Kings fan here.
I spend the majority of my time following our prospects and most of our fans don't have the same amount of time/access so base their opinions of our kids on the chances that they have to see them during call ups or camp(s).
We have a couple of NHL ready kids in our system and camp will prove that out. We also have Davis Dreweski (who has been our 7th Dman for the past few years and does a very commendable job) who is more than capable of stepping in until Willie M gets back. He has filled in for WM before and so I can't see us worrying too much about things early on.
Anything can happen and we do have a glut of bottom 6ers who are very capable that I could see us moving for the right piece(s). Stoll isn't likely going anywhere and I can almost promise that it wouldn't be for Leopold if he were unless you guys were adding a ton and that wouldn't make any sense.
We have waived Cliche who is not only NHL ready but is a solid locker room guy with good leadership qualities to boot.
If I were in your guys position though I would be after Bud Holloway. He would have been on our team all of last year but took some bad advice and ended up in the SEL where he ended up the leading scorer and is doing the same again this year. He hits hard, has great hands, can finish and is a very good guy to boot.
He would be the Kings asset that I would target if I needed a bottom 6er and since he is unlikely to play for the Kings could be had for a early mid round pick (3rd/early 4rth) more than likely. We also have Oscar Moller who is playing solid hockey in EU and was a good young player for the Kings while he was in LA.
We have several other players who could fit into your needs. How does signing Hecht impact your need for another bottom 6er?
Thanks for the intelligent and informed input. I don't see LA particularly needing a defenseman either and there's no way they'd give up Stoll for return like Leopold.
Regarding your last question, Hecht alleviates the ABSOLUTE need for a bottom 6 player who can play center. With the team healthy and Grigorenko making it (a big assumption), then the lines look really good to me. A 4th line of Gerbe-Hecht-Kaleta would be strong in both ends and able to be used as a standard checking line as desired, leaving 3 scoring lines (Vanek-Hodgson-Pominville, Foligno-Ennis-Stafford, Leino-Grigorenko-Ott) that are fairly balanced in both senses. These are the lines reported out of camp right now.
If Grigorenko doesn't make it then Hecht is immediately elevated to the 3rd line center spot, which he should be able to handle just fine if healthy. The 4th line then gets centered by Ellis or McCormick (there's also Kevin Porter down in the AHL). In short, the bottom 6 looks weaker and less dynamic offensively due to a big downgrade at 4th line center, but at least the bodies are there. So, to answer your question, I'd have to know what the organization thinks of Grigorenko's chances (which is VERY difficult to pin down, imo) and what they deem acceptable for their bottom 6. If they want to roll four reasonably balanced lines (a la last lockout) then they either need Grigorenko or an additional, solid bottom 6 guy.
If they did trade picks/defensemen for one of the Kings' bottom 6 players, that would give them a 4th extra forward to deal with out of camp. I don't see this situation being evaluated until they feel like they have a good handle on whether they'll keep Grigorenko or not. Gerbe and McCormick possibly starting the season on LITR buys them a bit of time to evaluate.