Kings reportedly in talks to acquire Simon Gagne

No news for the Kings on the Ilya Kovalchuk front, but folks in Philadelphia are reporting that the Flyers are willing to trade left wing Simon Gagne and that the Kings are a likely trading partner.

Makes sense: the Flyers want to clear cap space and the Kings need help on the wings. And the Kings have become Flyers West, with General Manager Dean Lombardi, assistant GM Ron Hextall and Coach Terry Murray all having orange and black on their resumes.

Gagne, 30, is well-respected in Philadelphia, which is quite an accomplishment. He scored 34 goals in the 2008-09 season, but injuries limited him to 17 goals in 58 games last season. He has one season left at $5.25 million and can become an unrestricted free agent after that.

No indication what the Flyers would want in return. We'll have to see what develops early next week.

-- Helene Elliott