Los Angeles Kings: 2nd Half Wish List
It’s still the holiday season, the New Year is right around the corner and NHL teams have made their wishlists.
With the New Year beginning tomorrow, we’ve already identified 15 things the Los Angeles Kings should be thankful for. But what about their wishes for the second half?
Sitting at a record of 23-11-2 with 48 points and leading the Pacific Division, the Kings aren’t complaining about their season thus far. As the season progresses and teams amp things up as they head toward a playoff run, games and points will start to mean just that much more.
Los Angeles still has a number of steps to take before they win their third Stanley Cup in 5 years. In this holiday wish list, identified are five things the Kings are hoping for as they enter the New Year. From increased scoring to General Manager magic, you’re going to want to know what your favorite team is wishing for.
So what are the 5 biggest things the Kings have on their holiday wish list?
Let’s take a look.
Next: #5. Lombardi The Great
#5. Lombardi The Great
Los Angeles Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi is arguably the greatest GM when it comes to acquiring top talent at the trade deadline.
Do the names Jeff Carter, Marian Gaborik, Justin Williams and Robyn Regehr ring a bell?
Carter became a King days before the 2012 trade deadline in a trade with Columbus that saw defenseman Jack Johnson and a first-round pick go the other way. Carter made an instant impact in L.A. that season, recording 9 points in 16 games before putting up another 13 in 20 playoff games en route to the Stanley Cup. Carter has since been one of the Kings’ top scorers every season and has even took over as alternate captain this season while defender Matt Greene recovers from an injury.
More from Editorials
- Kings vs. Oilers prediction and odds for NHL playoffs Game 2
- The LA Kings Goalie Controversy No One Saw Coming
- LA Kings’ Adrian Kempe is an Underrated Swedish Star
- Kings’ Stanley Cup odds are disrespectful
- Rink Royalty goes behind the scenes with Union and Blue for LAK-CBJ game
On trade deadline day in 2014, Lombardi pulled his magic and acquired one of the fastest, most skilled forward in the game today: Marian Gaborik. Gaborik finished the 2014 regular season with 16 points in 19 games with the Kings and added 22 points in 26 playoff games as the former 3rd-overall pick won his first Stanley Cup.
An injured Williams was dealt to the Kings from Carolina on trade deadline day 2009. Although he didn’t make an immediate impact, the fan favorite was key in helping lead L.A. to Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014. He was so clutch that he earned the nickname “Mr. Game 7”.
Regehr was acquired by Lombardi just days before the 2013 trade deadline in a deal with Buffalo. Regehr, now retired, came to L.A. as a big-bodied seasoned veteran who helped the Kings lift the Stanley Cup – his first – in 2014.
These are some of Lombardi’s most notable acquisitions and these are just ones that occurred around the NHL’s trade deadline over the last few years. Add in the fact he struck deals to acquire Mike Richards, Dustin Penner and Andrej Sekera and it’s pretty clear “Deano” is a trade wizard.
Will he pull off another blockbuster come the 2016 trade deadline?
Next: #4. Weak Pacific Division
#4. Weak Pacific Division
Although the Kings are having a good year, they sit at the top looking down thanks to a weak division.
This was identified in my “15 things the Los Angeles Kings should be thankful for” piece I did last week and it’s something the Kings should wish stays the same as the season progresses.
L.A. sits 1st in the Pacific, 10 points ahead of 2nd place San Jose, with 48 points. Their division is home to 2 of the league’s bottom 5 teams in the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks. The Calgary Flames were in that position just a couple of weeks ago but seem to be getting things back on track thanks to an 7-3-0 record over their last 10 games.
More from Rink Royalty
- LA Kings goaltending could be better than expected in 2023-24
- LA Kings should consider taking a chance on these 2 free agents
- 2 forwards listed as “movable pieces” by the Los Angeles Kings
- LA Kings Need a Goalie: Here’s Our Wishlist of Potential Targets
- Checking in on the LA Kings players in the IIHF World Championship
While every other division looks to be more competitive than the Pacific this season, the Kings aren’t complaining one bit. L.A. have become used to coasting through the regular season before qualifying for the playoffs with few points to spare and hey, it’s worked.
But last season this system finally caught up to them and they became the first team since the Carolina Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup one year and fail to make the post-season the next. This season, and with the help of a weaker division, the Kings are looking to solidify a top seed going into the playoffs and hopefully early so they can rest some of their big guns down the stretch.
Next: #3. A Healthy New Year
#3. A Healthy New Year
This could be #1 on this list, but what fun is a #1 that says “don’t get hurt”?
Anyway, don’t get hurt, L.A. Kings.
Through 36 games in 2015-16, L.A. has 87 injured man games lost. It could be worse, though, and they could be like Edmonton who sit first with 160 man games lost, but last season L.A. finished with the 3rd-fewest man games lost to injury with 136.
