Key Offseason Additions: Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Ethan Moreau
Key Offseason Losses: Alexei Ponikarovsky, Michal Handzus, Ryan Smyth, Wayne Simmons, Brayden Schenn
Last Season Ranking: 7th in the West
Offense: The Los Angeles Kings are lead by Anze Kopitar, who saw a slight drop in production last season after picking up a career high 81 points in 2009-10. He finished last season on the IR after breaking his ankle during the end of March, and consequently missed the Kings playoff series again San Jose. Kopitar is an immensely talented player and I’ve said before that he could break the 100 point mark. While I could continue to say “this is the year,” it seems more likely that Kopitar will top off in the 80-90 point range this season to lead the team once again.
The biggest change in L.A. this year is the addition of Mike Richards, who was once an 80 point player himself. While he has struggled the past two seasons to hit that level again, playing alongside a few new faces should help the cause. Alongside Richards, the Kings also picked up Simon Gagne and Ethan Moreau via free agency, and added Dustin Penner via trade late last season. Gagne and Penner will be counted on to be big scoring threats on the top two lines, each having produced a career-high 79 and 63 points, respectively. Moreau, on the other hand, will be a solid depth player contributing about 20 points if he remains healthy.
The newly acquired talent will hopefully not get overshadowed by the loss of depth over the summer. Alexei Ponikarovsky, Michal Handzus, and Ryan Smyth all went to play elsewhere, while Wayne Simmonds and highy regarded prospect, Brayden Schenn, were sent to Philadelphia in the Richards trade. Kings captain, Dustin Brown, will have to show his leadership qualities in rallying the squad together, and pick up a few extra points, to help make up for any losses.
Of the offensive players not mentioned above, expect Justin Williams to increase his output next season. If he remains healthy, a season total above the 60 point mark will not be a stretch. Beyond that, the Kings will roll along with a solid threat of depth players such as Jarret Stoll, Brad Richardson, Kyle Clifford, and Trevor Lewis.
Defense: The Kings solid defense continues to be held up by Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. Doughty, at the time of writing, is still a restricted free agent, and awaits a long term deal from Kings management. The deal will come, and Doughty will be back on the ice proving his worth every shift. His production dipped a bit last season, but without contract negotiations to worry about, hockey can be the number one focus. Skating on the blue line with Doughty will be Jack Johnson. While Johnson managed to record a career-high 42 points last season, he also finished with a career-low plus/minus at -21. The number one focus for Johnson this season will be turning that number around and getting into the positives.
Also included on the defensive depth chart are Willie Mitchell, Rob Scuderi, Matt Greene and Alec Martinez. Mitchell and Scuderi, the veterans of the group, will be counted on to help continue development of the Kings younger defenseman.
Goaltending: Back in net this season for the Kings is Jonathan Quick, who continued his strong play last season. A third round draft pick by the Kings in 2005, Quick posted career-bests in shutouts, save percentage, and goals against average last season. Look for the young netminder to to hover around those numbers again this season, while starting around 60 games. Serving in the back-up role will be Jonathan Bernier. He’ll serve as a solid number two and give Quick some rest on occasion, keeping him fresh for the final stretch of the season.
HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff Bound. The Kings lost a few pieces to their puzzle, but picked up some healthy scorers as well. The additions will be enough to overcome what they lost, and the Kings make a return to the playoffs. The strong play of Kopitar, Quick, and the free agent signings, however, will be imperative to their success.
