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What uniform will Patrik Laine be wearing in a week's time, once the trade deadline has passed? Only a genius could predict that.
We know that right now, the Habs are trying to trade him. There's no room for him in the city anymore, and the club wants to buy itself some salary cap space, which it could do by sending Laine's $8.7 million cap hit elsewhere.
It would also help the Habs avoid being penalized on next season's cap.
Obviously, there isn't a ton of interest in the Finnish player's services, as he is expensive and a question mark. That said, we know that some teams are interested, and the Kings have been mentioned frequently in connection with him since Kevin Fiala's injury at the Olympics.
And this afternoon, we learned that after Fiala, another top-6 Kings winger has fallen victim to injury: Andrei Kuzmenko underwent knee surgery and will be evaluated on a weekly basis.
Forward Andrei Kuzmenko underwent successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He has been placed on injured reserve (IR) and is listed as week-to-week.
Additionally, defenseman Angus Booth has been recalled from the @ontarioreign (AHL).
: https://t.co/sBO3Y4PGsK pic.twitter.com/dQ22wfxHmD
— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) February 28, 2026
So right now, the Kings' top six is pretty much decimated. Artemi Panarin has come in to help out, and Adrian Kempe is a great player… but it's pretty thin behind them.
The second line wingers right now are Warren Foegele and Corey Perry. That's not ideal for a team that wants to make the playoffs and go deep.
And once again, of course, this brings the idea of trading Laine to the Kings back to the forefront. We know that Laine, despite his flaws, is a guy who can score goals… and who could especially help the Kings with their terrible power play, which scores only 16.3% of the time (26th in the league).
Laine is a rather imperfect solution, we agree, and the Kings would probably like to find a better forward to help the club's top six. But in reality, the club may have limited options… and adding Laine wouldn't hurt in terms of helping to score goals, which has been difficult for the Kings (only the Devils have scored fewer goals per game than Los Angeles since the start of the year).
In a nutshell
– Whew.
Current temperature in Chicago: -1 degrees Celsius.
Feels like: -7 degrees Celsius.
The stands are not full.
It's windy.
The field is in terrible condition.
The show may be marred. It could help the team on the road.
— Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) February 28, 2026
— Worth noting.
CHL News – Sounds like the OHL + QMJHL are working towards a four team, inter-league series between the Guelph Storm + Kitchener Rangers vs the Moncton Wildcats + Halifax Mooseheads for next season.
Still some hurdles but getting there.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) February 28, 2026
— Blue Jays news.
Lucky the club has depth. https://t.co/LNYUF5Z6Io
— Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) February 28, 2026
