The Kings arrived at the 4 Nations Face-Off break having played the fewest games in the NHL to date (53), while still staying five points above the playoff threshold, boding well for them to make a fourth consecutive postseason appearance.
Coach Jim Hiller became the fastest bench boss to 50 wins in franchise history. That’s been thanks to both his club’s defense and penalty kill ranking in the top five league-wide, as well as its swagger on home ice, where it has accumulated the NHL’s best record this season.
Yet the Kings have struggled often offensively and on the road as they’ve sought to advance in the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, leading to a look at individual performers with at least 30 games played to this point.
Forwards
Anže Kopitar: At 37, he’s in what’s likely the penultimate season of his illustrious career, but he’s still just a point behind what would be his 16th team-leading campaign in 18 seasons. He’s looked ageless at all but the highest tempos. B+
Adrian Kempe: Kempe has designs on his second straight season topping the Kings in points, while continuing to provide versatility from both positional and stylistic standpoints, plus the occasional game-breaking play. A-
Quinton Byfield: Expectations raised higher than ever once he put pen to paper on a five-year contract extension last summer, but after stacking up 55 points last year, he’s on pace for just 45 this year. Where he has grown, as evidenced by both strong metrics and more demanding matchups, has been on defense. B-
Kevin Fiala: The Yin and Yang of Fiala have long been his capricious temperament and his dynamic talent. That’s been true again, as he’s been benched, suspended and, overall, underperforming, but he also had a stretch before the pause with 13 points in 11 games despite battling illness. C+
Phillip Danault: He remains a walking textbook in terms of body position and ability to gain subtle advantages, but his shooting percentage is at its lowest during his Kings tenure, dropping below half of what it was in 2021-22 when he was voted the team’s MVP. He’s on track for just eight goals after scoring 62 across three prior seasons in L.A. C+
Trevor Moore: His active feet along with his ability to play all three forward positions and in every situation have remained assets, but his offense has tapered off considerably. He was on a course for just 13 goals after scoring 31 last season, with his shot volume falling precipitously. C
Alex Laferriere: Laferriere was the biggest riser in 2023’s training camp, muscling his way onto the roster. His growth has continued this year, demonstrating capacities to get deeper into progressions, score from greater distance and otherwise diversify his offense. B+
Alex Turcotte: Turcotte was once the crown jewel in the Kings’ then-coveted prospect pool, but numerous injury setbacks led to him signing a three-year deal at a cut rate before this season. Turcotte has missed only a handful of games and he has played up and down the lineup, offering glimpses of the player who was drafted fifth overall in 2019. B
Warren Foegele: His defense, including on the penalty kill, has been a pleasant surprise while his scoring is on track to rival his career-best numbers with the higher-octane Edmonton Oilers last season (who have eliminated the Kings in the first round for three straight years). He leads the Kings in plus-minus rating. B+
Tanner Jeannot: Willing to dish out and absorb punishment, Jeannot has largely delivered what the Kings sought in terms of physicality. But he’s also prone to diluting rush opportunities and has shown no signs of recovering his scoring touch from his rookie season of 2021-22. C
Trevor Lewis: Lewis reached the 1,000-game mark and remained a respected figure in the dressing room, even as his value on the ice might have ranged from situational to marginal. C-
Defensemen
Mikey Anderson: Long known as a modern shutdown defenseman that defended positionally and denied entries, Anderson has embraced the physical side of his role more and also made more offensive forays while Drew Doughty was injured for most of this campaign. A-
Vladislav Gavrikov: He has largely recaptured the form of his first 40 games as a King, and he’s done so while playing his off-side overwhelmingly. He’s also been stalwart near the net, clearing rebounds and boxing out bodies with aplomb. A-
Brandt Clarke: He has joined Kempe, Fiala and occasionally Byfield among the Kings capable of making a result-determining play. His creativity and vision might be the best on the team, but it remains to be seen if the Kings will trust him enough to take full advantage of those qualities. B+
Joel Edmundson: Like Jeannot, Edmundson has been mostly as advertised, giving the Kings selflessness, size and penalty killing in ways he hasn’t since his time in St. Louis. Also like Jeannot, there have been times where he’s dragged the pace of attacks and otherwise killed plays. B-
Jordan Spence: He started the year with an expanded role that led to a plethora of giveaways and rocky rides. Since settling into a role lower in the lineup, Spence has been much steadier. B-
Jacob Moverare: He is as steady as they come and while he might have less value in some other systems, he’s embraced the Kings’ philosophy with open arms. A popular figure in the room and stands alike, he might finally be a regular. B
Goalies
Darcy Kuemper: Both Kuemper and the man he was traded for, Washington Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois, have enjoyed resurgences in their new locales. Kuemper, 34, is having one of the best seasons of his career, giving the Kings the sort of consistency in net they hadn’t had since 2018. A-
David Rittich: With Kuemper twice sustaining injuries, Rittich has more than earned his modest $1 million salary. His rebound control remains a vulnerability on many nights, but in two seasons with the Kings, Rittich has elevated himself from No. 3 goalie to a fairly firm NHL netminder once more. B-
Coaching
Hiller has been reminiscent of Barry Melrose in 1992-93: thriving on vibes, trusting his veteran players to lead and managing a difficult injury situation with ostensible ease (it’s been Doughty this year; in ’92-93 it was Wayne Gretzky). Despite his total lack of previous pro head coaching experience, he’s largely buoyed a ship that was taking on water when he arrived. B
Management
General Manager Rob Blake and his staff watched the team lose offensive pop year-over-year – in two 2024 home playoff games, they squeezed out a solitary goal – but opted to respond with the rhetoric of “getting uncomfortable” and “becoming harder to play against.” Predictably, their scoring continued to decline and their power-play prowess plummeted. The Dubois debacle stripped them of numerous assets through associated trades, waiver-claim losses and free-agent departures. Overall, they’ve run in place in the regular season so far, and similar stagnation in the playoffs would be a vast disappointment. D+