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The LA Kings need help.<\/p>\n
And from the looks of things, this franchise could be primed for the most significant change in a long, long time.<\/p>\n
What will that look like, and how widespread are we talking about?<\/p>\n
Obviously, the retirement of Anze Kopitar leaves a hole in several areas, for starters. The team also just wrapped up their season with an interim coach behind the bench. What\u2019s next with that situation? Who will be the next captain? Several of these topics are even intertwined to a certain degree.<\/p>\n
One thing is for certain; this isn\u2019t going to be a quick fix. Firing this person, hiring that guy, or trading for this player won\u2019t suddenly wave a magic wand and correct whatever is ailing this club over the past five, ten, or twelve years (going back to their last playoff series win in 2014 \u2014 yes, it\u2019s been that long).<\/p>\n
However, things should look drastically different in less than 90 days.<\/p>\n
How so? Let\u2019s get into it via a rather summarized fashion. This could easily be a 5,000-word essay or 10-part series. Instead, let\u2019s do a quick overview and then break it down further during some upcoming podcasts, where additional context can be offered.<\/p>\n
1. Rebuild, Retool, or Reimagine<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t about a marketing slogan and there hasn\u2019t been a \u2018plan\u2019 laid out publicly. Even so, some yet-to-be-determined word or phrase that will begin gaining traction in the days and weeks ahead is rather immaterial. Knowing that a rebuild isn\u2019t very likely at all \u2014 that isn\u2019t what GM Ken Holland was hired to do \u2014 this is about working diligently to recreate what used to be. Redesign it, from the ground up, if need be.<\/p>\n
Once upon a time, LA was a team with a clear identity and a vision for how to be one of the best groups in the NHL, both on and off the ice.<\/p>\n
Tinkering on the margins won\u2019t be good enough.<\/p>\n
While remaining competitive is the current direction, there still needs to be a bigger-picture approach. This is a rare summer ahead. A fresh start is available to the Kings across multiple fronts, an opportunity rarely afforded to professional sports franchises. Synergies need to be found; complementary pieces need to be connected. This should be a giant puzzle project, not just a hodgepodge of random parts assembled.<\/p>\n
The assumption is Luc Robitaille returns as Team President, as does Holland in his current role. Time to get to work, as nearly everything else is a blank canvas.<\/p>\n
2. The Next Captain<\/p>\n
This section can be kept rather short, even though it\u2019s a question that comes up all the time. The proper answer is, it\u2019s way too soon for a decision.<\/p>\n
Clearly, the Kings need a new identity. And that will be closely tied to the person who ultimately has the \u2018C\u2019 sewn on their jersey.<\/p>\n
To put it simply, there are probably three leading candidates for the job: Adrian Kempe, Mikey Anderson, and a player to be named later. That last note isn\u2019t a hedge against a surprise name among their other players; it\u2019s a direct hint that the next LA captain may not even be under contract with the organization at this time.<\/p>\n
Therefore, get a roster together, along with a coach. Then, we\u2019ll circle back on the appointed leader.<\/p>\n
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3. The Defense<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get right to the elephant in the room, Drew Doughty\u2019s status. We did a deep dive on the topic here<\/a> about a week ago. It\u2019s worth a listen when grappling with the reality \u2014 and gravity \u2014 of the situation.<\/p>\n Doughty is on the Mt. Rushmore of LA Kings players. He\u2019ll be in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day. He also only has one year remaining on his contract and wants to continue playing for four more seasons (i.e. until he\u2019s 40). With no plans to retire anytime soon, this is starting to feel like Jonathan Quick 2.0, and nobody should want anything even remotely similar to go down again.<\/p>\n Both sides need to have an honest talk about what next summer looks like. If the two sides aren\u2019t moving forward with a contract extension, now might be the perfect time to move on from each other. With Kopitar leaving, the organization is about to embark on what should be a truly new era. The Lombardi days are long gone. Doughty might be best served to launch his second act with a club that better suits the goals he has for himself at this point in his career.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the larger blueline topic to navigate. LA can\u2019t come back next season with the same six defensemen. They simply can\u2019t.<\/p>\n A quick overview says Anderson, Brandt Clarke, and Cody Ceci are the three least likely to leave. Which leaves Doughty, Brian Dumoulin, and Joel Edmundson as the trio to talk about. Two have to go.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll save the bulk of trade speculation and possible roster configuration for later articles. Even so, it\u2019s worth noting the Kings only have one NHL-ready defenseman at AHL Ontario, maybe two. Angus Booth, who made his debut a few months ago, is ready to go. Listen here<\/a> to get a better idea of just how good he\u2019s been for the Reign, while paired with a first-year guy in Kirill Kirsanov. Are they good enough to be a third pair in LA next season? The only opinion that really matters on that comes from Holland, as he has the deciding vote.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not likely, though, because that would also push Ceci to the second pair.