The Kings made a big splash last off-season signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a 3-year deal, signalling they thought themselves to be contenders. The Kings then dug themselves a hole early that they never managed to get out of. Scoring the second-fewest goals last year held them back quite a bit but it wasn’t the only issue that led to them finishing last in the Pacific and second-to-last in the league.

Additions: Joakim Ryan, Martin Frk, Todd McLellan

Subtractions: Nikita Scherbak, Brendan Leipsic, Dion Phaneuf, Johnny Brodzinski, Peter Budaj

Forwards:

The Kings core from their last Stanley Cup is still intact but they’re quickly getting older while the league gets younger. Their speed at forward was a big problem last season and they haven’t done much to address that need, leading them to be the second-worst ranked forward group. 

Defense:

Any defense that includes Drew Doughty is off to a good start but after him and Alec Martinez it becomes pretty thin. The Kings added Joakim Ryan who saw limited minutes in the San Jose Sharks playoff run but he won’t be giving them anything outside third-pairing minutes. 

Goalies:

After a down season that saw Jonathan Quick miss some time, Jack Campbell stepped in and did a serviceable job but the Kings need Quick to regain his Vezina Trophy finalist form of 2012. If Quick can’t get it going, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him traded at the deadline.

The Point Prediction:

The Kings didn’t make many changes this offseason and we don’t see them doing any better in the standings. This season they’ll hit rock-bottom finishing last in the league.

 

(Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)