NHL Trade Buzz: Muzzin deal signals shift for Kings

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are 27 days remaining until the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET and the buzz is just starting. What's next for the Los Angeles Kings after trading Jake Muzzin? How will the Columbus Blue Jackets handle the Artemi Panarin situation?
Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:

Los Angeles Kings

When the Kings
traded defenseman Jake Muzzin to the Toronto Maple Leafs
on Monday, it signaled a significant shift.
The Kings, Stanley Cup champions in 2012 and 2014, considered themselves in win-now mode less than a year ago. At the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas, news broke that they would sign 35-year-old free agent forward Ilya Kovalchuk on July 1.
"He's in our window and we feel like he can help us right now," Kings president Luc Robitaille said on the draft floor.
Well, do they think the window has closed now?
General manager Rob Blake sounded exasperated Monday when a reporter asked if the Muzzin trade meant the Kings were giving up on the season.
"We're at the bottom of the League," Blake said.
The Kings (20-26-4) are eight points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They're 30th in the NHL standings with 44 points, one ahead of the last-place Ottawa Senators.

Muzzin was part of the 2014 championship team, a partner for Drew Doughty or Alec Martinez, and signed for another season. If the Kings thought they could turn it around quickly, they'd have kept him, right? Instead, they traded him for a first-round pick and two prospects, nothing that could help them right now.
So the question becomes, who's next? Will the Kings trade other core pieces? And if they don't trade them before the deadline, will they trade them in the offseason?
Blake said he didn't want to get into specifics but was actively looking to make moves for the future.
"We're in a position where we're looking up every day at the standings," Blake said. "We're not happy about where we are. We're not comfortable where we are, and now we have to make decisions for the best of the organization going forward." -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, NHL.com columnist
RELATED: [Muzzin trade fills key need for Maple Leafs]

New Jersey Devils

Keith Kinkaid would like to remain a member of the Devils.
New Jersey could be sellers at the 2019 NHL Tradeline on Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET. They are 13 points from the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with 33 regular-season games remaining.
The 29-year-old goalie is one of seven players on the roster who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Forwards Marcus Johansson, Brian Boyle, Drew Stafford, Kurtis Gabriel and defensemen Ben Lovejoy and Egor Yakovlev are the other potential unrestricted free agents.
Kinkaid is a player teams in postseason contention might consider if they need goaltending depth.
"The culture and the way [general manager Ray Shero] and [coach John Hynes] have made the locker room ... they're doing it the right way and I'd like to be a part of that," Kinkaid said. "I'm proud to be a Devil. I'm close to home, I have a lot of friends and family who can visit, and we have a great group of guys here.
"I know it's out of my control, and whatever happens, happens, but right now I'm just focused on being a Devil."
Kinkaid won his opening four games of this season with a 1.00 goals-against average, two shutouts and a .961 save percentage, but is 14-14-6 with a 3.10 GAA and .900 save percentage in 35 games.

The goaltending depth chart could change soon for the Devils. Cory Schneider is close to returning from an injury rehab assignment with Binghamton of the American Hockey League and Mackenzie Blackwood has emerged as a viable NHL option with a .924 save percentage in his first 12 NHL games.
Kinkaid, from Farmingdale, New York, was 26-10-3 with a 2.77 GAA and .913 save percentage in an NHL career-high 41 games in 2017-18 to help the Devils qualify for the playoffs. He was 13-2-1 in his final 16 regular-season games, with Schneider out with a hip injury, to help the Devils clinch their first playoff appearance since 2012.
The Devils host the New York Rangers at Prudential Center on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, MSG, NHL.TV). -- Mike G. Morreale, NHL.com staff writer

