Canadiens Edmundson Linked To Kings, Potential Trade Targets

Montreal Canadiens defenceman Joel Edmundson has generated buzz on the trade market, with the L.A. Kings recently showing interest and renewing trade talks with the Habs that date back to last year.

On a recent episode of Insider Trading, NHL Insider Pierre Lebrun spoke of the Kings checking in on the availability of Joel Edmundson, which isn’t the first time the two have been linked in trade talks.

Montreal and L.A. have had trade talks that date back to last year’s NHL Trade Deadline, where the Canadiens’ scouting staff spent many weeks monitoring the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.

They’ve since kept in contact this season, and, should the price for Jakob Chychrun prove too steep, Joel Edmundson makes a ton of sense for multiple reasons.

Edmundson’s style of play fits nicely with the Kings’ physical and imposing style of hockey; and his extra year could make him more of an interesting acquisition than a simple rental.

Furthermore, the man who signed Joel Edmundson to his four-year contract, Marc Bergevin, is also the senior advisor to Kings general manager Rob Blake; making the fit between player and team even more enticing.

With the Kings owning a deep prospect pool and almost all their picks for the 2023 NHL Draft, the Canadiens would have no shortage of targets in a potential deal.

Targets For Montreal Canadiens

You can immediately forget the inclusion of former top-10 picks like Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte and Brandt Clarke; the L.A. Kings aren’t sacrificing their top-end talent just yet.

Instead, the Kings, who are now starting to enter a competitive window, would be apt to sacrifice picks or prospects at positions of strength to make moves that could help the club in the present and future.

That shouldn’t be a problem however, as the Kings’ excess in picks and prospects is coincidentally also exactly what the Canadiens are looking for.

2023 1st-Round Pick 

The immediate prize that comes to mind has to be the King’s 2023 1st-round pick, as it’s no secret that general manager Kent Hughes is looking to add a third pick in the Top-32 to his collection.

The Kings are currently 11th in the NHL Standings, meaning that, outside of going on a strong run and reaching the Conference or Staley Cup Finals, that pick will likely be in the early 20s.

It would be the easiest asset to target for the Canadiens, but, should the Kings look to retain their 1st rounder in the event of a bigger trade, there are more proven assets that could be of notable interest to Montreal in L.A.’s system.

Jordan Spence

An NHL source close to the situation confirmed to Montreal Hockey Now that the Kings are looking to balance out their defensive corps, especially on the right side of their defence.

It’s been a headache for the Kings, as they’ve been forced to play deserving prospects in the AHL despite the club believing them ready for NHL duty.

“They have a future-top 4 NHL RD playing in AHL,” said the source regarding the situation in LA. “They’ve definitely got a surplus.

The defenceman in question is none other than Jordan Spence; who has been stellar for the Ontario Reign this season, putting up three goals and 29 assists for 32 points in 38 games.

With Sean Durzi making a name for himself in the NHL and Brandt Clarke pencilled in for full-time NHL duty next season, Spence could be the odd-man out in L.A. and could be an ideal target for the Canadiens.

Spence plays a fast-paced game predicated on puck movement and transition. He’s a right-shot defender that’s set to turn 22 this month and could very well slide into the Canadiens’ lineup right away should a deal materialize.

It’s worth noting that the Canadiens are very familiar with Spence, having scouted the Ontario Reign quite a bit last spring before trade talks fell through.

What a shot by Joran Spence on the Power Play#ReignTrain pic.twitter.com/DPharFOMbN

— Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) February 1, 2023

Helge Grans

If Spence was going to have a tough time cracking the Kings’ NHL roster, the same applies to former 2020 2nd-round pick, Helge Grans.

Grans had a pretty impressive rookie in the AHL for the Ontario Reign as a 19-year-old and could and has all the tools to carve out a nice career in the NHL. Unfortunately, he’s had a harder time in his sophomore season with the Reign this year.

That being said, Grans has has some major competition for ice time with the Reign; as the Kings have numerous amounts of of legitimate defensive prospects on their AHL roster, with Grans being the youngest of the bunch at just 20 years  of age.

The 6’4, 205lbs defender has interesting offensive tools, including surprisingly good skating for such a big player; and a cannon of a shot from the blue line.

Although the stats this season could raise some doubts as to his future; he’d likely get a prime role with the Laval Rocket and be given the space and time to properly develop into the top-4 defenceman he was projected to be.

Helge Grans makes it 3-2 #Reign !

Assisted by Akil Thomas (1), Jacob Doty (1) pic.twitter.com/L0H9sCZiII

— Eric (@kingsgifs2) October 15, 2022

Other options:

Samuel Fagemo -LW

Francesco Pinelli – C

Martin Chromiak – RW