Although the Los Angeles Kings started the season poorly, they have been one of the NHL’s hottest teams and seemed destined to make some noise in the upcoming playoffs, especially if they are lucky enough to play the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, who have had a strong season but really cannot be considered a serious contender in the Western Conference.
The Kings were involved in the most talked about trade of last year’s deadline when they sent Rob Blake to the Colorado Avalanche for Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller. Will the Kings once again make significant adjustments to the roster? The answer is likely no, but it should be noted the recent addition of veteran forward, Cliff Ronning, does improve the team.
Cliff Ronning has played in over 1000 games and participated in the Stanley Cup finals as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. Although he is now 36 years old, he once again led the Nashville Predators in scoring and can be relied upon to provide some offense, taking away some of the burden from Jason Allison.
The addition of Ronning provides Andy Murray with some more depth but without Karalahti, the Kings are not willing to part with any other player specifically. Their depth in goal is not rivaled by many teams, and I believe Stephane Fiset is an NHL caliber goaltender. It is possible a team may inquire about him before Tuesday’s deadline,but it appears this will be the roster the Kings enter the playoffs with on the NHL’s next important date, April 20.
