The three biggest surprises of the LA Kings season

As we continue our look back at the season that was for the LA Kings, this time, we’re going to look at its biggest surprises.

The 2021 regular season for the LA Kings concluded on May 13th in Denver, Colorado. Finishing with a record of 21-28-7 for a total of 49 points, they settled in sixth place in the Honda West Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

This is not in itself is not a huge surprise. The LA Kings are beginning to emerge from the rebuild they have been in for the past few seasons, and this was planned to be a “transition” season where the team would start integrating their highly-touted prospects into the lineup.

The Kings achieved this goal as players like Gabe Vilardi, Mikey Anderson, Tobias Bjornfot, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan became full-time NHL players, while Quinton Byfield, Rasmus Kupari, and Lias Andersson got the chance to show their skills at the NHL level.

While things may have gone mostly as expected, as with any season, there were some surprises. So, without further ado, we present what we think were the three biggest surprises of this LA Kings season.

Please note: The three surprises are not ranked in any particular order. We’ll have you, the reader, decide that.