The Los Angeles Kings made the Stanley Cup Playoffs once more. And once more, they faced the Edmonton Oilers in the primary round of the postseason. Unfortunately, the result remained the identical as their previous affairs. Los Angeles was eliminated by Edmonton for the fourth straight season, sending the team toward NHL Free Agency with a ton of inquiries to answer.
The Kings fired general manager Rob Blake before the market opened on July 1. In his place is a former front office foe. Ken Holland is the brand new Kings general manager after spending five years answerable for Edmonton. Before that, he spent 22 years answerable for the Detroit Red Wings, leading them to 4 Stanley Cups while helping engineer a 25-year playoff streak.
Holland mentioned that he desired to be aggressive this offseason. And to some extent, he achieved that aim. Los Angeles signed a variety of players in NHL Free Agency. Corey Perry, Joel Armia, and Cody Ceci are among the many names to hitch the Kings this summer.
The dust has settled on the offseason for essentially the most part. There are actually a number of moves left to be made. Nevertheless, the majority of the summer maneuvering is complete. With that in mind, here is one move Los Angeles must have made this offseason.
Kings would have been smart so as to add top-six scorer
The Kings had a number of needs to handle heading into NHL Free Agency. As an illustration, veteran defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov left for the Latest York Rangers on July 1. Consequently, Los Angeles needed to switch his spot within the lineup. Holland signed Ceci and Brian Dumoulin to attempt to cover the void.
Furthermore, Los Angeles placed importance on depth within the open market. Perry and Armia are going to play bottom-six roles in Los Angeles. Armia, especially, could provide value on the penalty kill. He’s reliable in lots of areas of the ice. And he may give them beneficial minutes in high-pressure situations.
Nevertheless, the Kings arguably left their biggest have to probability. Los Angeles needed a scoring option within the top-six. The Kings began the 2024-25 season well enough offensively. But in addition they saw their offensive ability come back all the way down to Earth in a serious way. And if that happens again, they need someone who may help carry the load.
Alex Laferriere was recently rewarded for his efforts in 2024-25. He finished with a profession high 19 goals in 77 games. Nevertheless, 13 of his 19 goals got here before the calendar flipped to 2025. Furthermore, Anze Kopitar saw his elite begin to the season drop off significantly. Veteran Trevor Moore didn’t construct upon his 31-goal season in 2023-24, as well.
All three names, Kopitar especially, are prone to see time within the top-six in some unspecified time in the future this upcoming season. Kopitar is 37, so it’s hard to expect him to supply as he did to start 2024-25. Laferriere is young, so he could find one other gear. Moore will likely only make sporadic appearances within the top-six, but you want to have insurance to support him when he’s called upon.
Los Angeles has tried a variety of things to recover from their postseason hump. They did the massive move for a high-potential forward, but Pierre-Luc Dubois didn’t work out. They tried having a quiet offseason, and that did not work. Now, they’re striking a balance between aggressive and going all in. Unfortunately, without one other top-six scoring option, they might struggle to win games within the postseason once more.