The Los Angeles Kings failed bids to get defensemen Dan Hamhuis and Paul Martin are stinging a bit more today. The Kings announced that defenseman Matt Greene will miss the next three months after undergoing surgery on his shoulder. Greene has become one of the steadier defensemen on the Kings blue line and losing him after losing Sean O’Donnell in free agency to the Flyers and Randy Jones to unrestricted free agency, the Kings depth is severely shaken.
Youngsters Peter Harrold and Davis Drewiske will be counted on a bit more to start the season while Greene rehabs his injury. Even younger defensemen Alec Martinez and Thomas Hickey will get their chance to make their mark in training camp and see if they lock down a permanent spot in the Kings lineup rather than go back to AHL Manchester. As it is, the Kings remaining starters on the blueline are Jack Johnson, Drew Doughty and Rob Scuderi. That’s a good starting three, but with Greene out, the final three spots, of which two were up for debate already, are going to be really green on their own right. The unavoidable play on words is unavoidable and inevitable.
Question now is does this force Los Angeles into making a move for a more established defenseman via trade. The rumor mongers are salivating at the opportunity to create more Tomas Kaberle rumors and you can plant Los Angeles firmly into the lead in that department as there’s now a pressing need to get more experience back there.