For the second straight year, the Los Angeles Kings have lost a key part of their roster before the season even started. Last season, it was Drew Doughty with an ankle injury in a preseason game, and this year it is Corey Perry, who suffered a knee injury that required surgery.
Who can the Los Angeles Kings count on after losing Corey Perry for the start of the upcoming regular season due to a knee injury?
The good news is that Perry's injury doesn't appear to be as serious, and the Kings announced he could be back somewhere between six and eight weeks. That means at most, he could miss the first month of the season.
During that time, the Kings are going to need some players to step up on that fourth line, which is where Perry was expected to play. When looking at the players currently under contract, these are some players who can help shoulder some of the workload until Perry returns.
Alex Turcotte
Alex Turcotte was entering the season as the likely center for that fourth line between Perry and Joel Armia. However, with Perry now set to miss the beginning of the season, the Kings really don't have anyone who can fill that role with the expected offensive production.
This creates a chance for Turcotte to really lean into that part of his game, which he started to show when he was moved to this spot towards the end of last season. In his final seven games of the regular season before his injury, he had four points.
The question for Turcotte, and the coaching staff will have to figure this out, is whether they play him at center or at left wing. That question will be answered based on who they have as that third player for that line.
Samuel Helenius
The additions of Perry and Joel Armia during free agency seemingly pushed Samuel Helenius as the odd man out. Helenius appeared in 50 games last season and had four goals and three assists but that is not the strength of his game.
He is a player who brings a physical presence to the forward group and had 150 hits, which is something the Kings could need with Tanner Jeannot no longer in Los Angeles and joining the Boston Bruins. If Helenius is the player, then this is a scenario where Turcotte probably moves to the wing, as Helenius was slightly better on face-offs than Turcotte.
Akil Thomas
Akil Thomas entered last season with a lot of excitement about what he could bring to this offense. He played in seven games in the season before and had three goals in limited action.
However, Thomas struggled to get a regular spot on the ice and appeared in only 25 games with one goal and two assists. He now has a chance to start the season strong if he can win the opportunity to replace Corey Perry on the fourth line.
The addition of Thomas, alongside Turcotte, would give the Kings higher upside in terms of offensive production. The fourth line is something that fans are going to have to watch closely over training camp and preseason to figure out how they try to replace Corey Perry to begin the season.