The early projections don’t have much faith in the LA Kings offseason additions, projected to finish sixth in the Pacific Division.
While the LA Kings were active in free agency and trades this offseason, one media outlet isn’t impressed with the additions. According to BetOnline.ag, the Kings O/U points projections heading into the 2021-22 season stand at 85.5. Looking around at the other teams in the Pacific Division, Los Angeles would finish sixth.
#GoKingsGo would finish 6th in the Pacific if this played out.
Vegas: 106.5
Edmonton: 97.5
Seattle: 92.5
Calgary: 90.5
Vancouver: 88.5#LAKings: 85.5
San Jose: 83.5
Anaheim: 70.5Thoughts? https://t.co/qq9yg4CjBw
— Hockey Royalty (@Hockey_Royalty) August 31, 2021
The top two are somewhat straightforward. Vegas remains a Stanley Cup contender, and they will for the foreseeable future. They’ve been wheeling and dealing since they entered the league as the 31st franchise, most recently signing former Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo to a seven-year contract last offseason. Vegas has reached at least the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in three of the four years of their existence. Is the 2021-22 campaign when they finally breakthrough?
Edmonton’s offense is scary on paper, led by Connor McDavid, who posted over 100 points in a 56-game schedule last year. Leon Draisaitl is a year removed from winning the Hart Trophy. He was no slouch in the abbreviated 2021 schedule either, posting 84 points while playing Robin to Edmonton’s Batman, if you will. They also brought in a strong, defensive forward in Zach Hyman while also locking up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to a long-term deal. The Oilers primary concern still exists in net, where 39-year-old Mike Smith figures to be the starter.
The Kraken will be an interesting team to watch this season. They have obvious offensive threats in Yanni Gourde, Jordan Eberle, and Jaden Schwartz, but I can’t imagine Alexander Wennberg‘s career-high 20.7 shooting percentage from last year is sustainable. Their defense looks rock solid on paper, as does their goaltending, but I just don’t know if they have enough offensively.
We’ll get to our preview of all the Pacific Division teams prior to the season. This post was not meant to do a thorough rundown of each team. So jumping down to the home team — over an 82-game schedule last year, the Kings would have produced approximately 72 points. Do the additions of Phillip Danault, Alex Edler, and Viktor Arvidsson, combined with a couple of players taking the next step in their development, equate to 13-ish more points?
If that’s the way it plays out, a sense of frustration with the rebuild is certainly an acceptable response.