GM Rob Blake continues the Kings’ fire sale by trading their best asset, Tyler Toffoli, to the Vancouver Canucks for Tim Schaller, promising young center Tyler Madden, and a 2^nd round pick in the 2020 draft. This is a solid return for Blake and his group, and Kings fans should be encouraged about their bright future after trading a longtime fan favorite.

Toffoli is expected to play in Vancouver’s top 6, as he has already experienced a forty-two-second increase in ice time from his previous career average of 15:54 this season under new Kings coach Todd McLellan. Points wise Toffoli registered 34 points in 58 games for Los Angeles this season, including 18 goals, which is five more than his 2018-19 campaign in 24 fewer games. Toffoli also matched his point total from last season in 24 fewer games. Tyler Toffoli has always been one of the better players when it comes to AB, as his career AB score is +2.55, despite coming off his worst AB season since 2012-2013. Before this, however, Toffoli registered back to back +6 AB seasons which is tremendously high. Toffoli also has impressive penalty taken/drawn and giveaway/takeaway ratios with 8:10 and 29:31 respectively. As a 27-year old, Toffoli makes $4.6 million per season. There have been reports that Toffoli never wanted to leave Los Angeles, and perhaps a potential return to the Kings could occur when Toffoli becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1^st.

Tim Schaller is also a solid AB player, as his career AB score is a +1.3. His taken/drawn and giveaway/takeaway ratios are both solid at 7:7 and 8:14 respectively. Schaller was also a team-worst -13 in +/- and hasn’t been contributing to the Canucks’ success points-wise, as he only has 6 points in 51 games this season while being paid $1.9 million. Schaller will also be an unrestricted free agent on July 1^st. Madden is the best piece the Kings acquired in this trade, however. At Northeastern University, Madden has 37 points in 27 games and has scored 9 more goals than he did in his previous season in 9 fewer games. Madden was the Canucks’ 3^rd round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. The Kings have now solidified the center position for years to come, as they still have an aging star in Anze Kopitar, 2019 5^th overall pick Alex Turcotte, a healthy 2017 11^th overall pick Gabriel Vilardi, and now Tyler Madden.

Los Angeles now has two picks in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th rounds of the 2020 draft, and their own 1^st round pick which is likely going to be Top 5. Their extra 2^nd came from this deal, the extra 3^rd from the Jack Campbell trade with the Leafs, and the extra 4^th from the Oscar Fantenberg trade to Calgary on February 25^th of last year. There are rumors that the Kings have traded Alec Martinez to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for two 2^nd round picks, which would make it 3 2^nd rounders for the Kings in June’s draft. More to come on that, as Rob Blake’s work is far from over this deadline season.