Ryan Durham 
Credit: Alex Cave / Hockey Royalty
In a season where the LA Kings surprised the league by finishing 3rd in the Pacific Division, three players came up big time to help the team get there.
1. Adrian Kempe
The 25-year-old Swede finally put together a monster campaign on par with his flowing golden locks. His 35 goals completely obliterated his previous season-high of 16 from the 2017-18 season. Even more impressive was just how clutch “Juice” became, leading the club with seven game-winning goals and three shorthanded goals.
In terms of “shot mentality” (shout out to Jim Fox), Kempe couldn’t seem to find a spot on the ice where he wouldn’t fire off a blast. His 247 shots on goal led the team, and his 14.2 shooting percentage was second to only Andreas Athanasiou. It remains to be seen if this was a one-off, contract year aberration, or just a talented player hitting his prime. In any event, nobody can take away the baller season that Kempe just dropped on us.
4-5 Kempe(2)-Unassisted: https://t.co/yICsDWCmwt#LAKings #GoKingsGo #GKG pic.twitter.com/CKRa3uSEBi
— Eric (@kingsgifs2) May 11, 2022
2. Phillip Danault
It’s probably a little too early to call this the best free-agent signing in team history, but Danault’s first season with LA wildly exceeded all expectations. Let’s just say it: Phil went straight Hollywood on us. Known primarily as a defense-first centerman, he potted 27 goals, easily eclipsing his previous season-high 13 tallies.
His 194 shots on goal were a career-best, as well as his five game-winners and 13.9 shooting percentage. He even showed a knack for scoring big goals from greasy areas and even managed to drop the gloves a few times to stick up for teammates.
Fan Favorite Badge: Unlocked!
It would be hard to imagine the Kings making the playoffs without Danault’s contributions. Let’s be greedy and hope that he scores 20+ goals every year from now on! Pourquoi pas?
— Eric (@kingsgifs2) May 11, 2022
3. Jonathan Quick
It would be impossible to talk about LA Kings who excelled without including the exploits of JQ. In a season where many asked whether he was “the guy” anymore, the two-time Cup winner answered that question with his best season since 2017-2018. The writing on the wall said that the net in LA wasn’t his anymore, so he blew out the wall, added some nice French doors, and had a deck put in.
More importantly, Quick got his game-stealing mojo back, helping his club bank points that they had no business depositing. His .910 save percentage was his best since the 2017-2018 season, and he made 31 saves to shut out the Oilers in Game 4 of their 1st-round series. At 36 years of age, it may be doubtful that Quick can maintain this level into next season, but if he does, I wouldn’t try to tell him that he’s not the guy anymore.
Jonathan Quick just made 3 HUGE SAVES WITH NO GLOVE!! 😮 pic.twitter.com/VweA3du2gd
— Canadian Hockey News (@hockeynewschn) May 9, 2022