For the month of June, Last Word On Sports will be covering each team in our 30 in 30 series. Once a day, we take a look at an NHL team’s past season, what their off-season looks like, and what they could hope to achieve before the start of their 2015-16 season. Everybody wants to get better and improve upon last season’s success or downfall and NHL’s 30 in 30 gives you that analysis and preview you need to get you by during another long and grueling summer season. 30 days in June, 30 teams to cover. Starting on June 1st we start from the bottom and make our way to the very top.
Today’s team: The Los Angeles Kings. Check out our previous 30 in 30 articles here.
NHL’s 30 in 30: Los Angeles Kings
Finishing 18th overall, the Los Angeles Kings posted a record of 40-27-15 to end up with 95 points. Their home record (25-9-7) accumulated for 57 points, which made them the best home team among non-playoff teams and even finishing with more points than quite a few teams that made the dance. Unfortunately for them, their away record (15-18-8) let them down in a big way. The Kings finished with the 7th-best goals against but they were also 20th in goals for, making most games they played ending in close calls. Finishing just four points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the final wild card spot, the Kings may regret going 2-8 in the shoot-out, which could have been the difference.
The 2014-15 Regular Season
The Los Angeles Kings entered the 2014-15 season as the defending Stanley Cup Champions and while some experts predicted somewhat of a let-down, nobody thought the Kings would go through so much trial and tribulation. They were hurt earlier in the season when their blue-line took a major blow, losing defenseman Slava Voynov for the entire season due to a legal issue. With him gone, the defensive core appeared slow and the Kings were playing catch up in the standings, despite being the league’s best team at controlling the puck.
Leading the team in scoring, Anze Kopitar had somewhat of a bizarre season. His average of 19:23 ice-time was down by a minute and a half from last season and the lowest of his career. At the age of 27, Kopitar is still in the prime of his career but there are some alarming numbers to be worried about, including the average number of shots per 60 minutes being under two, and his 64 points in 81 games being the second-lowest of his career. Marian Gaborik finished second in goals scored on the team with 27, however his average point total has been taking a dip since 2009-10. At the age of 32, it’s only natural for his production to take a drop, however he is signed for another handful of seasons and the Kings will need him to start producing slightly more than the last few seasons.
Dustin Brown was an inexpensive player at $3.175 and was one of the big names in Los Angeles, but after signing a heftier contract that pays him just under $6 million per year through 2022, he hasn’t lived up to his contract and has regressed in productivity to that of a third liner. His contract will be hard to move too, as he still has multiple years left and is 30 years of age already. For a team lacking in scoring, it’s a pleasure to have a player like Jeff Carter on the team, a forward that has scored 20-or-more goals in nine seasons. Tanner Pearson stormed out of the gates with a strong performance, but went cold quickly and his season was ended a little sooner than anticipated when he broke his leg. They also got some strong performances from the youth on the bottom-six, in particular Dwight King and Kyle Clifford. A bruising forward, Clifford signed a 5-year, $8 million extension, paying him $1.6 million per year.
Headed by one of the best defensemen in the league, the Kings blue-line was decent considering the loss of Voynov. Drew Doughty, who led all defensemen in points with 46 in 82 games, averaged 28 minutes of ice time which was a career-high for him. Jake Muzzin was a great story as well, considering that two seasons ago he was a rookie and playing third-line minutes. Now, averaging over 22 minutes per game and putting up 41 points while facing tough match-ups, it’s safe to say Muzzin has evolved into a quality top-4 defenseman. Same can be said for Alec Martinez, the man who scored the Stanley Cup golden goal. He averaged a pinch under 20 minutes per game but missed significant time due to a finger injury and concussion problems.
Jonathan Quick posted reasonable numbers last season, with a .918 save percentage and a 2.24 goals against average. He’ll be relied upon to kick it up another notch and play regular season hockey as if he were in playoff form, but that isn’t to take away his season and put the blame on him. On the back-up end, Martin Jones was decent in his role and could remain in that role at a reasonable price, as Jones is an RFA heading into the off-season.
