2016-17 record: 39-35 -8 (86 points)
Missed the playoffs
Captain: Anze Kopitar
Once again, the defense of the Los Angeles Kings was near the top of the league, but like recent seasons, the offense was lagging far behind. The result was not only missing the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, but also sweeping changes in the front office. Dean Lombardi's trade deadline gambling and inability to manage the salary cap cost him his job as General Manager while Darryl Sutter's inability to adapt to the current NHL style of play cost him the head coaching job. The Kings are a team in transition, now, but they intend to maintain their identity as one of the toughest teams to play against. Whether they can strike a balance between offense and defense is a question that won't be answered overnight.
The defense begins from the back end out, and even though it got bad from the outset, as Jonathan Quick missed a chunk of time, this group was pretty good given the circumstances. Peter Budaj, and later Ben Bishop, helped keep the ship afloat until Quick returned, and now with Quick ready to go again, it will be up to Darcy Kuemper and Jack Campbell to stake a claim to the backup job. The blue line is in good hands with Drew Doughty, as he drives this unit. The group behind him is still solid, but Jake Muzzin must rebound from a terrible season. Depth here is not a problem. Up front is where the problems were, as Anze Kopitar was far from his usual self, as he had trouble balancing production and captaincy duties. Jeff Carter was reliable, and Tanner Pearson did well, but the rest of the group was not. Tyler Toffoli is looking to be healthy and return to 30-goal territory while Kopitar is just hoping to be more comfortable with the added responsibilities. Adrian Kempe will be looking to make an impact, while Dustin Brown and Marian Gaborik are contractual millstones at this point. The penalty kill was great, but the power play reflected the team's troubles scoring.
Prediction: 5th in the Pacific Division
A return to health may help prop up some of the offensive numbers, but given the team's lack of overall speed, the Kings just might be treading water until the cumbersome contracts of Brown, Gaborik, and the long-since departed Mike Richards come off the books.
No comments:
Post a Comment