Hockey California is hungry for big wins: The last time cup ambitions on the US West Coast were showcased by San Jose, who, after an unsuccessful conference final in 2019, settled at the bottom of the Pacific Division along with neighbors from Anaheim, who have already missed five straight Stanley Cup draws.
Los Angeles has looked worthy of the entire Californian trio in recent years, but before the success of the first half of the 2010s, when the Kings captured two championship titles in three years, it’s a long way off: after 2014, when the Kings won the third Stanley Cup in their history, he participated in only four of nine possible draws, invariably giving up the fight in the first round. That this year, than the year before, Los Angeles stumbled upon Edmonton, who kindly delivered two early vacation packages to his former mentor Todd McLellan and his squad.
Despite the imminent departure, the “kings” and their fans enter the new season with optimism. According to colleagues from The Athletic, the Kings are the “dark horse” of the next season. The assumption is interesting and at the same time not without reason: Los Angeles has almost completed the restructuring and, although it made almost no inning transfers in the offseason, it looks at least as good as last year’s version.
There is also a “dark horse” in the NHL East:
Buffalo is the dark horse of the East. The NHL’s top losers are ready to interrupt the embarrassing series
The main strengthening of the “kings” was the exchange of “Winnipeg” Pierre-Luc Dubois, who should strengthen the central axis of the team – the long-term leader and captain Anzhe Kopitar, who decided the issue with a new contract, will naturally he will remain the first choice, while Phillip Dano will surely give up Dubois’ place in the second three and drop to the third row, where he can return to the duties of the destroyer, thanks to which he has repeatedly found himself in the top ten in the league. of defensive forwards. The spot in the fourth combination probably goes to Blake Lizott, who performed well last season.
The Kings had to pay dearly for Dubois: The Jets lost the rights to two OCAs, Gabriel Vilardi and Rasmus Cupari, as well as a second-round pick in the upcoming draft and winger Alex Iafallo. From a salary cap point of view, this is about the same trade: the number of contracts for the new trio of “reactives” is not much less than the Dubois cap. Many see a minus for Los Angeles in the bad character of the Canadian, who left Columbus with a scandal, and did not want to stay in Winnipeg either. However, the transition to the field of “kings” can reveal the striker from a new side: Pierre-Luc finally came to the metropolis, replacing gray Manitoba with sunny California, and in a team where there are such superstars as Kopitar and Doughty. , he will not be under such pressure.
Winnipeg will have to decide the fate of two more stars:
It can not be changed. How will Winnipeg deal with the top two stars?
The Kings’ flanks and defense went without reinforcements, and their main success lies in preserving Vladislav Gavrikov, who, along with Matt Roy, formed the Kings’ strongest defensive pairing in past playoffs. Approaching the base is Brandt Clark, 20, called the successor to Drew Doughty in Los Angeles; in general, a set of outfield players allows Californians to count on breaking through the first-round threshold.
But hopes of a successful season could be dashed by the club’s goalkeeping staff, which has been almost completely revamped this summer. After last year, only Phoenix Copley remained in the lineup, who outnumbered both Jonathan Quick and Calvin Petersen -the former main Kings duo, who had already left the team-, but at the same time showed far from the best game. Joonas Korpisalo, who had a solid finish in the regular season but played poorly in the playoffs, was not abandoned by the Kings, having joined Copley, 36-year-old Cam Talbot, after his deadpan season in Ottawa.
Phoenix Copley and Drew Doughty
Photo: ZUMA/TASS
The Canadian veteran looks forward to working with Todd McLellan, who he played with in Edmonton: “When we were on the Oilers, I played the most games in one season in my career and the best years, so meeting him is definitely a huge plus. . for me “.
However, Los Angeles fans do not share Talbot’s optimism, calling his goaltending staff “average at best, disgusting at worst.” In the past year, Cam has often been plagued by injuries, and at 36, he’s no longer worth hoping to play a full season injury-free. As for Copley, counting on him as the first number can cost the “kings” dearly – the American spent only 68 games in the NHL, and this is still not enough to fully trust him. Of course, the Edin Hill example shows that anyone can shoot, but this is rather an exception to the rule: he can expect to repeat his feats in emergencies, but not continuously.
The “kings” could not strengthen the goalkeeper position; he definitely needs to get stronger, either in the off-season (which is better) or during the trade deadline (which has yet to be reached). Otherwise, the dreams of “Los Angeles” and Anze Kopitar about campaigning for another Stanley Cup will remain dreams.