In an attempt to push for the playoffs, General Manager Dean Lombardi made one trade before the deadline, sending prospect Roland McKeown to the Carolina Hurricanes, along with a conditional 2015 1st-round pick, for defenseman Andrej Sekera. Since the Kings failed to make it to the post-season, the pick became a 2016 1st-round pick.
The Off-Season and Free Agents
Heading into the off-season, the Los Angeles Kings have a total of nine free agents to decide on. Of the nine free agents, four are restricted to the team; Forwards Nick Shore, Tyler Toffoli and Andy Andreoff, and goaltender Martin Jones. Forwards Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll, and defensemen Robyn Regehr, Andrej Sekera and Jamie McBain are the upcoming unrestricted free agents. In terms of non-roster players, Lombardi will have to decide on four restricted free agents and two unrestricted free agents.
The big name going into this off-season is Mike Richards, and what will become of his contract that pays him $5.75 million for another five seasons. The 30-year-old veteran and two-time Stanley Cup winner spent half of his season down in the AHL with the Monarchs, and was believed to be in play for a trade out of town. At his performance level and current contract, it will be a tough act to promote to other teams and if Lombardi wants to trade him, it’s likely in a deal that returns a salary dump player in the process.
With both Williams and Stoll heading to July 1st as unrestricted free agents, the Kings are at risk of losing two big pieces to their team. Re-signing Toffoli is another thing they’ll have to work with, as the 22-year-old sensation is in line for a nice pay raise this summer. There’s also Nick Shore, who came up for Richards, but only scored one goal in 34 games. He has the talent to perform more than that and could become a complimentary player on the team on opening day.
With just over $9 million to spend on the cap, the Kings have some room to maneuver a signing or two after they retain the services of some of their restricted free agents. Of course, buying out Richards could open up some more cash to spend on July 1st. Should Williams and Stoll leave, Lombardi will have a hole to fill in his top-six. Names like Joel Ward and Matt Beleskey could be viable options at their expected price, and the depth on the bottom-six could be filled in by some of the up-and-coming youth.
On defense, 29-year-old Jeff Schultz and prospect Derek Forbort would fill out the defense nicely in a depth role, while Doughty, Martinez and Muzzin fill out the top-four, along with 24-year old Brayden McNabb. McNabb played decent minutes and can be a physical presence, but he is also good with the puck and can log minutes on the powerplay as well.
The Draft Table
Lombardi and his scouting staff will have some interesting choices at the upcoming draft, as the Los Angeles Kings hold seven picks, including the 13th overall selection. Despite having no sixth-round pick this year, the Kings will pick three times in the top-75. In all the Kings select 13th, 43rd, 74th, 104th, 134th, 187th and 194th.
At the 13th pick, you have to believe the Kings are eying one of Timo Meier or Travis Konecny. Meier, 6’1 and 200+ pounds, is a big right winger that excels at two-way hockey. He can kill penalties and block shots, then utilize his great hockey IQ and score goals with a tremendous and accurate shot. Konecny may give up size to Meier, but he has the heart of a lion and a compete level that is almost unmatched. Konecny is captain-material and would be an excellent option to consider, despite his smaller stature. A dark horse for the 13th spot is Nick Merkley, who could be taken in the first 15 picks due to a strong showing at this year’s Memorial Cup.
At the 43rd pick, the Kings could be tempted to take goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. The highest-touted goaltending prospect after Ilya Samsonov, Blackwood still has some work to do to perfect his game and be ready for the NHL level but he’ll have plenty of time develop while Quick holds the fort for many years to come. Defenseman Mitchell Vande Sompel is a sturdy blue-liner that moves the puck well and, like Merkley, also had a strong showing at the Memorial Cup. If they want to take a chance, forward Denis Guryanov could be a decent investment. The Russian winger mixes a nice combination of size, skill and speed and if his game can translate well in North America, he’ll become a stud.
At the 74th pick, there may be the option to add some size on the wing, with prospects like Filip Ahl and Keegan Kolesar hovering around that time of the draft. There’s a pack of defensemen that could be intriguing, with the likes of Will Borgen, Kyle Capobianco and Dennis Gilbert.
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