LAST SEASON

The Los Angeles Kings were the surprise of the Western Conference last year, as they ended a three-year playoff drought with an unexpected breakout season. The Vegas Golden Knights struggled through injuries all season and the Kings slipped in and stole their playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

Things looked bleak for the Kings early on. They started the year off by dropping six of their first seven games and they lost Drew Doughty, their top defenseman, to a knee injury just two weeks into the season.

The Kings were able to get by without Doughty thanks in part to a strong performance former veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick. In 16 games between the start of November and the end of December, Quick posted a sparkling .928 save percentage and the Kings were able to stay in the mix.

NHL

State of the Kings: Life without Dustin Brown, expectations for Kevin Fiala, and more

Doughty returned to the lineup at the beginning of December and the Kings quickly started to climb up the standings. An offense that had been among the worst in the league the previous few seasons saw breakout performances from multiple players. Trevor Moore set career highs with 17 goals and 48 points while Adrian Kempe more than doubled his previous career high in goals with 35.

Shortly before the trade deadline, it was announced that Doughty would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing wrist surgery. There was some pressure on him to try to find a defenseman to replace Doughty but general manager Rob Blake stood pat and didn’t make any major moves ahead of the deadline.

The Kings wound up finishing third in the Pacific. They gave the Edmonton Oilers a difficult run in the first round of the playoffs, ultimately losing in seven games.

 

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

  • Kevin Fiala, LW/RW
  • Pheonix Copley, G

Departures

  • Dustin Brown, RW (Retired)
  • Andreas Athanasiou, LW/RW (CHI)
  • Olli Maatta, D (DET)
  • Troy Stecher, D (ARZ)
  • Christian Wolanin, D (VAN)
  • Austin Strand, D (ANA)
  • Martin Frk, RW (STL)
  • Brock Faber, D (MIN)

 

OFFENSE

The Kings’ offense took a step forward in 2021-22 from where it had been in previous years but still finished in the bottom third of the league in terms of goals scored.

Anze Kopitar led the team in scoring for the fifth season in a row, as he tallied 19 goals and 67 points over the course of 81 games. The boost in the Kings’ offense came from the breakout performances of multiple young forwards on their roster.