Do LA Kings Fans Have the Right to Question the Future?
The Los Angeles Kings have been around since the 1967-68 season, and this may be the first time that fans have legitimate questions about the team’s future.
Fans and media have criticized the moves made by general managers past and present, which comes with the territory. However, that criticism has come to the forefront as the team looks to the future.
Do the fans have a right to question?
Many of these doubts and questions have come over the last dozen seasons. The signings of Pierre-Luc Dubois and Ilya Kovalchuk. General manager Rob Blake staying too long. Head coach Jim Hiller not being fired after playoff collapses. The signings of Cody Ceci and Corey Perry a second time. The concerns also question the rookies and prospects and their development. Alex Turcotte is a prime example, taking time to recover from numerous injuries only to be buried on the bottom line.
Defenseman Drew Doughty is a Kings legend and has done numerous good things for the team and franchise. Fans are starting to wonder if he is being played too much, with his age and play decreasing. His contract is also talked about as holding the team back. Captain Anze Kopitar recently retired, and there is concern the Kings have no answer for the top center spot. Quinton Byfield is the presumed top-line center, but his production and play have been up and down. His speed and determination are there, but fans are saying he lacks the total package to take over that top spot.
The roster questions are valid and do not stop with the defensemen and forwards. The goaltending duo of Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg may be one of the more inconsistent duos the Kings have had. Without a significant move before training camp, look for them to be the duo between the pipes for the Kings on opening night. If Kuemper cannot get back to his 2024-25 season when he had 31 wins, the goaltending may struggle again this season.
Criticisms have also gone against the general managers. Rob Blake overstayed his welcome, and his replacement, Ken Holland, has done the team no favors. Last season, Holland’s first with the Kings, saw him sign Perry, Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, and Forsberg to contracts in free agency to the dismay of many Kings fans. These moves seemingly made the team worse. This offseason, he did marginally better, signing Erik Haula, Mats Zuccarello, Erik Gustafsson, Perry again, and re-signing Scott Laughton. The Kings improved the center position that needed an upgrade; however, the fans feel these moves made the Kings older and slower.
Aside from goaltenders Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George, Los Angeles has few prospects that will light the world on fire. They do have promise in defenseman Henry Brzustewicz and forwards Francesco Pinelli and Elton Hermansson, but after that, the cupboard is bare. The Kings’ general managers have traded prospects for NHL-ready players, and this has hurt them before, and it is currently doing the same thing. They re-stock the cabinet, then trade them away, leaving the prospect pool dry.
Rebuilding their prospect pool and letting them develop properly is something they desperately need to do, as those players are the future of the Kings.
So the fans and media have a right to question every direction of the Kings’ future?
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Categorized:Kings