Los Angeles Kings 24-25 Season Preview

Los Angeles Kings
Pacific Division

2023-24 Recap
Record (W-L-OTL): 44-27-11
Over/Under: 31-47-4
Home Favorite: 21-14
Home Dog: 1-3
Road Favorite: 12-9
Road Dog: 8-9
Win Score 4 or more: 33 of 44
Lose Give Up 4 or more: 24 of 38
Puck Line Wins: 30 of 44
Puck Line Losses: 21 of 38
Front End Back-to-Back: 9-2
Back End Back-to-Back: 4-7
Goals Scored Per Game/Rank: 3.10 (17th)
Goals Against Per Game/Rank: 2.56 (3rd)

Additions: Warren Foegele, Tanner Jeannot, Joel Edmundson, Darcy Kuemper, Kyle Burroughs, Caleb Jones
Subtractions: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cam Talbot, Matt Roy, Viktor Arvidsson, Blake Lizotte, Carl Grundstrom

For the third consecutive season, the LA Kings bowed out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to the Edmonton Oilers. It’s been 10 years since the Kings have won a playoff round, the longest drought in franchise history.

It was a season of inconsistency in Los Angeles. A mid-season swoon saw the Kings win just 6 of 24 games that lead to the dismissal of head coach Todd McLellan, replaced by assistant coach Jim Hiller, who earned himself a 4-year contract in the off-season.

Offense
Los Angeles finished 17th in goals scored per game (3.01), led by Trevor Moore’s career high 31 goals and Adrian Kempe’s team high 75 points. Quinton Byfield had a breakout season with 20 goals and 55 points, after scoring just 8 goals and 33 points in his previous 99 games. One year after a disastrous blockbuster deal trading for and signing Pierre-Luc Dubois to an 8-year contract, GM Rob Blake sent the 6’3 center to Washington in the summer in exchange for goalie Darcy Kuemper.

With the trade of Dubois, Byfleld is expected to play his natural position of center when the puck drops in October. The Kings added some grit up front in the off-season, signing former Oiler Warren Foegele and trading for Tanner Jeannot, but Blake’s moves did nothing to address the scoring issues.

Defense
The Kings were dealt a major blow when Drew Doughty suffered a fractured ankle on his first shift in his first preseason game versus the Vegas Golden Knights. Doughty will require surgery and likely won’t return until December. The loss of Matt Roy to free agency further compounds the loss of Doughty in the early going.

The question becomes who slots into Doughty’s spot of the team’s top pair with Mikey Anderson. While rookie Brandt Clarke is expected to replace Doughty on the Kings number one power play unit, the team will look to one of its more experienced defensemen to play with Anderson. Early indications are Kyle Burroughs acquired from San Jose will get first shot on the top pair.

Coach Jim Hiller is happy with what he has seen from the pair of Clarke and newcomer Joel Edmundson as the team’s third pair. Health has always been an issue for Edmundson so expect Clarke to have multiple defense partners throughout the season. I would expect Jordan Spence and Vladislav Gavrikov make up the second pair, leaving Andreas Englund as the seventh defenseman.

Goaltending
The Kings finished third in the NHL in Goals Against per game at 2.56 with goalies Cam Talbot and David Rittich. Despite those impressive numbers, the Kings moved on from Talbot. Rittich re-signed with the team and will combine with a 34-year-old Darcy Kuemper who lost his starting job in Washington to Charlie Lindgren and is coming off a season with an .890 sv% and 3.31 GAA.

Player to Watch – Brandt Clarke
The Kings are hoping that Clarke is the heir apparent to Drew Doughty. The 8th overall pick in 2021 has played just 25 NHL games over parts of two seasons, recording 2 goals and 8 points. His offensive skill took center stage last season when he came out of the penalty box and scored the game winner in overtime at Boston. But like many 21-year-old NHL defensemen, the defensive part of his game still needs work. LA had Clarke participate in their summer rookie camp with the sole purpose of having him focus on the defensive side of his game, and it was very apparent in watching the games that the organization had put the reins on Clarke. There were no end-to-end rushes. He had a pass first mentality and never went below the hash marks in the offensive zone. It will be interesting to see if Clarke can improve on the defensive part of his game at the NHL level.

Outlook
The Kings can be best described as a team that is closer to making the playoffs but further away from winning the Stanley Cup. Don’t be surprised to see them take a step back this season. Missing the playoffs would not shock me.

Regular Season Point Total: 96.5 (Over/Under -115)
To Make the Playoffs: -240
To Miss the Playoffs: +195
To Win the Pacific Division: +550
To Win the Western Conference: +1000
To Win the Stanley Cup: +2200