The longest article of the series is upon us. Wingers.
It’s the longest because, well, teams play with eight wingers on most nights and naturally that is more than any other position. It’s a deep part of the Kings roster, arguably as deep as it’s been in a long, long time. With some consistency from last season and a couple of veterans added into the mix, the Kings have a number of players with NHL experience on the wings, including guys who will start the season in the AHL.
It’s important to note off the top that several players in this article can play both wing and center. Take Akil Thomas for example. He’s on the roster bubble. If he makes the NHL team, as he did last season, I’d see him as more of a winger. If he’s in the AHL, I could see him more in the middle. Cole Guttman seems to have both positions down as well. Alex Turcotte, who is not featured in this story, played a ton of wing last season but I see him as a center entering this season. But lots of guys can play both positions. Best estimates used in many of these cases just to split up in terms of the article.
A look at this group below –
NHL Contracted Wingers, Pro: Joel Armia, Martin Chromiak, Kevin Fiala, Warren Foegele, Cole Guttman, Aatu Jamsen, Adrian Kempe, Andrei Kuzmenko, Alex Laferriere, Andre Lee, Jeff Malott, Trevor Moore, Corey Perry, Akil Thomas, Taylor Ward, Jared Wright, Koehn Ziemmer
NHL Contract Wingers, Junior: Liam Greentree
AHL Contracted Wingers: Jacob Doty, John Parker-Jones, Kenta Isogai, Keaton Mastrodonato
Where They’re At
For the first time since the Kings returned to the postseason, the team is expected to have the same Top-9 starting a season that ended last season. And that’s a good thing on the wings.
From the time the Kings added Andrei Kuzmenko through the end of the season, no team in the NHL scored more goals than the Los Angeles Kings. Sure, they played more games than a few other clubs but at 3.68 goals per game, the Kings ranked second in the NHL when you break it down that way. A lot of that had to do with depth on the wings, forming a Top-9 that the organization is excited to run back this fall.
Kuzmenko meshed quite well with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe on the top forward line. Kuzmenko was excellent on the power play and showed a lot at 5-on-5 as well. He also made his linemates better, finding a consistent left winger on a line that seemed to rotate the entire team through at one point or another last season. Kempe is the team’s most consistent offensive threat, a RW1 on just about any team in the NHL, and he clicked nicely with Kuzmenko in limited time together.
Kempe had the most points of any King in that window but it was forward Kevin Fiala who scored the most goals. Fiala formed an effective pairing with Quinton Byfield down the stretch with both players playing their best hockey when paired together. Add in the newly re-signed Alex Laferriere and the Kings have a young line with the potential to be the team’s top-producing unit this season. Fiala’s upside is a point-per-game player and Laferriere’s could be a 30-goal guy. An exciting pairing, with an exciting center between them.
While all three players took some time to find their best role with the Kings, the line of Phillip Danault at center and Trevor Moore and Warren Foegele on the wings came together as the team’s shutdown line with some offensive pop. Foegele scored 23 of his 24 goals at even strength and while Moore missed some time due to injury – and struggled for a month or so after he returned – when he was at full health he produced at over a 50-point pace. Both players play hard and both players take pride in a 200-foot game. If that’s your third line pair of wingers then you have Foegele, who ranked 17th in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals per/60 last season and you have Moore, who ranked 14th in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals per/60 in 2023-24. Pretty good.
The fourth line is what’s new and the Kings have added Armia and Perry into the mix. Armia is a high-level penalty killer and is a prideful and effective fourth-line player, with the ability to slot up in the lineup as well. Perry is……Perry. As good as they come around the net, plays a playoff style of game with experience that is unmatched around the NHL, with a power-play presence to boot and that ever so hateable way about him for opponents. It’s a much more experienced fourth line and one that the Kings believe makes them a 12-forward team come the postseason.
Beyond the expected Top-12 are four players who played games for the Kings last season – Andre Lee, Jeff Malott, Akil Thomas and Taylor Ward.
Malott was a really nice surprise down the stretch, as he proved to be an effective NHL player who helped fill in for Tanner Jeannot in March and April. Malott is a proven AHL scorer and has size to play in the bottom six in the NHL. Lee showcased similar things in an extended cameo early in the season after he made the team out of training camp. He’s highly thought of and a contract extension signed last season shows the team sees him in the plans going forward. Thomas was in and out of the lineup and at times, it felt like he never really had the chance to establish himself. He did, however, spend the entire season in the NHL and can play both center and wing, which is important versatility in a 13th or 14th forward. Ward debuted at the end of last season in Game 82 and fit right in. Big season for him, at 27 years old, to earn more games if the opportunity arises.
