The Kings’ playoff push had stalled by the time the team hit the trade deadline last month. They had lost five straight, a season high, and had scored just eight times in that span.
And their special teams... well, they weren’t very special. Qualifying for the postseason was in doubt and making a run once they got there seemed out of the question.
So general manager Rob Blake, after kicking the tires on a number of different trades, responded by adding journeyman winger Andrei Kuzmenko in what, at the time, seemed like an underwhelming move.