Los Angeles Kings hockey is upon us, and the franchise faces a critical season. If they haven’t already, they’re in serious danger of falling into the ‘mushy middle’ of the league. Rob Blake deserves a lot of credit for turning the franchise back into a playoff contender again. The post-Lombardi era left him with scraps after Lombardi pushed the championship-winning window to the farthest extent, trading assets away for ready-now talent to push the team back to its elite heights.
Blake turned that around after restocking the prospect pipeline and adding to the roster. Three playoff berths in a row while pushing the team to acquire players through bold acquisitions that haven’t fully panned out for the team and have them in an odd position.
This will be Blake’s eighth year as GM, entering the 2024-25 season. The first four years were dedicated to retooling and building around their championship holdovers. The last three years have been igniting them towards postseason success. Is year eight finally the year they break through?
Players spoke out in the exit interviews last season regarding the 1-3-1 system they installed under Todd McLellan. They became one of the most difficult teams to play against, even if opposing players spoke out about how it wasn’t really ‘hockey.’ Back in March out 2024, this was felt by Nikita Zadorov postgame, “I mean, that’s their system. They don’t really make plays; they just rim the puck and sit back all game. I mean, it’s their goal to don’t play hockey and don’t let the other team play hockey, pretty much.”
That era has ended, as the Kings look to be changing systems to the 1-2-2. The tinkering still gets the job done to what the Kings are trying to accomplish, and that’s clogging up the neutral zone, making clean zone entries less feasible. To stray away from the 1-3-1, it’s not exactly night and day. The 1-2-2 still has its drawbacks; forechecking may be less assertive, giving the opposition team more time to create opportunities. While one forechecker seems minute, the aggressiveness of the 1-2-2 is flexible depending on the philosophy predicated by the staff under Jim Hiller.
The 1-3-1 is an excellent system that, when appropriately executed, stifles opposition and insulates goaltenders. The system acted as a late-career remedy for Cam Talbot, who posted numbers more associated with his best years in the league. Talbot’s 2.50 GAA was his best since his 2016-17 season in Edmonton. Credit due is credit due, and his penalty kill performance was a massive reason why the Kings finished second in the league last season.
The Kings are taking a multi-year gamble on Darcy Kuemper, a former Stanley Cup champion who lost his way during his time with the Capitals. The move to acquire Kuemper was a necessity after investing in an albatross contract with Pierre-Luc Dubois, a move that, on paper, initially looked to give the Kings the best center depth in the league. Like in the Cal Peterson contract, Blake deserves some credit for removing a souring contract off the books and, in this case, a clear-cut one-for-one swap.
Credit: © Sergei Belski-Images
The Dubois void does leave an opportunity in the lineup. Center depth is critical for success. Quinton Byfield, who is just turning 23, will finally get that opportunity. The drafted center will return to his natural position after a very productive 55-point season on the top-line wing next to Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. The potential union of Byfield and Fiala gives fans plenty of optimism. Fiala has produced 145 points in 151 games for LA, with 91 points at even strength.
Both players have incredible potential when playing together. Fiala has yet to find a full-time home in the King’s forward lines, he’s found the most success with Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore. His alignment with the Kings has been fluid, creating an attempt to cause matchup problems on the third and fourth lines. Without Blake Lizotte or Dubois, Fiala will now have to play with a ‘green’ center if the Kings continue to pursue that same strategy.
The Lizotte departure to the Pittsburg Penguins opens up a spot at 4C for young forwards Alex Turcotte and Akil Thomas. Both players have been plagued by injuries at the start of their careers and have been stuck in the AHL for most of their pro careers. Turcotte has 32 NHL games to his career, with Thomas having less at just seven total. That role comes with increased responsibility to check other lines, which tends to water down a player’s offense level. The fourth-line center role will be an area to monitor as preseason comes to a wrap and throughout the season as two of the last standout prospects make their claim to not just the Kings but to their NHL careers.
Another young player to watch is Alex Laferriere, a familiar face to the Kings after last season. An Alex Iafallo 2.0, in terms of making the team out of camp last season, looks to get a legitimate shot at playing on the top line to start the season, with Byfield taking over the center role. With Viktor Arvidsson leaving, he becomes a potential fixture as a right-handed shot on the first powerplay unit. Laferriere struggled next to Dubois, his most used partner at center, but still produced 12 goals in 81 games. His elevated role bars question marks how far his game will go, with an excess of opportunity to prove any doubters wrong.
Training camp openings and battles have been relatively nonexistent, with Iafallo and Laferriere being anomalies. With the new faces rolling in, the roster is all but set. Blake retooled with grit, adding Warren Foegele, Tanner Jeannot, and Joel Edmundson. These players are locking down roster spots and will add a different element. Foegeles 20 goals while playing as a complementary piece to top-end talent on Edmonton’s Stanley Cup final roster acts as a decent upgrade for the Kings to utilize. Jeannot acts as an alternative to Carl Grunstrom, while the on-and-off-injured Edmundson attempts to replace some of the void left by Matt Roy. The absence will expand the much-needed growth of young defensemen Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence, who have a combined 126 games.
If the defense didn’t already have question marks surrounding it, then enter the Drew Doughty injury, who is listed as month-to-month. The Kings are still experimenting with how to replace Doughty, a difficult task.
How much longer can the team be carried by the old guard in Kopitar and an unavailable Doughty? The Kings won championships in the early primes of both players’ careers when both were arguably the top three players in their positions. Yes, both can still play at a top level against top competition, but they aren’t the elite superstars they once were.
This season will ride the coattails of Byfield’s transition to center and the potential productivity of Fiala’s partnership. It will be encouraged by a new face on the top line and a possible Kuemper comeback season. The gap left by Doughty and the doubts surrounding the defensive corps will disappear if Clarke and Spence ramp up their games and settle into productive top-four defensemen. Future development for the Kings is improbable if they keep relying so heavily on their championship holdovers. The new faces will have to play to their value and more for this team to continue their recent regular season and find postseason success.
Hugely disappointing news for Doughty and #LAKings, as sources say surgery will also likely include damaged tendon repair. Timeline TBD, dependent on extent of repair, but ballpark: +/- 10-14 weeks.
Injury not expected to affect Doughty’s Team Canada candidacy for 4Nations. https://t.co/4kn2kyyCNB
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 27, 2024
The concern of treading water for this team is more and more apparent. There are always variables for a team to start a new season, whether it’s as a Stanley Cup contender or a lottery-bound team. The Kings have plenty, with many being self-inflicted. With the 2024-25 season next week, each one will act as a weight, potentially dragging them down to the middle of the pack. This arc of starting as a bottom feeder to yearly playoff bound, now at the risk of being in the mushy middle, does not bode well for management.