Additionally, forward Cole Guttman brings with him 41 games of NHL experience with the Chicago Blackhawks after he signed as a free agent over the summer. Guttman inked a two-year contract and while they are not similar players, there’s a bit of a Jeff Malott feel here, meaning a player who perhaps has a bit more of an NHL chance than you might expect from a lower-spotlight free agent signing.
Rounding out the group of NHL-contracted players at the professional level are Martin Chromiak, Jared Wright and Koehn Ziemmer, the latter two beginning their professional careers on a full-time basis this fall. Chromiak has flown a bit under the radar but he has seasons of 15, 15 and 18 goals in the AHL. That’s not nothing. Can he make the jump to gaudier totals in the AHL and work his way into the call-up mix with the Kings? For Wright and Ziemmer, both prospects are of interest entering camp. Wright can really skate and the Kings feel his game should translate quickly to the professional level. Ziemmer has a longer development curve but he brings a strong body of work from the WHL and the team liked him a lot when they got him in the draft a couple of years back.
On AHL contracts, veteran Jacob Doty is back with the Reign. He’s a leader for that group and provides a ton of toughness and physicality at the AHL level. He’ll be joined in camp by John Parker-Jones, Kenta Isogai and Keaton Mastrodonato.
So……that brings us to Liam Greentree. Greentree is signed to an NHL contract but he is eligible only to play in the NHL or the OHL. Greentree is coming to camp to make the big club. The Kings haven’t ruled out that possibility either. In a perfect world, having the ability to play in the AHL would be an ideal option for Greentree but sadly it’s a year too late on that front. He’s accomplished a ton in the OHL and could probably benefit from professional competition. But, with the AHL not an option, he’ll have to beat out a ton of players to make the roster for Opening Night.
What To Look For
For now, this is shaping up to be one of the less-interesting roster battles in camp we’ve seen in recent seasons. The top eight wingers are more or less set when you factor in their contracts and experience. That’s not to say that Jim Hiller and the Kings might not move pieces around at times, but assuming full health, all eight of those players come in with enough on their CV to merit a spot in the lineup on Opening Night.
Interested to see, specifically in the Top-9, how much that consistency actually translates. Several Kings got off to a slow start in the 2024-25 season. Lines were different, roles were different, systems were different, coaches were different, camp was different. There’s a lot less different this time around. I think that should present a real opportunity to hit the ground running as a group, faster than was the case last fall. It also offers fewer excuses if things don’t start quickly.
While those eight wingers feel like they are in place, there are roster battles to be had behind them and with five players mentioned bringing NHL experience, it is one area to watch. I’d likely see the Kings carrying five centers to begin the season but you could make the case for so many different players to claim a 13th or 14th forward spot on the team. If there’s an injury, the door opens that much wider. I like Jeff Malott and think he should probably be on the NHL roster. I like Andre Lee too though. I think Akil Thomas got a bit of an unfair shake last year and I really liked him coming into last season’s camp. I liked Taylor Ward’s NHL debut a lot. Cole Guttman intrigues me too. At least three of those guys likely don’t make the NHL roster, if not more. That’s something to watch for.
On the younger players, I’ll highlight Jared Wright here. I don’t think his ceiling in the NHL is a 30-goal scorer but he’s a hardworker, a penalty killer, a willing shutdown/matchup forward and he can skate as well as anyone in camp. If the learning curve is short, don’t be surprised to see him play NHL games this season. He’s the kind of player a coach will love. Think he starts in the AHL but there’s upside there.
With Greentree, I think we’ll see a lot of him during the preseason. The Kings had a similar situation with Brandt Clarke a few years back and he wound up making the team, playing nine games to preserve his entry-level contract, playing a few in the AHL on a conditioning loan and ultimately returning to the OHL after the World Juniors. That could be Greentree’s path as well but he’ll have to earn it, as Clarke did. He’s one to watch without a doubt in camp scrimmages and exhibition contests.
Looking Ahead
Rounding out the series at arguably the most important position on the ice and that’s at center. Will have that story up next week to conclude the series, before rookies hit the ice soon. It’s almost here, Insiders!
