While the Kings could still stand to add some offense before tomorrow’s trade deadline, it appears likely that they’ll be quiet on the trade front, suggests Elliott Teaford of the Daily Breeze.  He notes that one of the challenges for GM Dean Lombardi will be to find trade assets that teams will be interested in.  It’s well-known that the team wouldn’t mind moving on from wingers Dustin Brown (who has five years left after this one) at a $5.875MM cap hit) and Marian Gaborik (four years at a $4.875 cap charge) but they won’t be able to get quality assets in return for either of them.

There’s a good chance that this played a factor into their decision to add Ben Bishop and basically double down on a strength even though it doesn’t address their scoring concerns (heading into Tuesday’s action, Los Angeles sits 11th in the West in goals).  They do still have some cap space to play with though as they can add another $3.2MM in a full-season cap hit, per CapFriendly.

More from the Pacific:

• The Canucks are looking into the possibility of trading pending UFA goaltender Ryan Miller, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link). With the team now in sell mode, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to give Jacob Markstrom some more starts down the stretch and moving the 36 year old veteran would be one way to do so.  Lavoie suggests that the Flames and Sharks are among the teams looking at goaltending help.  However, both teams are tight to the cap which could make it a challenge to find the right fit, even if the Canucks retain on Miller’s $6MM deal.
• The Oilers are also on the lookout for goaltending help behind Cam Talbot. It was reported earlier today that the team is interested in Islanders netminder Jaroslav Halak while Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal adds that Buffalo’s Anders Nilsson is someone they’ve kept tabs on lately.  Nilsson wouldn’t be an overly expensive upgrade while his 2.69 GAA and .921 SV% would represent a considerable improvement over what they’ve received from Jonas Gustavsson (3.10, .878) and rookie Laurent Brossoit (2.89, .910).  Matheson suggests a fourth round pick might be enough to get a deal done.
• A pair of Canucks who presented with mumps symptoms earlier have received the green light to play, notes Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province. Defenseman Ben Hutton and forward Markus Granlund both tested negative and are expected to play tonight against Detroit.  However, forward Michael Chaput has tested positive and as a result, will be out indefinitely until the symptoms subside.