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Washington Capitals

Washington general manager Brian MacLellan told The Athletic that if he adds anyone to the Capitals roster before the trade deadline, it would probably be a forward.
"If there is a way we thought a hockey trade could happen to make our forward group better, that might be something we'd pursue," MacLellan said.
Washington made a subtle, yet impactful trade last season when they acquired defenseman Michal Kempny from the Chicago Blackhawks for a conditional third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft on Feb. 18, 2018. Kempny solidified the defense and was a steady partner to John Carlson for the Capitals, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Perhaps Washington finds a depth forward who could add some energy to a group that may be feeling the effects of last year's Cup run. The Capitals have lost seven straight (0-5-2) and scored two goals or fewer in four of those games. Their last win came when they defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Jan. 10.
The Capitals (27-17-6, 60 points) are second in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the New York Islanders (29-15-5, 63 points). Washington returns from its mandatory five-day break after the 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend to host the Calgary Flames at Capital One Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, SNW, NHL.TV). -- Tracey Myers, NHL.com staff writer

Dallas Stars

The trade for defenseman Jamie Oleksiak addressed one need for the Dallas Stars, but general manager Jim Nill is willing to make more changes.
"You're always looking to add scoring,"
Nill told the Dallas Morning News
. "You're always looking to add skill. If there's something that's going to help us, and the acquisition cost is what we think is right, we're going to do that."
Oleksiak was traded to the Stars from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fourth-round pick Monday.
Dallas is a frustrating team when it comes to offense. The Stars have received some quality production from their top-six forwards, although the play of captain Jamie Benn and leading scorer Tyler Seguin was
bluntly criticized by Stars CEO Jim Lites
on Dec. 28.
Seguin has 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) in 49 games, Alexander Radulov is second with 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 39 games and Benn is third with 34 points (18 goals, 16 assists) in 48 games.
No other forward on the roster has reached 10 goals. Defenseman John Klingberg, who missed 18 games with a broken hand, is Dallas' fourth-leading scorer with 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) in 31 games. The Stars are 29th in the NHL with 126 goals in 49 games (2.57 per game).
So a scoring forward is on the wish list for the Stars, who are in the thick of a cluster of teams battling for position in the Western Conference race.
Dallas (24-21-4, 52 points) holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West. Six teams are three points or less behind them.
The Stars host the Buffalo Sabres at American Airlines Center on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW+, MSG-B, NHL.TV).
As for Oleksiak, it should be an easy transition to the Stars, who he played for from 2012-17. He should help a defense that's been hit with injuries. Marc Methot is out for the season after having knee surgery Monday and Stephen Johns (upper body) has yet to play this season. -- Tracey Myers, NHL.com staff writer

Columbus Blue Jackets

Artemi Panarin won't be discussing his
future with the Blue Jackets
until after the season, agent Dan Milstein announced Monday.
Considering that, do the Blue Jackets move the 27-year-old forward before the NHL Trade Deadline?
Milstein tweeted, "We have informed the team that we are willing to discuss Artemi's future after the season. Our priority now is to focus on the rest of the season, trying to win a Stanley Cup for the [Blue Jackets] and their fans."
Panarin, who was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Brandon Saad and goalie Anton Forsberg on June 23, 2017, has 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) in 46 games for Columbus this season. He is in the final year of the two-year contract he signed with the Blackhawks on Dec. 29, 2016.

How this changes Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen's approach to the deadline, if at all, remains to be seen. Panarin is a big reason why Columbus (28-17-3, 59 points) is third in the Metropolitan Conference and aiming for a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"We've said all along we're going to make hard decisions if we have to," Kekalainen said on Tuesday. "The focus is on making this team better and as competitive as possible for this spring but also for the future obviously."
The Blue Jackets would probably get a strong return for Panarin, but his absence would nevertheless leave a void in the postseason.
If Columbus does not trade Panarin, it risks losing him and not receiving anything in return. Panarin can become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
"We like Artemi and like to keep him," Kekalainen. "It's his right to go to free agency. If the future is to do so, we'll be knocking on his door July 1.
"I'm a little bit disappointed we're in this situation but I think you're going to have to talk to him about it. He made his statement clear he's going to concentrate on hockey now. That's where it's at."
The Blue Jackets host the Buffalo Sabres at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, MSG-B, NHL.TV). -- Tracey Myers, NHL.com staff writer