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Why Cammalleri - Jokinen trade happened, and what’s next (Video)

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Bob McKenzie explains the rationale between the latest Kings and Oilers trade that has Jussi Jokinen going to Los Angeles in exchange for Michael Cammalleri.

Last night, PHT broke down the Michael Cammalleri (to Edmonton Oilers) - Jussi Jokinen (to Los Angeles Kings) from a variety of angles.

One of the most optimistic scenarios was reflected in the headline: what if Edmonton tries to diversify its offense by putting Cammalleri on Connor McDavid’s wing, possibly opening up Leon Draisaitl to try to carry his own line?

Perhaps that’s a possibility as time goes on - coaches juggle lines about as much as college kids used to love kicking around hacky sacks - but it sounds like that won’t be the case early on.

Bob McKenzie swung by the NBCSN studio on Wednesday to provide more insight, and from the sound of things, the two forwards are trading places and, essentially, roles. (His takeaways can be seen in the video above this post’s headline.)

While the Oilers want more offensive pop from Cammalleri, McKenzie indicates that he’s expected to line up with Ryan Strome and Drake Caggiula. As mentioned yesterday, Natural Hat Trick lists those two forwards as Jokinen’s most common even-strength forward linemates.

McKenzie reports that Jokinen is most likely to slot into a bottom-six role; considering that Cammalleri’s most common linemate was Trevor Lewis, it sounds like that’s a pretty clear reversal, too.

That said, the man with an appetizer-like last name did average about two minutes of power-play time per game, and that’s where things get more interesting. McKenzie posits that Jokinen will be happier with a diminished role than Cammalleri would be; that’s especially relevant since fellow aging former-high-scorer Marian Gaborik is slated to return to the Kings’ lineup.

Gabby may have bumped Cammy for a while, which may have irked, especially since Cammalleri accepted quite the “hometown” discount to return to L.A. Jokinen might be more comfortable with a humble role, and considering his lone point (an assist) this season, he can’t do much complaining right now.

Both forwards are fairly versatile, and that might be relevant to the Kings, as Gaborik was injury prone even during his most brilliant, younger days.

There might be some fluidity to Jokinen’s situation, too, as Kings coach John Stevens explained to L.A. Kings Insider’s Jon Rosen that there might be a bit of a “getting to know you” process.

“I know him as a player before. I haven’t seen him play lately, but he’s just a good, well-rounded, intelligent player,” Stevens said of Jokinen. “I recall he was great in the shootout, but I think he can play multiple positions. I think he’s a really high-hockey IQ guy with a good competitive skill package. It’ll be a good chance to get him on the ice with the guys and make an evaluation from that point.”

If nothing else, Jokinen can be around for a Young Stars reunion with Anze Kopitar:

Overall, this trade could benefit all involved, even if the Oilers seem to have fairly modest aims for Cammalleri.


James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.