Well, the Los Angeles Kings avoided a 5th straight first round matchup with the Edmonton Oilers. What may have seemed like a breath of fresh air still turned in the same result in resounding fashion. The Kings squeaked into the playoffs as the second wildcard seed and were quickly dispatched by the President’s trophy winning Avalanche in a first round sweep.
Perhaps the Kings are now looking back fondly on their tilts with the Oilers, as they were able to drag them into long series. A first round sweep was another step back after a notable drop in their regular season results this year. They squeaked into the playoffs with the second fewest regulation wins in the entire NHL. We noted in the February Pacific Division Notebook that the Kings rebuild looked like it was in trouble and results since haven’t done anything to dissuade that notion.
This year’s step back may very well be a sign of things to come in LA. When we examine their roster, we see a large cohort about to exit their prime. That’s a recipe for additional steps back in the future, as it’s difficult to offset the age curves of such a large group.
The Kings do have a younger cohort entering their prime that will help them avoid a quick demise. Yet, this is the group that was ranked as one of the prospect pools in the NHL five years ago. It should be the contention cohort the Kings focus their roster around. Years of trying to find a way past the Oilers have taken their toll though, as numerous assets from the cohort have been jettisoned in the search for immediate help. Brock Faber, Gabe Vilardi, Jordan Spence, and others have been moved in search of more immediate help and the current result is a weak incoming cohort and age imbalance on the roster that might end their rebuild before it truly gets a chance to compete.
The Kings have avoided the no trade/no move clause trap better than some of the non-playoff teams we’ve looked at recently but they still have handful, particularly on the blueline. They also have a large contingent of this year’s roster under contract for at least one more season. The easiest thing for the Kings to do would be to look at the injury to Kevin Fiala at the Olympics and the first round matchup with a juggernaut and think that things would be different if they got a little luckier.
It’s almost never that simple. We also have to consider that Anze Kopitar is retiring, leaving a different hole in the Kings roster next season. Sure, they can look to free agency to fill it but the UFA class this summer is notably thin at the top. Do they look to the trade market then? And what will they give up to acquire a top six C?
On top of the incoming contention cohort already being thin, the Kings have depleted their pipeline over the past few years as they’ve searched for more immediate help. Their 2022-2024 drafts were very thin on opportunity and it doesn’t look like there is much short term help coming from their prospect pool.
The Kings need a shift in roster building strategy. If they continue with the mantra they’ve shown the past few years, the end is in sight. To give the Quinton Byfield cohort a fighting chance at competing, the Kings need to prioritize building that cohort up immediately, alongside bolstering their prospect pipeline for some inexpensive help a few years down the road.
