Los Angeles Kings: Should team make a trade for Brock Boeser?

The Canucks are reportedly interested in making Brock Boeser available in a trade. Should the Los Angeles Kings get involved?

As part of the Los Angeles Kings attempt to clear expiring contracts, general manager Rob Blake traded forward Tyler Toffoli for Tim Schaller, Tyler Madden, a second-round pick in this year’s draft, and a 2022 conditional draft pick. Toffoli had a strong finish to the 2019-2020 season, scoring six goals with four assists in ten games to go along with a 53.1 Corsi percentage and a 5.1 CorsiRel value.

Projected to fetch a seven-year contract with a $6.5M AAV in free agency, the Canucks seem intent on keeping Toffoli around for the long-haul, potentially making Brock Boeser available in a trade.

The Canucks are up against the salary cap, $3.6M available, according to Spotrac, so re-signing Toffoli could present a challenge in itself. But trading Boeser, who is owed $17.7M over the next three seasons, could alleviate the salary cap issues, to an extent.

Boeser was the Canucks 23rd overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, and scored 29 goals with 26 assists for 55 points during the 2017-2018 season, his first full season in the league. He’s been vital on the powerplay unit, averaging 10.3 goals over the last three seasons. Last year, the 23-year-old recorded a 52.7 Corsi percentage and a 5.5 CorsiRel, which ranked within the top five on the Canucks roster.

The Kings boast one of the best farm systems in the league and have plenty of draft capital that could potentially help get a deal done for Boeser. Blake should do everything in his power to retain the prospect pool. But if there’s a young player on the NHL roster that would interest the Canucks, along with (depending on the player) one or two draft picks, trading for Boeser could accelerate the rebuild.

After the 2021-2022 season, the Kings will see both Dustin Brown and Jeff Carter become free agents. Hopefully, by that point, we’ll have a sense of where the Alex Turcotte’s or the Arthur Kaliyev’s of the prospect pool fit on the roster. Boeser is a first-line forward, who put 169 shots on goal in 57 games last year.

In 2019, Boeser was good for a 12 GAR rating, highlighted by a 9.1 offensive-GAR rating. He’s under contract through the 2021-2022 season, becoming a restricted free agent at that time. As noted, the Kings will have a couple of large contracts coming off the books, putting them in a favorable position to re-sign him.

Regardless if this trade occurs, the Kings need offensive help, scoring the second-fewest goals (177) in the league last year.