Breaking: Kings Acquire Erik Portillo From Sabres

After a crazy few hours for the Los Angeles Kings, Rob Blake has struck again.

Wednesday morning the acquisitions for Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov were announced. And just hours later, another goalie was added.

The Kings announced a trade for Buffalo Sabres prospect Erik Portillo in exchange for a third round pick in the 2023 draft.

This is an excellent deal for the Kings and practically overnight the Kings have stocked a barren goalie pool.

Portillo is an excellent goalie prospect. He's been one of the NCAA's best goalies over the last three seasons and is only available because of Devon Levi's emergence in Buffalo's system.

He's got a lot of tools scouts look for in modern goalies. He's big and athletic and never panics in the net. 

There are some similarities to Pheonix Copley in that sense, but with a much higher upside. 

He'll likely need a season in the AHL to transition into professional hockey. But he should be ready for the NHL after just the one year. 

There's a genuine chance he's a future number one for the Kings and fans should be very excited. 

He's someone I mentioned as a potential target back in January, and Blake's done a great job snagging him.

Last month he was ranked as an honorable mention in Scott Wheelers goalie prospect rankings, but ranked at number nine on the same last in 2022.

Seeing as the Kings were willing to part with a third round pick to acquire Portillo, I'm sure they're confident in him signing a contract.

And it's easy to see why he would. Even with the addition of Korpisalo, Portillo is by far the best goalie prospect in the system. 

The net is his for the taking moving forward. 

Blake has made a habit of taking advantage of tricky contract situations to manage a cut rate deal. And he's done so again here.