It is a major priority for general manager Ken Holland and the Los Angeles Kings to address the need to figure out the No. 1 center situation going into this upcoming season.
The Athletic recently ranked the best top-six center duos in the NHL this offseason, based on eight different tier levels. The Kings fell in the seventh tier among the teams that have a "major weakness" with their top-six center duo going into this upcoming season.
After the retirement of franchise icon Anze Kopitar this offseason, it was a major question mark for Holland and the Kings front office to address the No. 1 center role.
The Los Angeles Kings have big shoes to fill after Anze Kopitar's retirement
Los Angeles lost its franchise center this offseason with Kopitar's retirement. The team is now expecting young forward Quinton Byfield to step into the No. 1 center role going into training camp and the preseason this fall.
While Byfield will have an increased chance at success and improving his production offensively this upcoming season, he also faces more pressure to score the puck at a high level compared to this past few years with the Kings.
Can Quinton Byfield prove the ranking wrong?
Even though this ranking might accurately describe where the Kings are at right now on paper at the center position, it doesn't take into account the potential and raw talent level Byfield brings. Byfield has already shown flashes of becoming a legitimate first-line center with his combination of size, skating ability, shot release, and playmaking. The challenge for Byfield now will be showing he can consistently produce like one over an entire season.
Given his playmaking ability, quick shot release, and speed, Byfield has the potential to be a legitimate No. 1 center for the Kings this upcoming season. The Kings took Byfield second overall in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft for a reason, and the franchise still believes he can live up to the hype of being a top-five pick.
That said, there are questions about whether the Kings have enough depth in the middle of the lineup, even if Byfield reaches his potential this upcoming season for the forward group. Veterans like Scott Laughton and Erik Haula are proven two-way centers who can handle difficult defensive assignments and win clutch faceoffs. The uncertainty is what makes the Kings' depth down the middle difficult to evaluate entering the season.
This is largely why Holland and the Kings' front office put an emphasis on addressing scoring at winger and still face some level of uncertainty at center going into training camp this fall.
This ranking from The Athletic does reflect where the Kings are today, not necessarily where the team will finish the season. If Byfield ultimately takes another step and one of the team's other veteran centers exceeds expectations, the Kings could quickly move out of the major weakness tier on this list. Until that time, though, the biggest remaining question mark for the Kings is the center position on what is otherwise an improved roster.
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