Steve Ott a future LA King?

As the NHL rumor mill kicks into high gear - leading up to the first of two trading deadlines - it seems that every five minutes a new story gets out about the Kings possible interest in Ilya Kovalchuk.

Last week, we had a story looking at some of the other probable players on the move and the reasons why they would or wouldn't be a good fit for the Kings (linked here).

There's also another player who might be in the mix, a guy flying below the radar of names like Ray Whitney and Sheldon Souray...Steve Ott.

Now, there's no guarantee he'll be moved out of Dallas. However, a recent article by Stars' beat writer Mike Heika shed some light on the difficulties the Stars are having in getting the unrestricted free agent-to-be inked to a contract extension:

The talks are cordial, Ott wants to stay in Dallas, and both sides say everybody is happy and open to negotiations. But the fly in the ointment is that it's really tough to define what Steve Ott is right now.

Is he a gritty third line forward who can kill penalties, agitate and help the team win? Is he a top six forward who can score goals and help make a skilled line tougher? Is he the elusive shut-down checking line center who can win faceoffs that this team so desperately needs?

He goes on to say things like:

He is a very good player who has a lot of value in this league as an unrestricted free agent, but he may not have that same value to his own team.

and then

If Loui Eriksson is getting a raise to $4.25 million next season and Brenden Morrow makes $4.1 million and James Neal is going to need a raise into the $4 million range pretty soon, do the Stars have the space to pay another winger $2.5-3 million? Would Ott even accept that kind of offer?

You can read his whole article by clicking here.

The Kings have a history of pulling deals out of left field. A trade for Ott would certainly qualify as such.

Just remember, he's solid on faceoffs and isn't afraid to go to the corners - two valuable attributes come playoff time.

The Mayor
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