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.
Surprise number one: Dustin Brown returns to form
For most NHL players, being 36 years old means you are already retired or getting ready to retire — but not Dustin Brown. The Ithaca, New York, native has aged like one of the fine wines produced near his hometown. His play this season proved that Brown is not yet ready to ride off into the sunset just yet.
Brown would understandably not be expected to lead the LA Kings in any offensive categories at this stage in his career, however, Brown looked like he was ten years younger this season. Sure, playing in his usual first-line right-wing spot with superstar center Anze Kopitar helped, but consider the team categories that Brown either led or was near the top in.
- Overall goals scored team rank: 1st
- Power play goals scored team rank: 1st
- Shots taken team rank: 1st
- Hits team rank: 4th
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I’m normally not a big analytics guy, but even I can use an analytics tool to prove just how good Brown was. His CorsiFor percentage was 52.4%, which meant the Kings had more possession of the puck than they did not. Now consider they had a team CorsiFor average of 48.1%, making Brown’s number even more impressive.
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Surprise number two: The Jeff Carter trade.
Heading into this season’s April 12th NHL trade deadline, it had become obvious the LA Kings were going to be sellers. With the team rapidly falling out of playoff contention, several names were rumored to be going out of town. Many speculated just what the return would be for Dustin Brown, Andreas Athanasiou, Alex Iafallo, and even Jonathan Quick. They would all keep their southern California addresses, but out of nowhere, it was announced another franchise cornerstone had been traded.
The night before the actual deadline, the Kings announced they had traded Jeff Carter to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kings received two conditional draft picks (and retained half of Carter’s salary) in return for one of the key components of their two Stanley Cup championships. The trade sent shockwaves through the LA fanbase as ,even though his production had slowed, Carter was a very popular player.
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At first, it seemed baffling as to why the Penguins would make the trade. Scoring goals is not an area where Pittsburgh needs help, and that has been Carter’s calling card throughout his whole career. New Penguins GM Ron Hextall is very familiar with Carter from their time together in Los Angeles, however, and knows that “Carts” brings a championship pedigree to his team.
The trade has rejuvenated Carter. In the 14 regular-season games he has played since arriving in Pittsburgh, he has scored nine goals, including a four-goal game. Through five playoff games this season, No. 77 has three goals and one assist.
It looks like Ron Hextall knew what he was doing.
Surprise number three: Trevor Moore has been a revelation.
To say Trevor Moore was a pleasant surprise for the LA Kings this season is an understatement.
The 26-year-old native of Thousand Oaks, California, “came home,” so to speak, after being a part of the package sent to the Kings in a February 6th, 2020 trade that sent Kyle Clifford and Jack Campbell to the Toronto Maple Leafs. After being signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Denver by the Maple Leafs in 2016, Moore spent most of his time with Toronto’s AHL team prior to the trade.
Trevor Moore impressed enough in this season’s LA Kings training camp to be named to the opening-night roster, and he never looked back. Playing in the Kings’ bottom-six group of forwards, Moore provided energy for the team and found his scoring touch as well — posting a career-best 10 goals and 13 assists. Coach Todd McLellan thought so highly of his play that Moore was in the lineup for all 56 of the Kings games this season.
To cap off his excellent season, Trevor Moore was named the LA Kings nominee for the King Clancy Trophy, which is given each year to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice, and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.”
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Going into this offseason, Moore will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. It’s safe to say that his play this season will give the Kings every reason to re-sign him.