The Kings have been sneaking up on all of us. The rebuild is over. And now it is time for them to take the next step.

The NHL’s trade deadline is less than two weeks away, on March 21. Los Angeles has put itself in an enviable position, with eight wins in their past 10 games, three of four on the last road trip, and a .692 pace since Jan. 1 that has put it in second place in the Pacific Division, seven points clear of fourth place and comfortably in playoff position at 32-19-7.

That next milestone is when general manager Rob Blake needs to be bold, use the assets at his disposal and make a big move that not only will be a statement now but will resonate in seasons to come. (And, shall we say, one that will be appropriate for a Los Angeles team.)

The type of move, in other words, that predecessor Dean Lombardi made a decade or so ago to turn an improving team into a champion. Remember? Dustin Penner for Colten Teubert and a couple of picks.  Mike Richards for Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds. Jeff Carter for Jack Johnson. And, later, Martin Gaborik for Matt Frattin and a couple of picks.

Yeah, that kind of deal.

It’s out there. There are more than 300 players who could be unrestricted free agents after this season ends, and the top of that list includes such names as Evgeni Malkin, Johnny Gaudreau, Joe Pavelski … and Filip Forsberg, a 27-goal scorer already this year for Nashville and strongly rumored to be on the move if the Predators can’t sign him before the deadline.

Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychrun is likewise a strong possibility to be dealt, and the Kings are said to be strongly interested. Boston’s Jake DeBrusk – who had a hat trick in the Bruins’ 7-0 win in L.A. last week – is also available, and what an audition that might have been.

Oh, and there are a number of unrestricted free agents across the Orange County line, including Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell, and a new Ducks general manager in Pat Verbeek who has indicated he’d rather get some return than lose a player altogether. Still, it might take immense courage on both sides to make such an intra-rivalry deal, with two fan bases watching closely.

But the point is that the Kings made moves in this direction already in the offseason, acquiring Viktor Arvidsson from Nashville and signing Philip Danault and Alex Edler as free agents (though Edler is currently on long-term injured reserve). Those moves were a signal that the rebuild was over. Now, with a team that’s kicked it into gear, it’s time to go for it.

The loyalists should understand.

They are the hardy souls who sat through dreary season after dreary season and near-miss after near-miss over the years, wearing the purple and gold, then black and silver, then purple and black and silver, and then a different style of black and silver, seldom flinching but always hopeful.

They finally reached the promised land when their captain, Dustin Brown, hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2012 and ’14. The faces of that three-year period when the Kings were part of the NHL’s elite are still there: Brown, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick, leading by performance, example and mentorship. But the fans have lapsed back into hope mode in recent seasons while many other heroes of championships past – Carter, Alec Martinez, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Kyle Clifford, Jake Muzzin – were traded elsewhere, replaced by high draft picks and prospects.

It’s time. After Monday night’s 3-2 overtime victory in Boston, which avenged that 7-0 whacking of the week before, the Kings had gone 17-7-2 since Jan. 1. The seven-point margin over fourth-place Edmonton is significant. As long as the Kings stay in the top three in their division, they avoid wild-card jeopardy. With 24 games left and with the pity point for overtime losses making it difficult to make up ground in a hurry, it might not be an insurmountable lead but it should be fairly secure.

That shouldn’t be enough, and history can be a guide.

On Feb. 22, 2012, even after an early-season coaching change put Darryl Sutter behind the bench and redirected the team’s focus, the Kings were 27-22-12. The next day, Lombardi acquired Carter from Columbus for Johnson, a former No. 3 pick. L.A. went 13-5-3 in the last 21 regular-season games and 16-4 in the postseason, and on the night of June 11 at what was then known as Staples Center, Kings fans – more than a few with tears of joy in their eyes, I’m sure – were finally able to cheer as the Stanley Cup was brought to center ice.

Blake gets it, we think. But if he’s going for the big plunge, he’s not tipping his hand yet.

“Right now, it’s all about taking steps forward,” Blake told a recent session with season-ticket holders, as quoted by John Hoven of the Mayors Manor blog. “We’ll continue that at the deadline, into the summer, and next season.”

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We’re not saying mortgage the future for this season. But the Kings system seems deep enough that a package of picks and prospects could be assembled without touching the (pun intended) crown jewels, Quintin Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Cal Peterson, Sean Durzi, Mikey Anderson and the like. The Ontario Reign is second in the AHL’s Pacific Division, at 33-10-3-3 (the AHL lists overtime and shootout losses separately), and Martin Frk, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Samuel Fagemo are among those who have impressed.

The U-turn midway through the 2018-19 season, when the rebuild began in earnest, was pointed toward a moment when the Kings would again be a factor.

This can, and should, be that moment.

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