LA Kings Player Expectations: The Forwards

Entering the 2011-2012 NHL season, the LA Kings found themselves in a frustrating position. The young team had just come off of their second straight first-round playoff exit under then-head coach Terry Murray, displaying a strong defensive structure but an uninspiring, lackluster offense.

Led by imposing captain Dustin Brown, dominant two-way center Anze Kopitar, stud defenseman Drew Doughty, and an explosive, highlight-reel goaltender in Jonathan Quick, the Kings had an unimpeachable young core that needed better supporting talent and a more creative system in order to attain new heights.

From the beginning of the 2011 offseason through the following trade deadline, then-GM Dean Lombardi made a series of moves to improve the team, including trading out young prospects Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn and bringing in forwards Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, while bringing in a new head coach in the enigmatic Darryl Sutter. These moves proved to be key, with the Kings reaching the three subsequent Western Conference Finals and winning two Stanley Cups.

While the LA Kings’ current situation and how it compares to that fateful 2011 offseason has been run into the ground by every LA Kings writer and fan with a keyboard and a platform, it is not without its merit. Just like the 2011 offseason, the team finds themselves coming off of two straight excruciating first-round playoff exits, led by a mix of veteran leaders and young stars.

Similarly, current GM Rob Blake finds himself in the position to make the moves that will define his tenure at the top of this organization, trading out key young pieces in Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi to acquire depth at the center position in the form of Pierre-Luc Dubois, putting his team squarely into win-now mode.

I would like to take a look at each player on the Kings and what it will take from each one to ensure that this team takes the next step in its development with an improved regular season and a deep playoff run to follow it up.

Anze Kopitar
2022-2023 statistics: 82GP, 28G, 46A, 74P. +/-: +20

The captain produced yet another stellar season, leading the team in scoring for the 15th time in 17 NHL seasons. His 74 points marks his best scoring season since his Hart-nominated 2017-2018 season, quickly moving his way up the Kings’ all-time scoring leaderboard.

Fresh off of signing a 2-year, $14 million extension that will keep the captain on the team through the end of the 2025-2026 season, the main goal for Kopitar in this coming season will be to maintain his current effectiveness, no small task for a player entering his 18th NHL season and 5 games played from being the all-time franchise leader in that category.

With the natural diminishing of his foot speed, Kopitar will need to rely on his faceoffs, possession metrics, and shot blocking to maintain the level of defensive play that we have become accustomed to. On the offensive side of the puck, I would like to see him end up with at least 65 points this season, helping bring along Quinton Byfield’s offensive game.

Adrian Kempe
2022-2023 statistics: 82GP, 41G, 26A, 67P. +/-: +20

Adrian Kempe is a stud. Following up on his breakout season, the smooth Swede set a career-high in points for the second year in a row, while significantly improving his defensive game. One area in which Kempe can improve in is using his terrifying shot to set up his passing ability.

While I do not want to see him become more hesitant to shoot when the opportunities present themselves, I would like to see Kempe take a bigger role in helping set up the young Quinton Byfield with easy opportunities, helping him build confidence in this offensive game. Adrian should set out to end this season with more than 30 assists, even if that means his goal-scoring dips back down into the high-30s.

Quinton Byfield
2022-2023 statistics: 53GP, 3G, 19A, 22P. +/-: +13

Quinton Byfield had anything but a stable season in terms of linear developmental progression. He started the season as the third-line center before missing time with an extended illness and rehabilitation. Upon his return, he found a home on the first line, where his game steadily improved but his shooting woes came to the fore.

This coming season, the former second-overall pick must improve offensively. His overall game has vastly improved, making him a menace on the forecheck, a much stronger force along the boards, and he has shown flashes of incredible vision. However, he needs to get over the mental hump of shooting on NHL goaltenders and become a significant offensive contributor in order to justify his role on the top line. I think that a combined 40 points, with at least 10 of them being goals, would signify an acceptable improvement for Byfield.

Kevin Fiala
2022-2023 statistics: 69GP, 23G, 49A, 72P. +/-: +2

Despite a late-season knee injury, Kevin Fiala’s first season as a King was a resounding success. He brought a style of play rarely seen in black and silver with his slippery and strong skating, otherworldly vision, and his competitive spirit.

