LA Kings: Five most important players for 2021 season

Here are the five players whose performance will be the most important to the LA Kings in 2021.

Though nothing official has been announced yet as there are still complicated details and logistics that need to be ironed out, all indications are that the LA Kings and the NHL are on track to begin an abbreviated season sometime in January amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

As one of seven teams who did not make the cut for last year’s expanded postseason when play resumed in the summer, it’s been a long time since the LA Kings last played. If the season does indeed start in January, they’ll have gone about 10 months in between regular season games.

But while excitement may be high to finally get back on the ice, expectations are pretty low for the rebuilding Kings, who are coming off a 14th-place finish in the Western Conference and a quiet offseason.

Sure, every NHL season has teams that surprise, and those may be even more likely to happen in a shortened season being played under bizarre circumstances. While you never know what can happen, the success of the Kings’ season likely won’t be judged on how many games they win.

Rather, it will more so be the performance of certain players that determine how good the Kings are feeling about their progress at the end of the season. Here are five players in particular who the Kings’ brass will be watching closely this season.