With the retirement of Anze Kopitar, the Kings entered the 2026 offseason with the unenviable task of replacing the greatest player in franchise history.
Was that task actually achievable? Not sure that it was, or at least not without impacting other areas of the roster. The Kings did not add a long-term, top-six center this summer, opting for a pair of older players who offer depth behind Quintion Byfield, who will be faced with the most time sensitive step of his NHL career. With his safety blanket gone, the Kings need Byfield to ascend into the center he was drafted to be. There’s no longer time left on his clock to wait, after three straight seasons of promise but not that larger breakthrough.
Behind Byfield, the Kings have a number of options of different varieties. Lots of players with substantial bottom-six experience in their careers who offer different things, though no established top-six center. The Kings aren’t replacing 2018 Anze Kopitar but even 2026 Anze Kopitar leaves a gap that will need to be addressed, both short and long term.
There’s also the elephant in the room of could Adrian Kempe play center. He was approached with the idea by new Head Coach Peter Laviolette and agreed to do so if that’s the direction the staff wants to go. As of this time, though, I think it’s more likely he begins on the wing, which is why he is not in this article and will be previewed in the next story. However, it is an option on the table.
A look below at those under contract coming into training camp, with lots to be determined over the next few weeks.
NHL Contracted Centers, Pro: Quinton Byfield, Kenny Connors, Erik Haula, Samuel Helenius, Scott Laughton, Kaleb Lawrence, Lane Pederson, Francesco Pinelli, Grant Slukynsky, Alex Turcotte
NHL Contract Centers, Junior: Jimmy Lombardi
AHL Contracted Centers: Brendan Gorman, Jack Hughes
Where They’re At
It’s Quinton Byfield’s time.
Barring a positional change for Adrian Kempe – which is still a possibility – Byfield will enter training camp atop the depth chart at center for the first time in his career. He led all Kings centers in time on ice during the 2025-26 season, averaging a career-high 20:01 per game. Even though he was rarely listed first on the depth chart, his role was that of the team’s top center. He scored a career-high 24 goals last season but finished just shy of his third consecutive 50-point season. Byfield has had strong finishes to the past two seasons but those have come after a pair of slow starts. He has been a very good second-line center over the last three seasons but that’s not what the Kings need right now and that’s not the player the Kings drafted him to be. Arguably the top storyline coming into training camp at any position will be Byfield’s progression.
Behind Byfield will be a pair of veterans who signed with the Kings over the summer in Erik Haula and Scott Laughton. Haula is a new face while Laughton is more familiar, having re-signed with the organization on July 1 after he was acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline.
Haula has collected 35+ points in four of the last five seasons and matched Kopitar’s 38 points last season. He’s not a long-term solution, on a two-year contract, late in his 30’s and he’s been more of a 3C than a 2C in his career but he is a solid, two-way player who has played up and down the lineup in a variety of different roles. As a responsible, complementary piece, he could click with skilled wingers. Laughton was a good fit after he came over from Toronto. His production was decent for his role (31-point pace over 82 games) and he was a good locker room and leadership fit.
The unknowns come behind those players, as Alex Turcotte and Samuel Helenius come into camp with similar questions as we’ve asked in the past. Neither cemented himself last season. Flashes from both players but questions we hoped would have been answered were not in their 2025-26 showings. Both are still under team-friendly contracts and both are in a good position to make the team this fall with a good camp, but to turn a good position into an everyday regular will need a strong showing in camp.
Supporting the group we saw last season is Kenny Connors, who had an impressive rookie season in the AHL, alongside his NHL debut for a couple of games in March. Connors produced at a very respectable clip last season with Ontario – 0.63 points-per-game – and quickly earned a lot of trust from Ontario Reign Head Coach Andrew Lord and his staff, playing in all situations. He’s exempt from waivers and that works against him in camp but I’d expect him to play additional NHL games at some point.
Veteran Lane Pederson signed with the Kings on July 1 and brings steady, consistent AHL production with several organizations, alongside NHL experience with several organizations. He’s a depth player with a chance to impress. Supporting the group are draft picks Francesco Pinelli, Grant Slukynsky and Kaleb Lawrence, who we’d expect to see in Ontario in one role or another. Pinelli took on a top-nine AHL role more consistently last season while Slukynsky had solid NCAA production at Western Michigan and Lawrence returns after finishing last season with AHL-Rochester.
What To Look For
Said it above, but there is no bigger storyline entering training camp than the progression of Quinton Byfield.
You look at the last two seasons and while there was a ton of hope that Byfield would breakout more than he did, there was always a safety blanket in place with Kopitar here. No longer the case. The Kings need Byfield to take that step now because the alternative is relocating the team’s RW1 into the middle, taking from the deepest part of the team. The offseason objective to add a top-six center didn’t happen, for a few reasons. It’s still an organizational priority but it has not happened yet. While Kempe and Byfield could be the team’s top two centers in camp, I think it’s more likely at this point that Byfield will be atop the depth chart with Kempe on his right and Artemi Panarin on his left. If that’s not being set up to succeed, I don’t know what is.
There is a fine line between belief and hope but there’s a lot of both internally with Byfield’s ability to elevate his play. Over the last two seasons, February through April, Byfield has collected 51 points in 59 games played. Those numbers, though came after slower starts and did not carry over. The Kings need more than 50 points from Byfield this time around in that role. They don’t need 100. But 50 won’t cut it. All eyes on 55.
Behind Byfield, assuming Kempe opens on the wing, will be Haula and Laughton. Earlier this summer, I thought Kempe was more likely to play center but as I’ve had more conversations about it and heard more from within the organization, I think it’s now less likely to begin the season.
Haula is probably a 3C on a contending team but if he plays on the second line, he’ll be with two top-six wingers, regardless of how the lines shake out. He’s the safety valve there and his offensive production has been decent. Assuming it’s Laughton on the third line, his wingers will also be above a third-line caliber. The Kings are stretching somewhere, whether it’s moving positions around or players playing a bit higher in the lineup than they might ideally play. If it’s the latter, with Haula/Laughton, they are established, NHL players and they will be set up for success with their linemates.
With Turcotte and Helenius, they could play together on a fourth line, as they did pretty successfully during the 2024-25 season. Both are natural centers and Helenius will play there assuming he is in the lineup. Turcotte has the versatility to play both positions. I wrote this above but we enter training camp with similar questions as we had last year with those two players. Can either be an 82-game player? That we don’t yet know the answer is disappointing and it feels like a season of reckoning for both on that front.
With Connors and Pederson coming to camp to compete for spots, there should be a battle with those four players to begin the season as the fourth-line center. Connors is exempt from waivers, which makes his hill to climb that much steeper. Pederson is new to the organization and he’s played NHL games with five other clubs. He’s one to watch for a depth spot or an early-season callup.
There’s a ton to discuss here but it ultimately starts at the top, with how Byfield progresses and where Kempe slots in. How those storylines unfold, perhaps during training camp but more likely into the regular season, will determine how that position shakes out as the season gets moving.
Looking Ahead
One more to go, Insiders, and it’s the strongest position within the Kings organization. The top-end talent and depth on the wings is something we haven’t seen here in some time, so we’ll break that group down soon, to finalize where the team is at heading into camp.
