A wise man once spoke about the land of opportunity.
I think that’s a fine expression to describe the road ahead for the 2026-27 LA Kings.
On an individual level, there are opportunities for several players to do things differently. This isn’t a story to talk about Artemi Panarin. He’s the team’s top-line left winger and that isn’t expected to change. Panarin is a point-per-game player everywhere he goes and that is likely to continue. For others, though, the opportunity is grander, including a player Panarin is expected to run with as the season gets underway.
Looking at 10 opportunities for 10 members or parts of the Kings organization, heading into the season to come.
Quinton Byfield
Let’s start at the top.
For the first time in his NHL career, Quinton Byfield will have the opportunity to be a true, number-one center. Last season, Byfield led all centers on the team in time on ice. He was relied upon heavily by Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith in all situations. He wasn’t atop the depth chart, though, nor did he play with either of the team’s top two wingers, Panarin or Adrian Kempe.
That’s changed now. Byfield has centered Panarin and Kempe throughout the bulk of training camp. As the season gets underway, he’ll have a chance to elevate his game. The Kings certainly need him to. We’ve seen every part of Byfield’s game at times, but not always together. We’ve seen stretches of dominance, but they’ve been just that – stretches. It’s time for Byfield to put all the pieces together. Early days suggest he’ll be given the opportunity to do so, between the team’s top two offensive players.
“We’ve seen how dominant Q can be, the way he takes over games, so I think it’s a great opportunity for him,” Kempe said of Byfield. “Great opportunity for me and Bread to play with him as well. The chemistry felt good right away.”
Alex Turcotte
Behind Byfield?
Well, that’s the question mark.
It’s not something that is written in sharpie, guaranteed to last a full season, but Alex Turcotte will be given an early chance to skate on the second line, between Mats Zuccarello and Alex Laferriere. It’s a big moment for Turcotte. His draft status has created expectations for him, certainly, and he hasn’t met them to this point in his career. Where he was drafted, though, does not matter anymore. He’s held his own on the chances he’s gotten with top-six players, across multiple seasons. His production hasn’t matched the role, though, and he’s never been able to retain those spots, but he has shown an ability to impact games in those roles. He looked the part when playing with Kempe and Kopitar or Fiala and Kuzmenko. Now, he will get that look from Game 1.
His three-point showing in the preseason finale should help the confidence a little bit. He has meshed nicely in the past with Laferriere and Zuccarello is such an intelligent player that the fit there makes sense also. It’s nothing proven. But it’s on theme. An opportunity.
“I’m obviously excited and I think, honestly, there’s nothing to lose, so you just go out there, play and have fun,” Turcotte said of playing on the second line. “That’s what I tried to do [in the preseason]. That’s what I prepared for the whole summer, is just to trust my instincts, play my game. It’s nice to have a good game, but it doesn’t really count. You want to keep it going for the season.”
Third Line
The third line is an interesting combination for the Kings.
In pairing Scott Laughton and Eric Haula together, it puts two natural centers on the ice with Trevor Moore as the third piece on that line. Over the summer, Peter Laviolette spoke about his ideal configuration up top. Two scoring lines, one checking line and a fourth line that provided a different facet of the game, whether it be energy, physicality, special teams contributors, whatever it might be.
The current alignment, with Turcotte playing higher in the lineup, gives Laviolette that setup. In Moore, Laughton and Haula, there are three players who value both ends of the ice. For defensive-zone draws, it puts two centers in the mix and I think we could see a lot of defensive-zone draws for that line. If they can log some of the tougher matchups, it frees the team’s top-six to try and play more offensively.
Laviolette felt that line not only took on the matchups against Anaheim in the preseason finale, but flipped the script towards the offensive end. That’s important. Expect to see more of a focus on that going forward.
“I really liked that line in their last exhibition game, I thought that they were one of the most noticeable lines,” Laviolette said. “Not only playing a smart game, against upper opponents in their lineup, but maybe zone starts didn’t always favor their way, but somehow they managed to create and make things happen. I thought the three of those guys together, they were really strong with their game and left a positive impression on me.”
Andre Lee
Injuries suck. You never want to see players get injured and that was certainly the case with Kevin Fiala. Tough situation and hoping we see 22 back with the group sooner rather than later.
As much as that is true, though, injuries also lead to opportunities. For the Kings, the opportunity was seized by Andre Lee, who made the team out of training camp for the second time in three seasons.
Lee came from off the radar in 2024 to crack the roster, making his NHL debut in the season opener in Buffalo. Could be the same thing here, with Lee on the plane to Colorado for tomorrow’s season opener. Might depend a bit on Corey Perry’s availability, but even if Lee doesn’t play every night, when Fiala went down, Lee wasn’t atop the depth chart for players coming in. He earned the spot with a good camp from a pretty congested battle. Good on him. He’s got good size and offers more as a player than
“I feel like I played my game [in camp], physical, tried to take pucks to the net, play good defensively,” Lee said. “I tried to make sure that Lavi and his staff can trust me. I think [I did what I could].”
Brandt Clarke
Power Play 1 has included Clarke since the early stages of training camp.
Last season, the Kings went with five forwards on the top unit for long stretches of the season. The power play never found its footing, even with Artemi Panarin, and finished in the bottom five of the NHL overall.
Clarke has been a part of a revamped unit which scored in both games it played during the preseason. The uptick in movement – both personnel and puck – has been noticeable. Clarke scored a preseason goal against Utah on a deflection, as he rotated down into the slot. He was a part of the motion in the Anaheim game as well.
