The New York Rangers trade left-winger Brendan Lemieux to the Los Angeles Kings for a fourth-round draft pick. It is unclear at the time of writing from the time of writing what the year of the pick is.
Hearing Brendan Lemieux from NYR to LA for a draft pick.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 27, 2021
Kings acquire Brendan Lemieux
Brendan Lemieux is in his fifth NHL season and has scored two goals and five assists for seven points in 39 games. His 59 penalty minutes leads the league this season, and he had the second most last season. Lemieux plays an average of 10:13 minutes per game, which is the second-lowest total on the Rangers among regular players. He has a 43.3 Corsi For percentage at even-strength, which is the third-lowest total among regular players for New York.
Lemieux is the son of long-time NHL player Claude Lemieux. His father played 1,215 games from the 1983-84 season to the 2008-09 season and won three Stanley Cups. The younger Lemieux was drafted 31st overall in the 2014 draft by the Buffalo Sabres from the Barrie Colts of the OHL. He was traded a year later to the Winnipeg Jets in a deal that involved seven players. The notable parts of that deal saw Tyler Myers traded to Winnipeg and Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian going to Buffalo.
Lemieux played two seasons as a Jet before being traded at the deadline with a first (Ville Heinola) and a fourth-round pick to New York for Kevin Hayes. Last season was Lemieux’s most successful season of his career. He scored six goals, 12 assists for 18 points in 59 games.
Lemieux is signed until 2022 for $1.55 million a season. He will be an RFA once his deal expires.
What this Means for the Future
For the Kings, they acquire a fourth-line player in Brendan Lemieux who can get under opponents skin, be physical, fight, and chip in offensively. They haven’t had a player like that since they dealt Kyle Clifford to the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. The Kings obviously feel they need another player like that who can match the grittiness that Ryan Reaves (Vegas Golden Knights), Nicolas Deslauriers (Anaheim Ducks) and Kurtis Gabriel (San Jose Sharks) bring for teams that will remain in their division, regardless of if they go back to normal divisions next year or not.
For the Rangers, they receive an asset for a player who wasn’t playing very much for them. Brendan Smith can provide a fighting and physical element for them if they need it.
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