LA Kings: Three LHD defensemen to consider trading for

3. Michal Kempny

Similar to Maatta, if traded, the Kings would have Michal Kempny for two more years at a $2.5M AAV deal. It’s not a significant amount of money to shed for Washington, but considering they are projected to have only $10.4M in cap space when the new league year begins, every bit helps.

Especially considering they’ll need to decide if Braden Holtby is in their long-term plans or if they’re ready to hand over the reins to Ilya Samsonov. That said, they have a combination of five or so restricted free agents and unrestricted free agents to retain, with particular emphasis on Brenden Dillon and Radko Gudas on the defensive side.

With regards to Kempny, he went undrafted in 2016 and was signed to a one-year deal by the Blackhawks. The 29-year-old spent the last two and half seasons with the Capitals, most recently scoring three goals with 15 assists for 18 points in 58 games. The previous year, six goals with 19 assists for 25 points.

Kempny is a major shot blocker, logging 72 blocks this season and 135 last year. He’s not a significant shooter, but as demonstrated, he can contribute on the offensive side

Kempny’s strength is definitely on the defensive side, logging a 3.1 DPS this past year and a 3.9 DPS the year prior. But he can bomb it from the blue paint when required.