Power-play opportunity could help Clarke as he continues to grow. With better production from PP1, everyone involved will prospect. Clarke is at the heart of that. He led all Kings defensemen with 40 points last season. You’d like to think that’s his floor, not his ceiling. With increased consistency on the power play and more of a role 5-on-5, Clarke could help lead the drive for more production from the backend this time around.
“I’ve got to read off Bread, he’s going to move all over the place, he’s going to carry the puck, he’s going to do his thing, so I’m just going to fill in,” Clarke said. “If he comes to my spot, I’m going to roll for him and if guys roll on the other side, I can pop into the middle, get a high tip or maybe even a low play for me in the slot……it’s being ready for the puck and it’s just about capitalizing.”
Brian Dumoulin
I thought that the times we saw the best of Brian Dumoulin last season came when he played more.
Looks like he will get that chance early in the season.
Dumoulin has established himself as Drew Doughty’s defensive partner and the duo played quite well during the two exhibition contests they played together. I felt that was an effective pairing last season, when the Kings switched to it, but it didn’t last for longer than a stretch of games. Now, Game 1 doesn’t mean Game 84. It has to perform. But I have long felt that this pairing better sets the Kings up for success on the blueline. For Dumoulin and Doughty, sure, but also the entire group.
Now, entering his second season with the Kings, Dumoulin seems to have a chance to play more than he did in his first season. Seems like he’ll have a chance to play more impactful minutes as well, which could help him impact things even more.
“Me and Dumo are really good together, last year when we did play together, we were great and they had to switch the pairs up for other reasons, but I like playing with Dumo,” Doughty said. “He’s very poised with the puck. I know what he’s thinking. He’s a good puck mover, a good defender. We kind of have the same brain in a way, playing the game, so we read off each other perfectly.”
Erik Gustafsson
Gustafsson was an interesting addition for the Kings.
He has experience playing with Peter Laviolette and had two of the best seasons of his NHL career with Laviolette, coming in Washington and New York. Gustafsson offers something different on the blueline. He’s a puck-moving defenseman, who Laviolette feels can contribute at the offensive end of the ice, as well as on breakouts with possession.
How much will Gustafsson play? I suppose that remains to be seen. Gustafsson played regularly during power play and 3-on-3 drills and the Kings wouldn’t waste those reps on someone who has no chance of featuring in those situations. And you have to be in the lineup to feature in those situations. So he’s in the mix to play.
Though he prefers his strong side, Gustafsson is comfortable playing both the left and right sides, which offers some flexibility. Joel Edmundson’s day-to-day status heading into Colorado provides perhaps an early-season chance. However, what Gustafsson certainly has is a different skillset, which means that if the Kings are in search of more with the puck, they have an option they didn’t have last year.
“Gus moves the puck really well, he skates really well,” Laviolette said. “He’s somebody that when I’ve coached him and worked with Gus, he’s been able to get the puck out of our end. He’s helped in offensive situations, like a power play or extra attacker at times, or it could be overtime or 4-on-4, maybe where there’s a little bit more ice. This is a guy that can take the ice, find the ice and make the plays.”
Anton Forsberg
I think that you could easily put both goaltenders in here.
But for Forsberg, his role is the one that is changing from 12 months ago. When Forsberg signed with the Kings last summer, it was a clear number-two goaltender situation. After Forsberg’s performance down the stretch, as he got the bulk of the work towards the end of the season, the situation is more open-ended this time around. Early in the season, I think both goaltenders will play and get a chance to find their footing.
Forsberg has a chance to perhaps claim more minutes than he has in past seasons, as he’s operated as more of a backup at the NHL level in his career. The same goes for Darcy Kuemper, just in reverse, which is why I chose Forsberg here. Kuemper is an established starter, looking to continue in that role with a strong, bounceback performance. Playing number-one minutes is status quo for his career. Not the case for Forsberg, who is pushing for more.
Ultimately, I think competition is good and the Kings have two netminders they feel could ascend into the top spot. That it will come down to on-ice performance is what changes Forsberg’s outlook this time around.
“It doesn’t really matter what you did last year, it’s going to be whatever you show this year,” Forsberg said. “I ended up playing a lot last year at the end of the year. I came in as a clear number two, but I mean, thing change quickly in hockey. We start from square one today in a competition, so I’m going to do everything I can to keep up the play I had last year.”
Ray Whitney
Ray Whitney does not play for the Kings……although, Ray Whitney in his prime would certainly help the Kings!
Whitney is in his first season behind an NHL bench, as he looks to be a part of the solution towards the Kings scoring more goals this season. Whitney’s influence on the power play has already been apparent, with a different approach on that unit, one which seemed to work pretty effectively in the preseason finale. Whitney was an excellent power-play player in his day and now he’s in a new role, working with Kings forwards and select defensemen to help produce in that area.
As a part of the changes in Los Angeles, more offense is needed 5-on-5 as well as on the man advantage. Whitney is one who will help try and bring it in a number of different ways.
Ken Holland
Day 1, no, I don’t think that Ken Holland really has a ton of opportunity.
But a General Manager always has opportunity.
The Kings are an improved team, on paper, but not a perfect team. Not a finished product team. Holland had a couple of objectives over the summer that he wasn’t able to fully get done and he will continue to work on those things. Holland is always listening, always searching for ways to improve his roster. He’ll keep an eye on how things go and adjust from there, if needed, as he continues to try and add talent to the roster.
Okay. I’m maybe stretching a little bit here to reach 10.
The point remains, though. It’s a season of opportunity for the Los Angeles Kings, specifically for a number of players who will have the chance to provide an impact they haven’t before. If that opportunity is taken, that’s how things start to come together in the first season under Peter Laviolette.
