliyev is potentially looking for a change, but the Kings are not quite ready to pull the trigger on a trade yet. He adds, “Something needs to change, this young guy needs to play.”

Kaliyev’s Short NHL Career So Far

Kaliyev was drafted in the second round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Kings at 33rd overall and has been in their organization ever since. He stands 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, and is 22 years old. Throughout his short career, he has played 175 games with the Kings scoring 34 goals and adding 36 assists for 70 points. This season, he has scored six goals and added eight assists for 14 points through 38 games.

If Kaliyev is available, a few teams around the league will likely show interest in acquiring him. His offensive production is quite solid and he is someone who could add scoring depth to a contending team. A team like the Edmonton Oilers could acquire him in a swap for Philip Broberg who is unhappy with the Oilers, or teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Carolina Hurricanes all make sense for Kaliyev.

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