Today at 7PM in the lovely town of Bakersfield, the Kings will play the Arizona Coyotes in their first preseason game. Cuts are also likely in the immediate future to the camp group that currently consists of over 60 players and tryouts.
Even with all the young guns and new additions, the Kings roster is pretty well set. It would take performances of hockey Jesus reincarnate for some of these players to make the big club out of camp. That being said, Ontario should be particularly stacked with very talented and young players.
As far as the Kings roster goes? Well, you could almost already do a line by line breakdown of what the roster is going to look like. With little overall turnover, different media updates, and some pretty defined roles, it does not take a crystal ball to know how the Kings will probably lineup on opening night. Let's go through it.
Forwards
Lucic - Kopitar - Gaborik
This seems to be the line top that everyone is prophesying the Kings will have. Strictly from a role defined standpoint it makes complete and total sense. With the idea of having a distributor, a disruptor, and a finisher, Lucic-Kopitar-Gaborik fit the bill nicely.
With Kopitar and Gaborik establish themselves as a worthwhile duo last season, Milan Lucic is the new man on the block. Last season he had a very rough year with Boston. He never had solid linemates all season due to the injury to longtime companion David Krejci. Despite that, he still had 44 points and 18 goals.
To say things were unsettled for him is an understatement.
Outside of David Krecji, who Lucic played close to 453 of his total 1103 even strength minutes with last season, he saw a decent run with Ryan Spooner, Seth Griffith and David Pastrnak. When Spooner and Griffith stepped in, it was no surprise they had trouble filling the shoes of Krejci.
Lucic is getting a breath of new life in Los Angeles though. If he can play the disruptor for the duo of Kopitar/Gaborik, there is a good chance he returns to a 25-goal and 60 point threat this year. Gaborik is also going to be able to shift over to his more natural and favored right side. This could make for a big year from him as well. This is, of course, in theory. However, it sounds like the trio are looking pretty good in camp so far...
Watched Lucic play with Kopitar and Gaborik again today at Kings camp. Um, I think that line is going to work :)
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) September 20, 2015Pearson - Carter - Toffoli
This one is a no brainer. They are real and they are spectacular. Carter and Toffoli were one of the most effective duos in the Western Conference last season. Both Carter and Toffoli finished in the top-15 in NHL points per 60 at even strength. They were both top 25 in individual corsi events (iCorsi) per 60 at even strength. Now they get the other limb back of this three headed monster. Before Pearson went down injured, it was arguably one of the most effective lines in the league during the early goings of the season. With all three utilizing speed, skill, and tenacity, it was hard to find too many flaws in either their offensive or defensive contributions. The trio clicked on some wonderfully crafted goals last season, and it should be a given that they will be together at least for the start of the year.
King - Lewis - Brown
This is going to be the one line that really will divide opinions. Dwight King, as we have mentioned on the blog before, is a perfect third liner. His role in this spot was pretty easy to assume. Brown, likewise, was fairly easy to assume given how he played primarily third line minutes towards the end of last season. While he also played on the first line, the acquisition of Milan Lucic pushed Brown down into a more checking line role. Lewis is the jack of all trades on the Kings. He could have ended up anywhere on this roster (Even goaltender would not surprise at this point).
However, this is a brand new experiment that could be a thing. Each have had fairly long tenures as LA Kings players at this point, but surprisingly they have had little experience playing with each other. Lewis played around 900 even strength minutes last season, only 190 and 105 of which came with Brown and King respectively. over the past THREE years, from 2015 to 2012, Trevor Lewis has only played 658 and 278 of his total 2200 even strength minutes with King or Brown respectively. While King has been a semi-regular counterpart to Lewis, this will be fairly new for Dustin Brown.
This one will take a bit of feeling out if it remains as it has been in camp. There is potential for Nick Shore to usurp the 3C position, but given how good Trevor Lewis was last year it may be a "his to lose" sort if situation.
While the line is a new look, it follows the all important distributor, disruptor, finisher, idea...sort of. There are a couple of big questions: Can Lewis continue to be an effective setup man? Can Dustin Brown step up in the role of a finisher? All three are very good defensively, they play physical, but if the Kings what to add three solid lines they will need some offensive to come from the bottom six as well.
Lewis as a playmaker seems like an odd theory, but let's take you back to an article written back in July about Trevor Lewis being a top 6 forward.
While the thought of him being a top 6 forward on a competitive team is pretty easy to say no to, it does not mean he is without top 6-esque qualities. He was one of the best scoring chance creators on the Kings bottom line last season:
With that in mind, the Kings are potentially looking to strike gold with a Lewis/Brown combo potentially. Brown is coming off a career worst year, but took his offseason training regimen to a new level. This, plus his shooting at a career low 5.8% last season (career average 9.8%), and you can see how there is potential for an effective line. King will do what he does best; bother defenses. This will leave Lewis and Brown to deal with carrying and shooting. This is something Brown has loved to do, as Brown is regularly amongst the top of the team in shots taken. On the top line it became more of an issue than a benefit when he was not deferring to his highly skilled linemates of Kopitar or Gaborik for this duty. On a third line he can go wild in a manner of speaking. If it stays together to start the year, this could be the most interesting and beneficial lines Sutter has.
