30 in 30: Los Angeles Kings
In defence of their 2012 title the Kings recovered from a sluggish start to eventually finish 5th in the West, from there St Louis and San Jose were vanquished but Kopitar and co. never managed to build up the head of steam that saw them blow through to the Finals the previous year. A competitive yet ultimately conclusive loss in 5 games to Chicago ended their postseason and a run of six straight series victories. Surely another trip to the playoffs is guaranteed in 2013-14
Notable Ins: Matt Frattin, Jeff Schultz, Ben Scrivens, Dan Carcillo
Notable Outs: Jonathan Bernier, Dustin Penner, Brad Richardson, Rob Scuderi
As you can see no major changes and most of the above action came from one trade, a move that shipped backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier to Toronto for fellow goalie Scrivens, useful forward Frattin and a second round pick. Bernier has huge potential but with Jonathan Quick likely to be around for a long, long time the deal made a lot of sense with the package they got in return. Scrivens is good enough to push Quick for starts and Frattin will fit nicely into a third line wing spot.
On the blueline the Kings may feel the loss of Rob Scuderi’s always reliable presence, a man who’s been called underrated enough times to now be held in fair regard. Experience won’t be in short supply though; Willie Mitchell, Robyn Regehr and Matt Greene solidify a defence that’ll surely be in the running for tightest in the league. Drew Doughty has made huge strides with his defensive game allowing him to 25 minutes plus, but Slava Voynov may have overtaken him as the Kings’ best puck mover.
In a familiar looking forward group one to watch in the breakout stakes is rookie Tyler Toffoli, in my opinion Darryl Sutter should throw him straight onto Mike Richards and Jeff Carter’s second line. Toffoli has been allowed time to develop and boasts big numbers from both juniors plus the AHL, there’s also few other exciting options to fill that left wing spot. As well as being one of the league’s most prominent bromances, Richards and Carter outshone the top line during the playoffs and will be looking to carry that form through.
Dustin Brown is likely to have a large chip on his shoulder after logging just four points in 18 playoff games, alongside Anze Kopitar it’s a drought that is unlikely to last. Their Slovak center is an elite talent and the go-to offensive producer, don’t be surprised to see him back above 80 points this season.
LA may not go out and tear up the regular season but to me it doesn’t matter, as long as they get in this is a team built to succeed in playoff hockey. The Kings were by far the biggest hitters in the West and Darryl Sutter might do well to dial that physical approach back in a full length season, going full tilt for 82 contests will take its toll. That being said I’ll still predict them to compete hard for the Pacific title.
Prediction: 2nd in Pacific Division.