If there was one wart on Fiala’s incredible season, it was his tendency to be baited into taking frustration-induced penalties, leading to him committing 16 more penalty minutes than he drew, a penalty differential that led all of the regular forwards on the team. If Kevin can stay healthy and not get hoodwinked into taking as many frustration penalties, the dynamic Swiss forward will likely lead the team in scoring this season and solidify himself as the most dangerous offensive weapon that this team possesses.

Pierre-Luc Dubois
2022-2023 statistics: 73GP, 27G, 36A, 63P. +/-: +5

Pierre-Luc Dubois, recently acquired from the Winnipeg Jets and signed to an 8-year extension, is coming off of a strong season which was hampered by a nagging lower-body injury suffered around the All-Star break.

Head Coach Todd McLellan has, on numerous occasions, spoken about how he looks for pairs of forwards to build chemistry as a foundation for each forward line. Given this, I would like to see Pierre-Luc build early chemistry with one of the primary scoring wingers on the roster, giving the lineup early-season stability. Based on Fiala’s lack of a consistent centerman last season, I would assume that the pairing of Dubois and Fiala will be the combination that we see first get the opportunity to build chemistry during the preseason.

Additionally, Dubois must take the opportunity of practicing against and playing with Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault to round out his defensive game, proving that he can live up to his billing as Kopitar’s heir-apparent for the first center spot.

Arthur Kaliyev
2022-2023 statistics: 56GP, 13G, 15A, 28P. +/-: -5

Arthur Kaliyev started the season hot, scoring 9 goals before a foot injury sidelined him in December. Upon his return, the young sniper had a difficult time finding a steady role in the lineup, often rotating between the fourth line and the press box, leading to a significant decrease in his scoring.

For Kaliyev, this season may prove to be his best and last chance to grab an integral spot on his roster, with young forwards such as Samuel Fagemo, Alex Laferriere, and Martin Chromiak, and others pushing for NHL jobs. With the offseason departure of Iafallo, Vilardi, and Kupari, the middle-6 forward lines have an opening with Kaliyev’s name on it.

He needs to prove that he can be a consistent offensive threat without ending up in McLellan’s doghouse by displaying the lackadaisical defensive lapses that characterized his post-injury return to the lineup last season.

Trevor Moore
2022-2023 statistics: 59GP, 10G, 19A, 29P. +/-: -5

Thousand Oaks native Trevor Moore also dealt with an injury-shorted season after being placed on injured reserve in late December with a concussion. His usual two-way effectiveness seemed limited upon his return, although he started rounding back into form as the playoffs rolled around.

Moore’s biggest priority this season is a return to health. When healthy, his game leaves little to be desired, as his play-driving, motor, and hockey IQ are among the highest on the team. He will not blow fans away offensively, but his pairing with Danault has brought a higher level of offense out of both players than was initially expected. If Moore can play over 70 games this season and be his usual effective self, he will continue to be a big part of his line’s success.

Phillip Danault
2022-2023 statistics: 82GP, 18G, 36A, 54P. +/-: -8

In his second season as the team’s second-line center, Phillip Danault had a season that is hard to properly evaluate. On one hand, he set a career-high in points, continuing his offensive renaissance with the LA Kings. However, Danault’s defensive numbers took a small but noticeable slip with a 49.7% on-ice goals for percentage, the third-lowest figure of his career and the third-lowest figure of any regular Kings forward this past season, per MoneyPuck. While +/- is an imperfect statistic, Danault’s -8 was the lowest among all full-time Kings forwards, showcasing the defensive struggles of his line.

Given the offseason addition of Dubois, the offensive onus on Danault and his linemates will likely shrink to a more optimal level. I would like to see Danault redouble his efforts on the defensive and penalty-kill side of his game, even if that leads to a decreased offensive efficiency. The Kings are relying on their center depth to be the biggest mismatch that they can pose for their opponents, and much of that will rely on Danault’s stellar defensive potential.

Viktor Arvidsson
2022-2023 statistics: 77GP, 26G, 33A, 59P. +/-: -4

Viktor Arvidsson put together one of the best seasons of any of the Kings forwards last season. While other forwards got most of the attention, Arvidsson quietly went along his Energizer Bunny ways, winning races to pucks, spending time in areas that players his size tend to avoid, using his volume shooting to set up incredible passes, and being one of the most consistent play drivers on the team.

