LOS ANGELES KINGS
COACH: Todd McLellan (575-397-124 over 15 seasons).
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 11 vs. Colorado.
DEPARTURES: G Joonas Korpisalo, C Gabriel Vilardi, LW Alex Iafallo, C Rasmus Kupari, D Sean Durzi.
ADDITIONS: LW/C Pierre-Luc Dubois, G Cam Talbot, F Trevor Lewis, D Andreas Englund.
GOALIES: Cam Talbot (17-14-2, 2.93 GAA, 0.898 save percentage with Ottawa) and Pheonix Copley (24-6-3, 2.64 GAA, 0.903).
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK STANLEY CUP ODDS: 20-1.
LAST SEASON: The Kings recorded 104 points, the first time they reached the century mark since 2015-16, but were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season. They set a franchise record with a 12-game point streak (10-0-2) from Feb. 28 thru March 26. Captain Anze Kopitar led the Kings in scoring with 74 points (28 goals, 46 assists), marking the fifth consecutive season and 15th time overall. He joined Gordie Howe (17 times with Detroit) as the only players in NHL history to lead the same franchise in points at least 15 times. Adrian Kempe had 41 goals, becoming the ninth player in franchise history to score at least 40.
STRENGTHS: Los Angeles has plenty of depth at forward, including six who had at least 50 points last season. The acquisition of Dubois in a trade with Winnipeg marked the second straight offseason the Kings made a significant addition. Kevin Fiala, who was second on the team in scoring with 72 points, had 22 multi-point games, including eight with at least three. The power play, which was fifth in the league last season, figures to be solid once again.
WEAKNESSES: Goaltending remains a concern. Copley earned a one-year extension after getting 20 wins in his first 29 appearances while Talbot struggled last year in Ottawa. The benefit for whoever is in net is that Los Angeles’ defense allowed the fourth-fewest shots in the league last season. Penalty killing was just 24th out of 32 teams last year.
WHAT TO EXPECT: The Kings have the roster to compete for a Pacific Division title along with a solid core of veterans and youngsters. Their biggest problem is that the rest of the division has also made improvements. If Dubois can put together another career year (63 points last season), Los Angeles should be able to pick up its first win in a playoff series since it won its second Stanley Cup title in 2014.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Quinton Byfield, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, will be the left wing on the top line with Kopitar and Kempe. Byfield has shown flashes of possibly breaking out over the past two years, but should have more opportunities this season. Byfield had only three goals and 22 points in 53 games last season.
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