<\/p>\n 4. What to do at Center<\/p>\n Perhaps the most important thing to start with here is money. As noted in several recent radio appearances and podcast discussions about this critical topic, we don\u2019t expect the Kings to spend all the way up to the new $104M salary cap limit next season. This is an important distinction to understand, especially considering for the better part of a decade they\u2019ve been spending up to the cap ceiling. That\u2019s no longer the case. Even this past season, they didn\u2019t spend all the way up to the $95M limit. It\u2019s a trend we expect to continue this summer and on into next year.<\/p>\n What\u2019s important to note, though, is that won\u2019t stop them from having players on big contracts. How does that align with what was just said? Simple, the bigger contracts are offset by players on deals carrying an AAV under $1.5M. So, guys like Adrian Kempe or Artemi Panarin will still be on the books with deals carrying cap hits over $10M. Those will be offset by guys on entry-level contracts. As the saying goes, this isn\u2019t Xbox. Just because they have cap space to spend doesn\u2019t mean they will.<\/p>\n Basically, they\u2019ll have an internal budget, and that number can be chopped up any way Holland sees fit. We only bring this up because it further complicates any potential trades in the coming months. Can they acquire somebody with a big contract? Sure. Just understand that Holland would then also likely need to move dollars out to make it all work.<\/p>\n Acquiring Ottawa\u2019s Brady Tkachuk (who isn\u2019t a center), Robert Thomas from St. Louis, Auston Matthews from Toronto \u2014 or any other big name \u2014 will be difficult enough for the Kings to put a package together because of the assets needed. Teams know LA is desperate and they\u2019ll be asking for Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, one of the young goalies, first-round picks, etc. However, it\u2019s more complicated for Holland; he\u2019ll need to balance the books too. He can\u2019t simply trade away a bunch of young, inexpensive assets to acquire a center (or more scoring, for that matter).<\/p>\n Trading Byfield to get a center also creates other problems. Namely, they need another center, not a one-for-one roster swap. Sending away their 23-year-old pivot creates a hole defensively and still leaves them needing a top-six center.<\/p>\n Cap, assets going out the door, and positional need. That\u2019s one heck of a needle to thread.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the matter of a 3C. Scott Laughton\u2019s brief time in LA was successful by all accounts. It appears there is mutual interest in continuing the relationship. How much will that cost, and how will the Kings tuck it in under their overall budgeted number?<\/p>\n Some quick math would suggest Kopitar\u2019s money coming off the books can be used to ink Clarke to a new deal. That\u2019s close to a wash. However, Kempe will make about $5M more next season. Panarin will make about $5M more next year too. That\u2019s a roughly $10M increase, plus whatever Laughton costs (and he\u2019ll certainly cost more than his $1.5M from this past season).<\/p>\n So, some money needs to be moved out. And if they\u2019re adding a contract or two via trade, they\u2019ll almost surely be looking to move money out.<\/p>\n Not re-signing Andrei Kuzmenko frees up about $4M. That\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n With goaltender Erik Portillo expected to be in the NHL next season, along with Anton Forsberg\u2019s late-season performance, it isn\u2019t hard to connect some dots here. If Darcy Kuemper is the odd man out, that\u2019s another $5M coming off the books. Combined with Kuzmenko, that essentially neutralizes the Kempe and Panarin increases.<\/p>\n Fine, Holland is back to a baseline number. Now, bring in a legit top-six center and he\u2019s right back to the beginning of also needing to ship out money if they\u2019re ultimately looking to land closer to around $94M (assumed, not confirmed) than at the new $104M cap ceiling.<\/p>\n 5. The Coaching Staff<\/p>\n We broke down who we believe are the current top two candidates here<\/a>. Spoiler alert, it\u2019s not Bruce Cassidy, nor is it David Carle.<\/p>\n Solving the bench boss riddle will heavily play into the team\u2019s new identity. Getting it right is paramount. It\u2019s going to take a master orchestrator. If this summer truly is an offseason of change in Los Angeles, the new coach will need to work in concert with the new captain to usher in this new era. Getting everybody on the same page, holding people accountable, and elevating the potential synergy of the group will be essential if they\u2019re to have any success in 2026-27.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also expecting assistant coach Matt Greene to return to his previous role with the development staff. Maybe he caught the coaching bug in his brief trial run and wants to come back. It would be a bit surprising, but certainly welcome. As for Newell Brown, he\u2019s assumed to be under contract for one more year. Beyond that note, the tea leaves would suggest a change could be coming \u2014 resulting in three new voices leading the players.<\/p>\n It all starts now. As cloudy and confusing as it may be over the next three months. By mid-July, the picture will be much clearer. There will be more answers available than the laundry list of questions currently facing the organization.<\/p>\n Follow @mayorsmanor<\/a><\/p>\n Photos by ALoImages<\/p>\n MORE LA KINGS NEWS:<\/p>\n VIDEO: Anze Kopitar\u2019s Final Postgame Presser<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Note to webmasters\/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com<\/a><\/p>\n