While his line struggled defensively, Arvidsson led his line in expected numbers by a wide margin. The only note that I have for this coming season is that Arvidsson should keep doing exactly what he is doing, and stay healthy while doing so. Regardless of whether Viktor plays on Dubois’ wing or Danault’s, look for him to be a big part of that line’s play-driving and productivity. 

Carl Grundstrom
2022-2023 statistics: 57GP, 12G, 7A, 19P. +/-: -4

With Carl Grundstrom, we get into the discussion surrounding the five players that I think are most likely to see time on the Kings’ fourth forward line. While it is easy to say that Grundstrom had an uninspiring season, he set career highs in games played and every major scoring category. Grundstrom missed most of January and February with a lower-body injury but played in most of the games in which he was available, displaying a hard, reliable, under-the-radar style.

However, given the crowd of forwards waiting for fourth-line duty, the pending RFA will likely need to display considerably more in order to solidify a long-term future with the Kings. Carl has shown flashes of scoring skill and hard-nosed power, most notably in the 2022 playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, but he will need to show that more consistently to carve a niche in this roster beyond this coming season.

Blake Lizotte
2022-2023 statistics: 81GP, 11G, 23A, 34P. +/-: +11

Diminutive center Blake Lizotte had a career year in his fourth full season with the Kings, setting career highs in games played, goals, assists, and points, playing between the third and fourth center roles. Given the stability that shifting back to the fourth line full-time should present for Lizotte, the one area of his game that can he should focus on is penalties taken.

Despite drawing the most PIMs of any Kings player by a wide margin with 67, Lizotte committed 60 PIMs, also a team-leading figure. This is especially important because Lizotte has been one of the most effective penalty killers on a team penalty kill that was otherwise abhorrent, giving the opposition more power play opportunities with a solid penalty killer in the sin bin. If the team’s undisputed “Short King” can control the number of penalties he takes this season, he will continue to improve his game. 

Trevor Lewis
2022-2023 statistics: 82GP, 9G, 11A, 20P. +/-: -7

He’s back! Fan-favorite Trevor Lewis returns from a 3-year exile to two franchises in the NHL’s Siberia on a one-year league-minimum contract. Coming off of his best season since the 2017-2018 season, Lewis will bring much of the veteran leadership lost when the Kings parted ways with defenseman Alex Edler.

While I love seeing Lewis back in a Kings jersey, I am hoping that his return doesn’t allow the notoriously veteran-friendly McLellan to give Lewis the starts that should be reserved for players like Samuel Fagemo. To me, a well-utilized Trevor Lewis will get into fewer than 25 games, leaving the fourth line and any injury-related openings available to younger players.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan
2022-2023 NHL statistics: 46GP, 7G, 5A, 12P. +/-: -11

Signing a similar contract to Lewis’s, Jaret Anderson-Dolan returns to the Kings for one more season, looking to prove himself worthy of a full-time NHL position. Being used primarily as a player who rotated between the lineup and the press box last season, Anderson-Dolan brought a responsible but quiet style to the fourth line.

Due to how crowded the bottom of the Kings’ forward depth is, it is hard to lay out specific goals for JAD for this upcoming season. The Kings’ salary cap woes entering this season make it unlikely that the team will be able to carry more than one additional player, and even if that player is a forward, it seems unlikely to me that it will be Jaret. Solid expectations for him can’t be projected for him until we see if he makes the NHL roster out of the preseason.

Samuel Fagemo
2022-2023 NHL statistics: 9GP, 2G, 1A, 3P. +/- -4

Samuel Fagemo had a solid AHL season, posting 32 points in 56 games with the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. He also played 9 games for the NHL club, scoring a couple of nice goals in the process. The 24-year-old Fagemo will be in for a competitive fourth-line battle for the Kings come this preseason. In his favor, Fagemo is now no longer waiver-exempt, meaning that the Kings will risk losing him on waivers if they send him down to the Reign over the course of training camp and the preseason.

Going against him, however, is that the Kings will only have enough cap room for one bench player, assuming that the roster stays how it is today. Fagemo will have to outplay all but one of Lewis, Anderson-Dolan, and Grundstrom in order to find a spot with the Kings. I think that Fagemo has a good chance of making the opening night lineup, but like Anderson-Dolan, I will reserve any expectations until he does so.

Featured Image Credit: (Juan Ocampo / NHLI via Getty Images)