Between the established veterans and rising young players, the Los Angeles Kings and new head coach Peter Laviolette boast plenty of top-end talent. But how does all of that top-end talent for the Kings this upcoming season compare to the rest of the NHL?
The Athletic recently assembled its tier ranking list of the best players in the NHL for the upcoming 2026-27 season. This piece from The Athletic used a few different criteria to assemble this tier list.
The process started with each player's projected Net Rating before building in evaluations from the article's writers and a panel of over 20 executives, coaches, scouts, analysts, and former players.
Where LA Kings players landed in The Athletic's NHL player tiers
The highest-ranked Kings player in this tier list from The Athletic was star forward Artemi Panarin. He was considered in Tier 3B with the group of "All-Stars". Despite being 34 years old going into this upcoming season, Panarin is still considered an All-Star-caliber player entering his first full campaign with Los Angeles.
This past regular season, Panarin registered nine goals and 27 total points in 26 games played with the Kings. He helped to improve the Kings' offense and he will be important to keeping the team from finishing around the bottom of the league in goal scoring again in the 2026-27 season.
The newly extended Adrian Kempe was placed in Tier 4B, which placed him firmly in the "star" category. He's posted back-to-back 35-goal and 70-point seasons for the Kings, which places him alongside other standout forwards like Carolina Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov, Anaheim Ducks' Cutter Gauthier, and Vancouver Canucks' Bo Horvat.
The two lowest placements for the Kings on this tier list were center Quinton Byfield and defenseman Brandt Clarke. Byfield was placed in Tier 4C, which still puts him in the "star" category and ranks him as a top-100 player in the NHL.
Now that he's projected to be the No. 1 center with wingers Panarin and Kempe, Byfield is expected to have the most productive offensive season of his NHL career. This upcoming season could be Byfield's opportunity to finally make that jump to be put in the All-Star conversation.
Clarke, meanwhile, barely made the list in Tier 5C, sneaking in as a top-150-ranked player at just 23 years old. He's in the same tier as players like Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram.
Since Clarke is expected to take on a bigger role defensively, he will have more opportunities to make significant contributions on both ends of the ice this upcoming season for the Kings.
Los Angeles probably doesn't boast the same level of MVP-caliber talent as some of the top contenders in the Western Conference, but there is still room for these rankings to look different at this same time next year. Panarin remains an established star forward, Kempe is in the prime years of his NHL career, and both Byfield and Clarke are young enough to make significant jumps this upcoming season.
For the Kings to finally get over the hump in the postseason next spring, it might need that exact type of progression from its young core.
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