4 Big Questions for the Los Angeles Kings in 2020-21
1. What will the Kings get out of Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte?
See, I told you we’d come back to Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte; why wouldn’t we?
They are, without a doubt, the two most important players in the Los Angeles Kings organization and quite possibly the two most important hockey players in the entirety of Southern California. Both were drafted in the top five, both have sky-high upsides, and both should be fixtures of the Kings for well into the 2020s, and potentially even into the 2030s if everything pans out well.
Does either player need to play with the Kings during the 2020-21 NHL season? No. This team isn’t going to be representing the West in the Stanley Cup Finals or even making an appearance in the playoffs unless things break really, really well or really, really poorly for multiple teams atop their makeshift, one-time-only division.
Then again, how fun would it be to see one or both become fixtures of the Kings’ bottom-six and maybe even work their way up the depth chart?
Could the duo one day play together with Byfield kicking out onto the wing for power plays? Or will the Kings instead opt to run Byfield as their top-line power forward who beats down on an unsuspecting defense before Turcotte enters the game in his stead to pick apart an off-balance opponent with his advanced playmaking abilities?
Turcotte sure looked good representing the US in the World Juniors. I’m sure he’d look even better wearing the aforementioned purple ‘forum blue’ and gold reverse retro jerseys in front of an empty Staples Center.
Factor in 2018 second-round picks Akil Thomas and Tyler Madden, and suddenly, the Kings might possess the most exciting bottom-six in the entire NHL, with the potential for these players to play together for a very, very long time.
Next. Trevor Zegras sure looks like a franchise cornerstone. dark
If we have to wait a few more years for that to happen, so be it, but as a massive fan of Los Angeles and the hockey team that calls it home, I’d personally like to see the young guys get some run in the hopes of catching a flash of future dynasticity a few years down the line.