What The LA Kings Opening Night Roster Could Look Like
With the LA Kings Cap space spent and the roster finally beginning to take shape after the draft, free agency, and rookie camp we can start to speculate on the LA Kings opening night lineup.
We can also begin to figure out projected lines and special teams as well as Identify problems that may occur throughout the season for the LA Kings.
This team is going to be different than last year’s team as some big movements, key signings, and trades have all but finalized that.
I will be comparing these lines to the lines at the season opener for 2017-2018 and giving an opinion of whether each line has been upgraded or lost a little bit over the past year.
Let’s take a closer look.
LA Kings 1st Line:
| 17-18 | Iafallo | Kopitar | Brown |
| 18-19 | Kovalchuk | Kopitar | Brown |
Upgraded.
With no disrespect directed towards Alex Iafallo, this is a clear upgrade over the LA Kings first line last season. Ilya Kovalchuk is a purebred goal scorer who has, for the next 3 seasons, found a spot on an offensively struggling LA Kings team!
Kovalchuk is the type of player who commands a top 6 spot and can be volatile on the Power Play. The only questioning lingering over him is can he still produce at the NHL level? He’s 35 and has never been an extremely quick skater.
However, what makes up for his skating is the respect defensemen have to give Kovalchuk’s shot. Kovalchuk can fire the puck from anywhere in the offensive zone and it’s a threat. This means the players defending him have to give him space if they hope to block his shots.
Iafallo will get a crack at top six again in his career when he is a bit more matured and we have a distinct idea of what kind of player he is.
LA Kings 2nd Line:
| 17-18 | Pearson | Carter | Toffoli |
| 18-19 | Pearson | Carter | Toffoli |
Upgraded?
It’s the same line but let’s not forget that Jeff Carter had a shortened season which caused Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli to struggle a little bit towards the end of the season. Carter is the x-factor for the success of this line. Can he recreate the magic of “That 70’s Line”? We’ll have to wait and see but for now, we can speculate.
A healthy Carter and more reliable performances out of Toffoli and Pearson make this second line an upgrade for the 2018-2019 season. A healthy Carter could be the cause to Toffoli and Pearson having better and more consistent seasons. However, if this isn’t the case the LA Kings may have to take a long hard look in the mirror.
LA Kings 3rd Line:
| 17-18 | Cammalleri | Kempe | Brodzinski |
| 18-19 | Lafallo | Kempe | Vilardi |
Upgraded.
Without a doubt, Alex Lafallo is a more complete player than Michael Cammalleri. Iafallo simply does more with his game, he’s a takeaway monster, a strong presence on the forecheck.
Lafallo’s only struggle last season was his point scoring ability coming into question but lest we forget he played on a line with Anze Kopitar, he was being defended by the best defensemen in the world not named Drew Doughty!
Kempe is a more complete center than he was at the start of last season thanks to the Jeff Carter injury and spending most of his season on the LA Kings’ second line.
In a 3C role, he will no doubt be better and have more room to skate as he plays against the opposing teams 3rd and 4th lines more often.
Vilardi vs. Brodzinski is a tough battle to call but I’m going to hand it to Vilardi right now. I may be wrong, Vilardi has yet to play a game on NHL ice and we only have his Juniors statistics to go off of.
What sells Vilardi over Brodzinski to me is body size and how each of the players uses it. Gabriel Vilardi is 6’3 201 lbs and Jonny Brodzinski is 6’1 216 lbs.
Vilardi is known to utilize his size more than Brodzinski. Vilardi is a power forward playmaker hybrid (another comparison to Kopitar along with his #11 pick status) while Brodzinski is a sniper who has struggled to score in the NHL.
LA Kings 4th Line:
| 17-18 | Clifford | Shore | Lewis |
| 18-19 | Brodzinski/ |
Clifford
Amadio/
Thompson
Lewis
Upgrade.
There is a combination of forwards that could make up the LA Kings fourth line on any night and this season I feel it will be Amadio-Thompson-Lewis based off of Faceoff capabilities with Brodzinski and Clifford rotating in.
The 4th line loses grit but gains skill with Amadio in the middle training to become a Jarret Stoll reliable type 3C.