Clifford - Shore - Everyone in the world
Pretty much the entire fourth line, outside of maybe Kyle Clifford, is pretty fluid at the moment. The Kings have arguably one to two regular forward spots open, and around five guys aiming for them. The leg up has to go to both Nick Shore and Jordan Nolan, but do not count out guys like Andy Andreoff, Jordan Weal, and Brian O'Neill. The latter two had playoff and regular season MVP-winning years in the AHL last year. While neither bring the size that the Kings regularly like to throw on the bottom line, there is no denying that they have been effective AHL players that deserve a hard look. They have their work cut out for them, as they will have to jump both Andy Andreoff and Jordan Nolan in an effort to win regular playing time. Do we see the Kings carry two extra forwards and platoon the fourth line this year? Possibly. On certain nights where Sutter may not feel the extra oomph is needed, maybe you see a Weal or O'Neill over an Andreoff or Nolan.
This line will probably not be decided until day one of the season. If that is the Kings' biggest roster question mark, consider it a very good thing.
Defense
The Kings pairings are pretty standard and do not really need to be broken down individually.
Muzzin - Doughty
The Kings would like to cut down Doughty's minutes , but this is still the work horse pairing for the Kings that is one of the best possession tandems in the NHL. Also, Doughty came into camp in outstanding shape.
Doughty listed at 6'1, 201. Was listed at 213 lbs at the start of last year's camp.
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) September 18, 2015McNabb - Ehrhoff
Ehrhoff will play in his more favored right side, and McNabb should see elevation from his 16 minute average last year playing alongside the veteran. More plays like this will help his cause:
Martinez - Greene
With both presumably being healthy, look for the bounceback season from the all-important Kings third pairing. In years in which the Kings have been strong, the third pairing playing well has been a regular thing.
Forbort/Schultz/McBain
Forbort has the short end of the stick here, as he is eligible to go down to the minors without having to clear waivers first. That leaves potentially one spot (or two depending on extra forwards) up for the steady Schultz, or the puck-moving McBain. Each have their own strengths and play vastly different games. This is a pick-em.
Goaltending
Jonathan Quick
He is your legit No. 1. While Quick struggled with inconsistency last year, he had stretches in both the beginning and end of the season where he was one of the best goalies in the league. Forget contracts, he is a legitimate top goaltender in the league and will play between 65-70 games this year if healthy.
Jhonas Enroth (But it doesn't really matter)
The Kings have numerous goalies in camp, including Peter Budaj on a PTO and recently acquired Jhonas Enroth. It is doubtful Budaj really challenges for it here, but maybe (?) earns himself a deal to bolster the goaltending in the minors with Berube and Bartosak aiming to win the primary starting job. The job is Enroth's, but how much time will he really see? Maybe 15 games?
Penalty Kill
Pretty much everyone.
The Kings pride themselves on being able to use almost the entirety of their roster on the penalty kill. Only players like Andreoff, Clifford, and Nolan remain on the outside looking in on PK duty. Even they get their shots from time to time.
Powerplay
Top two lines + Brown/King
Kings also like to use a ton of players on the powerplay to get different looks. Expect Brown and King to cycle in on the second unit and potentially the first. With Kopitar and Carter securing the 2C spots, it is generally a rotation on the wings that keeps the PP looking difference. Lucic, Pearson, King, and Brown will phase in and out.
The defensive pairings will also probably use everyone except Matt Greene. Expect McNabb to see less time on the PP this year with Ehrhoff coming in and Martinez being healthy. However, he has a booming shot that can be a nice tool on a powerplay.
Level of Confidence: 8...or B....or something
Sutter likes to mix it up, but this looks to be what the Kings will have in place to start the season barring some outstanding preseason games from players. With so little turnover it is not a difficult roster to guess with. Things look pretty set as we move into the preseason game portion of camps.
The Kings open preseason games tonight in Bakersfield at 7PM against the Coyotes. Radio feed will be available. It will be the first time in 12 years that an NHL team will play a pre-season game in Bakersfield. Radio stream will be available on LAKings.com, KABC 790 and I Heart Radio.
Game group: Pearson Shore Toffoli Clifford Andreoff Auger Mersch Weal O'Neill Zykov Dowd Kempe Schultz McBain Gravel LoVerde McNabb Forbort
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) September 21, 2015Follow me on twitter for news and notes about the Kings and the NHL