[News] Kings doomed by age, lack of offense

[Karl]

https://www.nhl.com/news/los-angeles...on/c-305929108

What went wrong

Internal affairs: The Kings shook things up 13 games into the season by firing coach John Stevens on Nov. 4 after a 4-8-1 start and acquired forward Carl Hagelin in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Tanner Pearson 10 days later. But the moves failed to generate a spark under replacement Willie Desjardins. Los Angeles traded Hagelin, defenseman Jake Muzzin (to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 28) and center Nate Thompson (to the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 11). The Kings lost 10 straight (0-6-4) from Feb. 9-28 and went 2-6-0 after the losing streak until they were eliminated.

Aging core: At age 35, forward Ilya Kovalchuk is the elder statesman on a team that returned six core players from the Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and '14: Forward Dustin Brown, 34, center Jeff Carter, 34, goalie Jonathan Quick, 33, center Trevor Lewis, 32, defenseman Alec Martinez, 31, and cener Anze Kopitar, 31, and also has 33-year-old defenseman Dion Phaneuf. The signings of Kovalchuk and 29-year-old defenseman Drew Doughty (eight years, $88 million) were the significant offseason moves but the Kings' failure to keep up with an NHL trending younger and faster was another part of their downfall.

Punchless offense: The Kings are last in the NHL in goals for (168) and 30th in goals per game (2.33). Special teams have been no better. Los Angeles is 26th on the power play (15.6 percent) and 30th on the penalty kill (75.4 percent). The coaching change did little to ignite the offense. The Kings scored 140 goals and averaged 2.37 per game after Nov. 4.

Reasons for optimism

Coaching candidates: If Desjardins doesn't return, the pool of potential coaches is plentiful. Stanley Cup winners Joel Quenneville and Randy Carlyle are available, along with veterans Todd McLellan, Alain Vigneault and Mike Yeo. If Los Angeles goes younger, options include assistant Marco Sturm and American Hockey League coaches Sheldon Keefe and Jay Woodcroft. A wild card could be Ralph Krueger, an international coaching veteran who guided Team Europe to a second-place finish at the World Cup of Hockey 2016.

Adrian Kempe: The Kings have been waiting for one of their in-house young players to blossom. The 22-year-old center did with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 22 games after the 2019 NHL All-Star break. Considering Kempe finished without a goal in the final 25 regular-season games of 2017-18 and scored five in the first 49 this season, his second-half progression could signal a breakthrough in 2019-20.

In the pipeline: Kempe and a group of prospects have the potential to help launch Los Angeles into a new era. Carl Grundstrom formed instant chemistry skating to Kempe's left once they were reunited in Los Angeles following their days as linemates for Modo in the Swedish Hockey League. The 21-year-old, acquired in the Muzzin trade, was the 19th player in Kings history to score in his NHL debut after getting 39 points (16 goals; 23 assists) in 55 AHL games. Jaret Anderson-Dolan, a 19-year-old center selected in the second round (No. 41) of the 2017 NHL Draft, continued his progression for Spokane of the Western Hockey League (43 points; 20 goals, 23 assists in 32 games). Also keep an eye on another 19-year-old center, Akil Thomas. Chosen in the second round (No. 51) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Thomas had 102 points (38 goals, 64 assists) in 63 games with Niagara of the Ontario Hockey League this season and signed a three-year entry level contract March 16.

[Firebot]

Winning the cup a few times without superstars can be tough in the later years, part of the cycle, they were never elite, but just found ways to win.

No matter how bad the Kings were this year though, they will still manage to make the playoffs and rebuild before the Oilers.

[nik-]

[keenan87]

I would happily be in their position 10/10 times if the Flames can win a few cups in the next few years.

[dissentowner]

They were built for slow physical hockey. The game went away from that and they can't keep up.

[Karl]

Have fun with those Brown, Doughty and Phaneuf contracts LA. I wonder if Phaneuf will be bought out after this season.

One thing that is for sure is that the game has passed the Dion by and he is clearly no longer an NHL calibre player.

[Vinny01]

2012-2014 they played 11 rounds in the playoffs. Amazing 3 year run but in the 5 years since they have 2 first round losses and 3 misses. Definitely take this over say the Sharks who have made the playoffs in nearly every year for the past dozen but only one SCF loss to show for it.

[madmike]

Can’t really say anything bad about them. Every team has windows of opportunity to win and the Kings made the most of their last one. They’ll be back again at some point.

[Ozy_Flame]

This is the first time in a long time where I'm not getting panicked over our upcoming swing into California. Two of those teams are crap, and the other is a great matchup for us in the first round should it come to that.

[kukkudo]

I'll take the two cups and they are most likely drafting in the top 5. They will be back in the playoffs in the next few years.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

This is the first time in a long time where I'm not getting panicked over our upcoming swing into California. Two of those teams are crap, and the other is a great matchup for us in the first round should it come to that.

There is almost no scenario we match up with the Sharks in round 1. Vegas would have to sweep the rest of their games and the Flames/Sharks both struggle mightily

[Karl]

Originally Posted by madmike

Can’t really say anything bad about them.

I beg to differ, since Brown is a dirty pos and Doughty is a whiny dickhead on the ice.

[mrdonkey]

The Kings in their heyday were never an outstanding team, but they were built around an excellent coach who willed them to victory. It’s hardly any surprise they’re struggling under Willie D with an older core.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

There is almost no scenario we match up with the Sharks in round 1. Vegas would have to sweep the rest of their games and the Flames/Sharks both struggle mightily

I'm hoping for it pending a non-first place finish

[DoubleK]

I heard a couple stats on the radio that blew my mind.

They've only won 2 of their last 18 games and Willie has a worse record than John Stevens did when he was fired.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I heard a couple stats on the radio that blew my mind.

They've only won 2 of their last 18 games and Willie has a worse record than John Stevens did when he was fired.

Firing Stevens might not be a bad move, but hiring Willie to replace him most definitely was. I just don't see how Willie can will anybody into anything.

[CGY12]

Ill be a Kings fan come Thursday night.

[blankall]

They have 2 cups.

With a couple years of high end draft picks, they could be up and running again in no time. Doughty is still under 30.

The Kings are basically in the fallout stage, where they've had to pay the superstars that won them the cup for their efforts. The Kings have everything to show for it though. Bringing in Kovalchuk and Phaneuf was silly, but what can you do? Both players only have two years left. Kovalchuk could be traded. Phaneuf with retention (is that possible? The Sens already retained).

[Huntingwhale]

Luckily the tears of the fanbase can be caught in the 2 big Stanley Cup chalices.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

Firing Stevens might not be a bad move, but hiring Willie to replace him most definitely was. I just don't see how Willie can will anybody into anything.

Willie? It’s more like Won’t-ie