The Los Angeles Kings made a flurry of moves at the start of free agency by signing Andrei Kuzmenko before free agency, five unrestricted free agents on the first day, and making a qualifying offer to Alex Laferriere that almost all but guarantees he will be with the Kings next season. Now that the Kings' roster is pretty well set, let's take a look at the groups and what the lines might be like for next season.
Los Angeles Kings current forwards
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
Andrei Kuzmenko | Anze Kopitar | Adrian Kempe |
Kevin Fiala | Quinton Byfield | Alex Laferriere |
Warren Foegele | Phillip Danault | Trevor Moore |
Corey Perry | Alex Turcotte | Joel Armia |
The Top 9 at this point looks to be unchanged from what the Kings had last season. Andrei Kuzmenko should return to the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe in a spot that he played really well in down the stretch.
Where the Kings made the most changes was on the fourth line and decided to go with a move veteran group of Corey Perry and Joel Armia to play alongside Alex Turcotte. This raises the question where a player like Samuel Helenius fits in and at this point he probably will be the odd man out with the occasional game to give Perry or Armia a rest.
Los Angeles Kings current defensemen
Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
Mikey Anderson | Drew Doughty |
Joel Edmundson | Brandt Clarke |
Brian Dumoulin | Cody Ceci |
The biggest changes for the Kings next season will be on defense and it is hard to make a case that this group got better. They would love Vladislav Gavrikov in free agency after he signed with the New York Rangers and traded Jordan Spence a few days prior to the Ottawa Senators during the NHL Draft.
Similar to the forwards, the Kings elected to bring in veterans to help solidify the depth with Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci. Right now, the thought would be that they would be the third pair with Edmundson moving up into Gavrikov's spot to be paired with Brandt Clarke.
Los Angeles Kings current goaltenders
Goaltenders |
|---|
Darcy Kuemper |
Anton Forsberg |
Once again a similar trend at goalie to the other positions where the Kings wanted to go with a veteran player and signed Anton Forsberg to a two-year deal. He will come in and be the backup to Darcy Kuemper and raises the question of where Erik Portillo fits on this roster.
Forsberg's contract is a clear indication that this was not competition brought in for Portillo but Forsberg is expected to be the backup and probably play close to 30 games.