I have to admit, I've been thinking a great deal lately about Ilya Kovalchuk. Apparently, I'm not the only one. If the reports are true, the Atlanta Thrashers' forward is on his way to L.A. We don't know if this is true and, if it is, we don't know who the Kings are trading.

Who would you give up? To make the question easier to answer, I've decided to break down the key players on the Kings, grouping them into the following categories: Untouchable, Willing to Trade for the Right Player, Untradeable/Unlikely to Be Traded and Would Trade in a Heartbeat.

Some of these players will be traded. Here is my preference of whom should and shouldn't.

Untouchable

• Drew Doughty (Goes without saying)
• Wayne Simmonds (Hands off Waddell)
• Anze Kopitar (I debated adding him to the list. His contract would likely prevent him from being traded, at least to a team like Atlanta)

Willing to Trade for the Right Player

• Jack Johnson (probably the biggest trade bait)
• Jonathan Quick (Tough call. I see Bernier as the future)
• Dustin Brown
• Oscar Moller
• Jarret Stoll
• Matt Greene
• Rob Scuderi

Unlikely to Be Traded/Untradeable

• Ryan Smyth (valuable player but a big salary)
• Michal Handzus (see above)

Would Trade in a Heartbeat

• Alexander Frolov (His contract status makes him a must)

The big question remains as whether Kovalchuk will be a rental or whether the trade is contingent on the Kings ability to sign him to a long-term contract. If it's a rental, I would stay pat or trade nothing more than Frolov, Moller and maybe another young player (Teddy Purcell?) or prospect.

If the Kings are able to sign Kovalchuk to a long-term contract before the trade goes down, then the steep price would be worth it. As long as it does not include Simmonds.