The Los Angeles Kings traded winger Warren Foegele and a 2026 conditional third-round pick to the Ottawa Senators for a 2026 second-round pick and a conditional third-round pick.
Foegele had asked for a trade with hopes of a change of scenery, a league source said.
Foegele, 29, whose contract goes through 2027 with a $3,500,000 cap hit, has struggled this season after having the best season of his NHL career in 2024-25, when he had 24 goals and 46 points. He has seven goals and nine points in 47 games this season.
It has been a precipitous fall for the speedy forward, who can usually be counted on to play a strong north-and-south game that can be effective at both ends of the ice. After giving the Kings tremendous value in the first year of his free-agent deal last season, Foegele missed a handful of games early and hasn’t found the consistency that marked his game in 2024-25.
The additions and strong play of first-year forwards Corey Perry and Joel Armia up and down the Los Angeles lineup impacted Foegele, who has recently been pushed out of the lineup after forming a solid checking line with Trevor Moore and Phillip Danault while playing all 82 games last season. The Kings traded Danault to the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 19.
Another obstacle for Foegele came when the Kings traded for star left wing Artemi Panarin right before the Olympic break. But an avenue for Foegele getting back into L.A.’s mix surfaced when Kevin Fiala suffered left leg fractures while playing for Switzerland that rendered him lost for the remainder of the NHL regular season.
Foegele couldn’t make the most of another chance with the Kings. He’s had his two best NHL seasons before this one, however, and he has the capability of providing secondary scoring in a middle-six role and using his speed to play with pace and kill penalties.
In nine seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers and Kings, Foegele has 111 goals and 107 assists in 560 games. He played in the Oilers’ run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final and has appeared in 86 playoff games, where he has scored 13 times.
What the trade means for the Senators
Ottawa gets to add a playoff-experienced winger who can contribute as a secondary scorer and can play defensively — a must in Travis Green’s system — who had seemingly fallen out of favor in Los Angeles, without sacrificing anyone from the team’s forward group or overall core — something the Senators seemed a bit reluctant to do ahead of the deadline.
The Senators will also love this deal because they add a much-needed penalty killer to their group. The Senators have spent much of this season with a below-grade penalty-kill unit (particularly on the road), even switching up coaching duties from Nolan Baumgartner to Mike Yeo partway through their season.
The Senators are six points out of a playoff spot entering Thursday night’s action. But their management staff felt they were better than what their record showed, meaning they were more likely to add than not. Similarly to last year, however, when the Senators were close to the salary-cap limit, general manager Steve Staios had to get creative.
This time, it was facilitating moves with a limited number of enticing assets for other teams. Particularly with asking prices rising by the day. (You could even argue that flipping their 2026 second-round pick, originally Buffalo’s, might be a bit steep for Foegele.) But for a team desperate to make something of their season without a first-round pick on the way, this was the move that fit the bill for Staios.
If Foegele regains a scoring touch that allowed him to hit the 20-goal mark twice (in 2023-24 and 2024-25), there won’t be too many complaints on the 29-year-old, who can hit free agency in 2027. — Julian McKenzie
What the trade means for the Kings
It is the second deal Kings GM Ken Holland has made with the Senators, the other being trading defenseman Jordan Spence to them last summer. While it might look like a sign Holland and the Kings have accepted their fate as the chances of getting into the playoffs grow slimmer by the day, this may not be selling in the truest form, as Foegele had requested a trade with him falling out of their plans.
While Holland has taken heat for the Kings’ current state, some credit should go his way in seeing what prices were being paid for middle-six forwards and getting a return for a player who was eager to move. The Kings now have three second-round picks for 2026 to go with their first-round selections in 2026 and 2027. That’s a decent bit of draft capital in case they want to throw in the towel for this season and recalibrate for 2026-27 by being a player in the offseason.
In the present, though, the Kings are that much thinner up front even after getting Panarin. Moore is slotted in at left wing behind Panarin, and then it becomes frighteningly thin, but that may not matter much the rest of the way. But another opening in the forward group can give them a longer look at prospect forwards Kenny Connors and Jared Wright, who both made their NHL debuts Monday against Colorado. — Eric Stephens
