Kings acquire forward Tanner Jeannot in exchange for draft picks

The Kings have acquired forward Tanner Jeannot from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2025 second-round draft pick and a fourth rounder (No. 118) in this year’s draft.

Jeannot, 27, traversed a sinewy path to the NHL but had a breakout campaign as a rookie in 2021-22 with the Nashville Predators. He scored 24 goals and 41 points while he accumulated 130 penalty minutes, offering something of a throwback power forward’s profile.

Despite a slower start to the following season, Tampa Bay invested heavily in Jeannot as the 2023 trade deadline approached. They sent five draft picks, including a first-rounder, and prospect Cal Foote to Nashville for Jeannot.

Jeannot compiled just one goal and three assists in 20 games down 2023’s stretch and only 14 points in 55 games last year to go with a minus-10 rating.

Tampa Bay, which won two Stanley Cups and three conference titles between 2020 and 2022, has kicked its offseason transition into high gear. In addition to shedding the $2.665 million cap hit of Jeannot, they also offloaded defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Utah HC on Saturday. Furthermore, all signs pointed to them parting ways with their longtime captain, Steven Stamkos, who will be eligible for unrestricted free agency on Monday.

From the Kings’ perspective, they seemed intent on remaking their forward group through a combination of promotions –– they re-signed Akil Thomas, Alex Turcotte and Samuel Fagemo — and, now, a trade acquisition.

Aside from his first full season in Nashville and a quarter season with the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves, Jeannot has not been a prolific scorer. At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, Jeannot could join the Kings’ top-nine forward group, where he will be expected to bang bodies, carve out space for his linemates and play in more of a peripheral offensive role than another former Predator, Viktor Arvidsson, whose return to the Kings appears in doubt.

Kings select Carter George in second round

The Kings also used some of their Day 2 picks as intended, headlined by the selection of goaltender and U18 World Junior Championships standout Carter George in the second round, at 57th overall.

In the Ontario Hockey League, George faced the most shots of any goalie in the league and still had its second-best save percentage.

That experience proved valuable at the U18 tournament, where he withstood a barrage from Team USA as the Canadians rallied to win gold and cap off his 6-0-0 tournament run. One of his most pronounced attributes is his puck handling, and he even earned an assist on the empty-net goal that assured gold medals to Canada.

“I was solid all year, I gave my team a chance to win and, as a goalie, that’s all you can do,” George told the OHL’s Web channel. “It was definitely a good year, I learned a lot from the older guys and got put in situations I wasn’t in before. I got to learn how to handle that and it definitely helped me develop, not only as a hockey player but as a person as well.”

George has familiarity with Kings first-rounder Liam Greentree from a pair of international tournaments. He hails from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, yet despite the distance from California, George already had an emotional connection to the Kings.

“This was kind of a dream of mine since I was a kid. Growing up, I was a huge L.A. Kings fan, I’ve always dreamed of wearing the jersey and playing for them,” George told reporters.

The Kings made two additional picks, first consolidating two picks (Nos. 182 and 214) to move up to 166th overall, where they selected 6-foot-5 defenseman Jared Woolley from the OHL’s London Knights.

His size, defensive acumen, poise and willingness to use his body are all pluses, but any offensive upside has yet to be observed and his skating will need work for him to reach the NHL, too.

Lastly, the Kings snagged University of Denver commit James Reeder at No. 198, an undersized forward with an appetite for the dangerous areas of the ice. Fearlessness will only get him so far but he will head to the defending national champion to continue his development from both technical and physical standpoints.