Alex Laferriere has been among the most consistent players on the Kings over the last two seasons. He’s a great draft success story as a third-round pick and he’s improved his game each season, becoming a reliable player in the middle six for the Kings. I would argue he was one of the most consistent players on the Kings this season, despite the team’s shortcomings, and delivered around what was expected of him. A look at his season below.
Alex Laferriere
LAK Statline – 81 games played, 21 goals, 23 assists, +3 rating, 18 penalty minutes
LAK Playoff Statline – 4 games played, 0 goals, 4 assists, -4 rating, 0 penalty minutes
NHL Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 53.7% (+2.0%), SCF% – 54.8% (+3.5%), HDCF% – 53.7% (+0.8%)
Trending Up – In terms of individual chances, Alex Laferriere was not only the best player on the Kings at creating offensive opportunities in dangerous areas but he was among the best players in the NHL. Laferriere led the Kings in high-danger chances and scoring chances, in 5-on-5 situations. Per Natural Stat Trick, his 97 high-danger chances were the fifth most in the NHL and he was tied with Jason Roberston for the NHL lead with 219 scoring chances, both in 5-on-5 situations. Laferriere gets to those areas as well as anyone on the Kings and about as well as anyone in the NHL. His production increased slightly as he posted his first 20-goal season in the NHL and ranked third on the Kings in 5-on-5 goals and points, behind only Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin, including his time in New York. Guy does a lot of things well and did so this season.
Laferriere was also the most productive Kings player in the playoffs versus Colorado. The Kings only scored five goals in the four games they played and Laferriere had a point on four of them. He was the only Kings player at a point-per-game pace in that series with four assists in four games played. He did not score but was again the team leader in high-danger chances and scoring chances, as he was in the regular season. He was the only player on the Kings who was on the ice for multiple goals for at 5-on-5. I thought his line with Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore was by far the team’s best line in that series. Frankly, it was the only line that met the challenge Colorado presented. Laferriere was a big part of why that line worked down the stretch and into the postseason and was one of a few guys on the team who elevated to a playoff level come that time.
I also think that Laferriere deserves some credit for the role he was asked to fill this season. When the Kings had injuries and openings at center, Laferriere was the player who was tasked with filling that role. I personally believe he looked quite proficient at that position, especially as he played it more and more consistently. I think that Plan A this summer is to add centers to the roster and play Laferriere on the wing. However, if things play out in such a way that the Kings can add higher-caliber players on the wing, I think Laferriere is a player who could become this team’s second-line center with more and more time to play the position, though his ideal fit would be on the wing. Versatility is important when constructing a team and Laferriere offers that in spades.
Trending Down – Coming into this season, there was a ton of optimism surrounding the line of Laferriere with Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala. The best version of that line was a legitimate push towards being the team’s top offensive trio. The results, however, were a big step back. In right around 124 minutes together, 5-on-5, those three players were only on the ice for four goals for, compared to six goals against. Of the 17 Kings lines this season to play at least 50 minutes together, per Money Puck, 1.95 goals per/60 was the fifth lowest clip on the team. That comes after a season when Fiala/Byfield/Laferriere was on the ice for more Kings goals than any other line, while posting 3.47 goals per/60. It was a massive regression as a line and that played a big role in the team’s consistent struggle to generate offense throughout the lineup.
I think there are clear next steps for Laferriere and I see it in two ways. One is that, in time, chances have to become goals at a higher clip. Laferriere and Robertson were tied at the top but one player scored 45 goals and one scored 21. Laferriere doesn’t need to score 40 goals to be extremely impactful but to generate chances as well as he does, you’d really like to start seeing 20 goals creep closer to 30 on a regular basis, as Laferriere continues to develop. The second step for me comes with special-teams contributions. He was a regular on the power play for the Kings this season but was among the team’s least productive forwards in those situations. With Laferriere on the ice, the Kings scored 4.33 goals per/60, the lowest rate among the nine forwards to play at least 50 minutes on the man advantage. In terms of his own production, he was eighth of nine in power-play points per/60. Laferriere is an excellent 5-on-5 player and play driver but in order to take the step from a 20-goal scorer to a 30-goal scorer, he’s going to have to contribute more on the power play than he has to this point.
2026-27 Status – Laferriere has two seasons remaining on the three-year contract extension he signed with the Kings last offseason. I think the biggest question mark going forward is where he slots into the lineup. He’s a second-line player all day in the NHL with the versatility to fit anywhere in the Top-9. That includes both center and wing. Might come down to who is added to the group this summer. It’s a blessing and a curse in some ways. Laferriere’s ability to play effectively with most players makes him valuable, in that he can move around the lineup, but it maybe hurts him in terms of finding his own home with consistency to thrive. I think Laferriere likely starts on the wing, which is where the Kings prefer him to play, but the ability to move into the middle is a bonus if needed and however the summer plays out, Laferriere will be an important piece to the puzzle entering next season.
