There is a lot of information gathering that is going on right now for Ken Holland as he has stepped in as the new general manager of the Los Angeles Kings. He is not only trying to understand the Kings at a deeper level but get a feeling for the landscape across the entire league, which will help in trade discussions and eventually free agency.
However, after watching the LA Kings from afar this past season there is one thing that is already hoping to add to this roster this offseason. He was recently on The Sick Podcast - The Eye Test and Holland was asked if there is one trend that he sees across the league that he feels he needs to address with the Kings.
"One of the things that is going on is that during playoff time is going to the blue paint," Holland said. He noted that this is the top teams in the NHL and they are good at blocking shots and getting in lanes.
LA Kings saw their goals off rebounds drastically decrease in the playoffs
The new Kings' GM might be onto something because the Kings have been good regular season teams the past few seasons but have not been able to get out of the first round. One of the things that is notable is that between the regular season and playoffs this season, the Kings percentage of goals off rebounds went way down.
During the regular season, according to MoneyPuck, the Kings led the league in % of Goals from Rebounds at 19.1%. However during the playoffs, that percentage dropped to 7.14%
The Kings also saw a notable drop in High Danger Shots as they were 11th in the NHL during the regular season but were last among playoff teams with only eight.
What was also interesting from Holland's interview is that he notes that addressing this isn't necessarily just bringing players in. It also can include developing some of the players on the roster and the one player who comes to mind in that regard is Quinton Byfield, who has the size and skill to get into those high-danger areas.
This seems like it is going to be a point of emphasis for Ken Holland and it will be interesting to see how the Kings go about trying to address it.