As we approach the 2016-17 season, we’re previewing what’s ahead for each of the 30 NHL teams. Up next: the Los Angeles Kings.
MAIN SUMMER HEADLINES
• Kings strip forward Dustin Brown of captaincy, give it to forward Anze Kopitar
• Gaborik out eight weeks after World Cup injury
Head coach: Darryl Sutter
GM: Dean Lombardi
Team payroll: $72.97 million ($73 million salary cap)
2015-16 Record: 48-28-6 (Second in Pacific)
GF: 225 (14th in NHL)
GA: 195 (Third in NHL)
Result: Lost in first round to San Jose Sharks, 4-1
Key acquisitions: Teddy Purcell, Michael Latta, Tom Gilbert, Zach Trotman, Jeff Zatkoff, Jack Campbell
Key departures: Milan Lucic, Vincent Lecavalier, Kris Versteeg, Jhonas Enroth, Luke Schenn
Rookies to watch: Adrian Kempe isn’t a shoe-in to make the Kings out of training camp—there isn’t much room on this roster for a rookie—but look for him to make good on whatever chance he gets in the NHL this season.
Kempe, a product of Modo of the Swedish Hockey League, was drafted 29th overall by the Kings in 2014. He came over to the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs at the end of the 2014-15 season and helped them win a Calder Cup, contributing eight goals in 17 games.
Last season, the left winger had 11 goals and 17 assists in 55 games with the Kings’ new AHL affiliate—the Ontario Reign.
Kempe is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and a powerful forward with some edge to his game. He should fit in perfectly with the way this Kings team likes to play.
Los Angeles will have a successful season if…
They can remain in the top half of the NHL in the goals for column.
That means Anze Kopitar notching more than 60 points for an 11th consecutive season (counting 42 points in 47 games of lockout-abridged 2012-13 season). It means Jeff Carter scoring 20-plus goals, as he has in each of his 11 seasons. And it means Marian Gaborik must come back from his World Cup injury strong and ready to bounce back from a 12-goal, 10-assist 2015-16 season in 54 games last season.
Dustin Brown, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson are going to have to supplant whatever offence left with Milan Lucic going to Edmonton.
The Kings play a tight defensive system, and they have solid goaltending, but the offence has to be at least as good as it was last season for them to have a successful year.
Los Angeles will have an unsuccessful season if…
Jonathan Quick doesn’t play at an elite level throughout.
Quick went 40-23-5, sporting a .918 save percentage last season. If he drops off from that level at all, there’s no guarantee Jeff Zatkoff—who has 35 games of NHL experience—can bail him and the Kings out.
Quick will have to improve on his numbers for the Kings to be as successful as they were last season. The offence isn’t packing the same punch without Lucic, and the team is tight against the cap without much room to bring in more scoring.
If their No. 1 goalies isn’t up to the task, the Kings could be in trouble.