More from Editorials
- Kings vs. Oilers prediction and odds for NHL playoffs Game 2
- The LA Kings Goalie Controversy No One Saw Coming
- LA Kings’ Adrian Kempe is an Underrated Swedish Star
- Kings’ Stanley Cup odds are disrespectful
- Rink Royalty goes behind the scenes with Union and Blue for LAK-CBJ game
The Kings already boast one player (Dwight King) who has only just recently played his first game of the season because of a broken foot while another (Matt Greene) has suited up for a grand total of 3 games before suffering a shoulder injury that resulted in surgery earlier this month, sending the veteran defender to the Long-Term Injured Reserve list.
Forward Kyle Clifford has missed the past 10 games due to a head injury and isn’t close to returning. Fellow forward Trevor Lewis also missed 7 games from December 5-17 but has since returned to the lineup.
Other than these injuries, L.A. has been fairly lucky this season when it comes to the injury bug (knock on wood). King suffered his injury in the final game of preseason, Greene was hurt just 3 games in and while the timeline on Clifford’s injury is unknown, the Kings have been fortunate enough to have not suffered any other major injuries 33 games into the year.
Here’s to hoping things continue to work in favor of L.A., who, entering the 2015-16 season, had just 817 man games lost since the 2009-10 season, the fewest in the NHL over that span.
Next: #2. Goals
#2. Goals
A lot of shots equals a lot of goals, right? Apparently not.
Despite leading the entire league with an average of 32.4 shots for per game, the Kings currently sit 15th in the NHL with 98 goals in 36 games (2.72 goals for per game). Last season, they finished 20th overall with 220 goals and are on pace to score just 213 this season.
L.A. has scored 2 or fewer goals in 16 of their 36 games this season with a record of 8-8 in those games while going 16-4 when they put up 3+ goals.
More from Rink Royalty
- LA Kings goaltending could be better than expected in 2023-24
- LA Kings should consider taking a chance on these 2 free agents
- 2 forwards listed as “movable pieces” by the Los Angeles Kings
- LA Kings Need a Goalie: Here’s Our Wishlist of Potential Targets
- Checking in on the LA Kings players in the IIHF World Championship
Scoring hasn’t been a strength for the Kings in recent years. In 2014-15, only 3 players scored 20+ goals compared to just 2 in 2013-14 and 1 in 2012-13 (mind you it was a shortened season, though). L.A. hasn’t had more than 3 20+ goal scorers on their roster since the 2010-11 season when 5 players hit the 20-goal mark. They also haven’t had the luxury of icing a 30-goal scorer since the 2009-10 season when Anze Kopitar netted a career-high 34 goals.
Additionally, other than a 10th-place finish in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, the Kings haven’t ranked higher than 18th in the league in goals for per game since 2009-10, when they averaged 2.82 goals per game.
They say defense wins championships, and that’s not a lie. In L.A.’s two championships in 2012 and 2014, they had solid defense and goaltending. But just how far and how often can you count on your defense to win you games? The whole Kings team showed signs of fatigue towards last season’s unsuccessful playoff push, but their defense (led by Drew Doughty’s 29 minutes of average time-on-ice) arguably felt the effects the most.
If L.A. is planning on another long playoff run, it is essential they get better goal support down the stretch in order for the players, especially goaltender Jonathan Quick, to save their best for the post-season.
Next: #1. Continued OT Success
#1. Continued OT Success
To avoid missing the playoffs for the second straight season, success in games that go to overtime and/or a shootout will be crucial.
One of the biggest factors why the Kings failed to make the playoffs last season was directly due to their knack for leaving extra points on the table.
Absolutely brutal when it came to overtime and shootouts in 2014-15, L.A. lost 15 games when it came to playing an extra period, including a league-worst 2-8 record in the shootout.
More from Editorials
- Kings vs. Oilers prediction and odds for NHL playoffs Game 2
- The LA Kings Goalie Controversy No One Saw Coming
- LA Kings’ Adrian Kempe is an Underrated Swedish Star
- Kings’ Stanley Cup odds are disrespectful
- Rink Royalty goes behind the scenes with Union and Blue for LAK-CBJ game
The Kings missed the playoffs by 2 points (thanks, Calgary) and likely would’ve been headed to the post-season to defend their Stanley Cup had they not been so bad when games continued past regulation.
Luckily for L.A., the team has been pretty solid in 2015-16 when it comes to earning the extra point in games that go to overtime and shootouts. So far this season, the Kings are 7-1-1 in overtime and shootouts. They’ve mustered together an extra 7 points total in those games while giving up just 2.
Last season L.A. left a total of 15 points on the table thanks to OT and SO defeats. Remember, the Kings only missed the playoffs by two points. TWO! Winning just 3 of those 15 games would have secured a playoff berth.
So far so good. It appears L.A. have learned from their previous mistakes and aren’t settling for just one point should they remain tied after regulation.
Next: Los Angeles Kings: Norris Trophy Awaits Drew Doughty
So, there you have it. As the Kings wrap up the holidays with their families and bring in the new year on their current road trip, they now have a wish list to ring in 2016 with.