Trevor Lewis had a less than stellar back half of the season due to injuries and is expected to bounce back being 100% healthy again.
Clifford and Brodzinski will have to battle it out Clifford has seniority and will probably have his number called more often unless Brodzinski begins to produce like he did with the Ontario Reign.
LA Kings 1st D-pairing:
| 17-18 | Forbort | Doughty |
| 18-19 | Forbort | Doughty |
It’s the same pairing, Doughty will be Doughty and we accept that. Did Doughty spend some more time in the box than he should have this season? Maybe. Just keep in mind that the passion he shows when he’s yelling and “throwing tantrums” is the passion that wins championships.
Forbort is still a mystery. Who is Derek Forbort as a hockey player? Is he reliable? Is he streaky? He can be a strong stay at home defenseman but there are some mental gaffs (which we as fans take in stride) it happens.
Forbort is the key to whether this pairing is an upgrade this season. We know what we’re getting with Doughty, Forbort is more of a wild card.
LA Kings 2nd D-pairing:
| 17-18 | Muzzin | Folin |
| 18-19 | Muzzin | LaDue |
Lost a step.
This is an upgrade if Martinez slots in on the Right side but with the way LaDue has played in his time with the LA Kings, we want a reliable defenseman to play with him with the ability bail him out if he gets caught too deep.
The LA Kings will miss the physicality that Folin brought to the back end but LaDue’s offensive upside could help alleviate that pain. LaDue is the key to changing my mind on whether this pairing is better or worse off from last season.
LA Kings 3rd D-pairing:
| 17-18 | MacDermid | Fantenberg |
| 18-19 | Phaneuf | Martinez |
UPGRADE SUPREME!!!
Just read the names. Martinez was injured to start the season in 17-18 so this pairing may have looked a little different but regardless Phaneuf-Martinez could be a 2nd D-pairing on most NHL teams.
This doesn’t change that the LA Kings top 4 is Doughty, Muzzin, Martinez, and Phaneuf. I’m just not sure we want to see a Forbort-LaDue defensive pairing just yet.
MacDermid and Fantenberg will fight for 7th D spot but might ultimately lose it to Daniel Brickley and most likely end up playing in Ontario this season. I have MacDermid beating Fantenberg due to physicality but if Fantenberg can bring that offensive game and stay sound defensively it’s anybody’s game!
LA Kings PP1:
| 17-18 | Carter | Kopitar | Toffoli |
| Doughty | Martinez | ||
| 18-19 | Carter | Kopitar | Toffoli |
| Kovalchuk | Doughty |
A lot of people have Kovalchuk slotted in the LW spot for the PP1 I have him on the back end for this reason that people aren’t really considering. The LA Kings tend to run an umbrella power play.
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This means that Doughty, who quarterbacks the first Power Play unit, will be on the blueline in between where two defensemen would usually place themselves in 5-on-5 offensive play on the points.
Next, at the tops of each of the circles would stand the other defenseman, Kovalchuk in this instance, and Kopitar his opposite. Both Kovi and Kopi will be in positions to take one-timers and distanced shots.
In the slot and in front of the crease could be interchangeable due to Toffoli and Carter being able to play either position both are right-hand shots who can pick the corners.
Whichever one plays in front of the crease also has an option to sneak off behind an opposing defenseman and open themselves up for a tap-in should a passing lane open up.
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 07: Los Angeles Kings left wing Adrian Kempe (9) during an NHL regular season game against the Dallas Stars on April 7, 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LA Kings PP2:
| 17-18 | Kempe | Carter | Brown |
| Muzzin | Martinez | ||
| 18-19 | Iafallo | Kempe | Brown |
| LaDue/Muzzin | Martinez |
Lost a step.
Iafallo isn’t Carter that much is clear but he does bring a lot of promise to this power play unit. He is an amazing passer and can find the open man on the power play after seeing a little time with Kopitar and Brown on the top PP unit last season.
Kempe will be a good high slot option and with Brown screening, the goaltender Kempe will be able to pick the corners just that much easier.
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The LA Kings are looking to be a more offensive team this season and the moves they made may be enough for them to regain their “Contender” status from years past. We’ll have to wait and see!