Jan. 06--The Kings moved to fortify the bottom end of their defense by acquiring defenseman Luke Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers, along with veteran forward Vinny Lecavalier.
They sent rookie forward Jordan Weal to the Flyers as well as a third-round draft choice in 2016. Multiple reports have indicated that the Flyers will be retaining half the salary of the two players they are trading to Los Angeles.
An individual familiar with the transaction but not authorized to comment publicly confirmed the financial component of the deal.
Though the Kings have established a sizable lead in the Pacific Division, their third defense pair has been a continuing issue of concern for management and Coach Darryl Sutter.
Schenn, if all goes well, could give them the snarl and edge missing since the departures of Willie Mitchell (free agency) and Robyn Regehr (retirement).
It was no surprise that Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi reached out to a familiar trading partner, the Flyers, to try to fix the roster problem.
Lecavalier's stay in Los Angeles won't be a long one. His agent told Renaud Levoie of TVA Sports that Lecavalier will retire at the end of the season.
If he has much left, Sutter could be the one to get it out of him. Sutter, of course, saw Lecavalier at his best when the player helped lead the Tampa Bay Lightning past Calgary in the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 when Sutter coached the Flames.
