It has been tough to get an understanding of where this Los Angeles Kings team ranks in the Western Conference. They currently sit third in the Pacific Division with 14 points and have some quality wins, like a road win over the Dallas Stars, but they also started the season 1-3-2 over the first six games.
It is tough to know which Kings team is for real and if they are truly a playoff team for the fifth straight season. However, when looking at the performances to begin the season, these are three players in particular who looked better than many expected, including two players they signed as free agents.
3 Los Angeles Kings who have exceed expectations to begin the 2025-26 season
Corey Perry
The biggest surprise so far this season has been the performance of Corey Perry, who unfortunately missed some time after suffering a knee injury in the early parts of training camp. He has played in only seven games this season but is already tied with Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala for the team lead in goals with five.
The Kings signed Perry in hopes of bringing some experience to their fourth line that would give Jim Hiller confidence to go with a deeper bench, especially in the playoffs. However, it seems like he will be able to deliver much more than that.
For Perry, the biggest question is whether he can keep this pace up in terms of goal scoring as he hasn't had more than 20 goals in a season since the 2015-16 season. It seems unlikely but for now, Perry has been giving the Kings much more than they expected.
Joel Armia
Joel Armia is another veteran the Kings signed as a free agent this summer to help solidfy that fourth line and he has delievered more than they expected. Through 13 games, Armia has six points and already has one short-handed goal.
One of the reasons the Kings signed Armia was to help on the penalty kill. While he hasn't seen much in terms of minutes, with only 17, he has the best Relative Expected Goal % among Kings players at 44% in penalty kill situations.
The penalty kill situations will come and when the Kings need him, he will be ready. However, it is great that he has been able to contribute in other ways in the mean time.
Brandt Clarke
Brandt Clarke entered the season under a great deal of pressure as the moves the Kings did during the summer made it clear that Clarke was a key part of this blue line moving forward. The former first-round pick has responded incredibly well and been one of the better players for the Kings in the first part of this season.
Through 13 games, he has seven points and a +/- of +4 while averaging over 17 minutes per game. That average probably will only go up as he has played 20 or more minutes in each of the past two games.
Last season, Clarke led the Kings' defensemen in points with 33 and is on pace to break that total this season if he keeps his points per game average of .54. For over a decade, Drew Doughty has been the pivotal player for this defense but it feels like this season that title might be passed to Clarke if he keeps playing at this level.