The Los Angeles Kings brass had a priority to make it a goal in free agency earlier this offseason to add a steady backup goaltender to the projected roster for the upcoming 2025-26 regular season. On July 1, the Kings and new general manager Ken Holland signed former Ottawa Senators goalie Anton Forsberg to a two-year contract, worth around $2.25 million in average annual value.
The goaltending situation is promising for the Los Angeles Kings goalie tandem going into the 2025-26 season with Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg
Forsberg will be the backup goaltender for the Kings behind starter Darcy Kuemper for this upcoming season in the West. He gives the Kings and head coach Jim Hiller a new path direction for the goalie tandem for this upcoming season in 2025-26.
The Kings are getting a bona fide, consistent goalie who can play at least 25 or 30 games in net to take some of the pressure off Kuemper. Forsberg played at least 30 regular season games in the past two seasons for the Senators.
This past season, Forsberg posted a .901 save percentage and a decent 2.72 goals against average in 30 games played in Ottawa in the 2024-25 campaign. He's played over 150 games since the 2020-21 season for the Senators in net.
The type of consistency and proven track record Forsberg brings to the Kings for this upcoming season in the 2025-26 campaign has brought more promising optimism to LA's depth in net for the tandem with Anton and Kuemper.
Nationally, the narrative surrounding the LA goaltender tandem is much more promising than it was this past season, going into the 2024-25 campaign in the Pacific Division. Adam Proteau of The Hockey News included Forsberg among the three "bona fide" backup goaltenders to watch in the upcoming 2025-26 season this fall.
The combination of Forsberg's peak performance points with the Senators in the early-to-mid 2020s decade with the ability to have less pressure on his shoulders to perform in the LA market versus north of the border in Canada should ease the expectations for him this upcoming season.