Frank Franklin II / AP
Los Angeles Kings’ Alec Martinez (27) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in New York.
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 | 1:08 p.m.
The Golden Knights have a history of being aggressive at the trade deadline and didn’t want to wait until Monday’s deadline this time.
Vegas announced today that it has acquired defenseman Alec Martinez from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for two second-round draft picks. Martinez is expected to join the team in time for Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Golden Knights will send their second-round pick in the 2020 draft and a second-rounder in 2021 that originally belonged to the St. Louis Blues. Vegas still has a second-rounder this season and two in 2021.
The Golden Knights also recalled forward Nicolas Roy, defensemen Zach Whitecloud and Jimmy Schuldt, and placed forward Alex Tuch on injured reserve, capping their roster at 23 players, including Martinez.
Martinez, 32, is under contract for this season and next at a cap hit of $4 million. He shoots left-handed but has often played the right side in Los Angeles, where he had eight points in 41 games.
Martinez is best known for scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in double overtime of Game 5 in 2014.
As a defenseman with term, Martinez fits what the Golden Knights are looking for. They don’t have to worry about a new contract for him this summer, when defensemen Nick Holden, Jon Merrill and Deryk Engelland are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents.
But it’s fair to question whether this was the right defenseman to acquire.
According to Evolving Wild’s model, Martinez has been worth 3.9 goals above replacement this year, which would slide him between Holden (4.4) and Merrill (3.5) on the Vegas depth chart. He hasn’t moved the needle on a struggling Kings team, with a 51.3% Corsi share that is below the relative strength of his Los Angeles teammates.
