Although he didn’t specify a specific rumor, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman opined on 32 Thoughts that he believes the Los Angeles Kings could look to move defenseman Jordan Spence this offseason.
Friedman believes that the Kings want to give Brandt Clarke a larger role and do not see the need for three top-four defenders on the right side. Spence should be easy to move if they’d like to, given he’s coming off back-to-back quality years and is making a modest $1.5MM salary.
Los Angeles was able to get away with having Clarke and Spence in large roles for much of the 2024-25 campaign, given regular top-pairing blue-liner Drew Doughty was injured for most of the year. Still, with Doughty entering his age-36 season, and only having two more years on his contract, one could rationalize the Kings retaining Spence and Clarke for when he ultimately retires.
As a counterpoint, and this isn’t a knock on Spence, the Kings shouldn’t have much difficulty finding a similar defenseman in a few years when Doughty hangs up his skates, giving credibility to moving him now for an improvement. Over the past two years, Spence has scored six goals and 52 points in 150 games, averaging 15:40 of ice time per game, registering 132 blocked shots, and racking up 147 hits.
Much of his value can be explained via advanced analytics, as Spence led all Los Angeles defensemen with a 57.1% CorsiFor% and finished third behind Michael Anderson and Doughty in on-ice save percentage with 92.1%. Given his age and relatively low salary, Spence should have a robust market, and allow the Kings to improve their team via trade, especially if they strike out on some of their free agent targets.
I like Spence, and this makes a lot of sense for the Kings. Sell high, let him play somewhere. It’s the right thing to do.
The Kings and Sabres have the stuff of an old fashioned hockey trade based on their roster structures.
Always felt Spence was a viable candidate to be traded.
1 for 1 with Byram
Byram is worth more than Spence, but it’s getting real close. The Sabres don’t need draft picks, and their prospect pool is pretty deep at every position. So in the end, if it’s 1:1 I’d be ok with it.
I’d love for Ottawa to get involved on this. The RHD free agent market is very underwhelming this offseason.
Don’t move him. Depth is a good thing, and he comes on the cheap.
Spence, a second round pick and Akil Thomas for Erik Karlsson. (But the Pens need to retain some cash)