The Montreal Canadiens have added to their dearth of bottom-six forwards with the deadline day acquisition of Dwight King from the Los Angeles Kings. In exchange, the Canadiens give up a conditional fourth round pick that becomes a third if King re-signs with the Habs.
Canadiens acquire forward Dwight King from the Los Angeles Kings, in return for a conditional 4th round pick in 2018. pic.twitter.com/XXas32sp3i
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 1, 2017
Le choix de quatrième ronde pour Dwight King devient un choix de troisième ronde s’il signe un contrat avec les @CanadiensMTL #lavoiedubé
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) March 1, 2017
King has chipped in a little offensively for the Kings this season, with eight goals and seven assists in 15 games. King fits in on the third or fourth line, where his 6’4, 232 pound frame will help out with the Canadiens’ aggressive forecheck.
King also kills penalties, and was the second most used forward on the penalty kill with Los Angeles this year, logging a total of 97:45 of shorthanded play. King will be a welcome addition to a Habs penalty kill that is improving steadily under Claude Julien.
It seems that Marc Bergevin is always looking for depth on the bottom six, and has been tinkering with the fourth line all season with an eye on making the Habs a more formidable team to play against. The addition of King, as well as Steve Ott, should give the Canadiens a little more sandpaper on their third and fourth lines. That line could potentially be rounded out by Andrew Shaw, forming a gritty, bottom-six trio that should give opposing defenders fits in their own zone.
While King is a below average producer offensively, he brings playoff pedigree, having won two Stanley Cups with the Kings in 2012 and 2014. King seems to ramp up his play come playoff time, with ten goals and 15 assists in 69 playoff games with Los Angeles.
It remains to be seen whether Marc Bergevin is done his trading on deadline day, but everything would seem to indicate there could be more coming.
