The LA Kings are in sort of a middle-ground right now. Their old guys are ready to hang up the skates, but their young kids just aren’t there yet. They have some trade pieces ahead of the deadline and currently sit fourth in the Pacific Division with 55 points. Though that’s not a very comfortable place to be seeing as how the Ducks are tied with them, the Canucks are three points behind and the Sharks six.
While the Kings seem to have zero chance of winning this division there is a chance they could make the playoffs. But, I would like to see them go the other way and start bringing up some of the younger kids getting them ready for next year. Where in 2023 the Pacific could be wide open the Golden Knights are in cap hell and no one else in the division looks solid enough top-to-bottom to take it. So get this team ready for 2022-2023, and secure a decent draft pick.
Right now the Kings have all seven of their draft picks, but I would look for that number to increase by the trade deadline.
The trade deadline should be a busy one, with teams either looking to get ready for next year, or make some hard cap moves. The Kings might be quiet as far as upgrading talent, but should be busy in the draft pick market.
Current state of the LA Kings roster
Currently, the LA Kings are rostering 15 players who were born in 1995 or later. This makes them one of the older rosters in the league, several players are in their 30`s already. I would expect several of them to get moved at the deadline to make room for some really good young players. Having a top-5 minor league system headlined by the soon-to-be household name Quinton Byfield who was taken second overall in the 2020 NHL draft.
As we dive deeper into the state of the Kings we will look at this in-season outlook, the trade deadline, and who they got in the pipeline.
While they don’t look great on paper at the moment the Kings are far from one of the worst teams in the league. They have talent and good coaching, but after that Stanley Cup run, they had a few years ago they have yet to regain power, but it’s coming and coming in quickly.
So let’s take a look first at what to expect as the season unfolds for royalty.