While Quinton Byfield's ripe blossoming is gaining considerable attention in Los Angeles, I examine another equally important underlying story.

The busiest time of the year in the NHL is right around the corner. With the 2025 Trade Deadline just over a week away, things are about to ramp up as

With the Four Nations Face-off tournament over, NHL teams must make deals before time runs out. NHL rumors are prevalent. The NHL trade deadline is just 9 days away. General managers will be stepping up their game to improve their rosters.

Has the Los Angeles Kings captain, Anze Kopitar, finally slowed down? After 19 seasons, 1,429 regular-season games, 97 playoff games, and 51 games on the Slovenian national team, the guy has to have less tread on the tires.

Vancouver Canucks (26-20-11, in the Pacific Division) vs. Los Angeles Kings (31-17-7, in the Pacific Division) Los Angeles; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Kings host the Vancouver Canucks after Trevor Moore's two-goal game against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Kings' 5-2 win.

In the interim, over the past few weeks, the Kings have seen a mix and match on the top line, with the duo of Kopitar and Kempe cycling through wingers. It seems the Alex Turcotte progression had come to a full stop. All signs pointed out that it could be the winger causing a production stoppage, and as it turns out, that was not the entire clause.

The Los Angeles Kings didn't land any major names in free agency during the offseason. Still, they landed a significant name that has been playing at a surplus value and deserves recognition.

In 1993, the Montreal Canadiens dispatched the Wayne Gretzky-captained Los Angeles Kings in five games, with three games going past regulation. Since then, outside of a minor trade involving defenseman Frédéric Allard and forward Nate Schnarr,