2026 Elimination Eval: Los Angeles Kings

For the first time since 2021, there have been multiple sweeps in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the fifth time in that same time frame, the Los Angeles Kings have made the playoffs only to become first round exits. This was also the first time in those five years that the Kings have drawn a different first round opponent, as the last four exits have all come at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.

The most important stat to depict what the last decade-plus of Kings hockey has looked like? This is now year 12 of the Kings not winning a single round of playoff hockey. The last time they did so, was 2014—a year that we here at Blueshirt Banter do not recognize has having occurred in the NHL. 

Expectations

As low as expectations may have been for the Kings heading into this specific playoff matchup, the overall expectations for this team were for them to finally get over that first round hump and win a playoff series. The big kicker associated with that ambition, thought, was that prior to the start of the season their captain for the last decade and the face of the franchise for almost two decades—Anze Kopitar—would be retiring at the end of the season. While nobody penciled the Kings in as Cup favorites, they were a team expected to make the playoffs. And as hockey fans know all too well, anything can happen once you punch that ticket. The goal was to win, or at the very least, take their captain on one last run everyone can look back on with pride. 

In order to do that, the Kings had lots of business to tend to last summer and were one of the more fascinating teams at the start of July. They brought on veteran defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci, signing them to quite lucrative contracts that left many in the hockey world a bit perplexed. Beyond that, they signed Anton Forsberg to be their backup goaltender which paid dividends for them as the season progressed. They signed (and then traded) Corey Perry, added Joel Armia, and, most notably, signed Alex Laferriere and Adrian Kempe to big extensions. 

Similarly to the Ottawa Senators, the Kings were a bit of a will-they, won’t-they team leading up to the trade deadline. They weren’t confidently in a playoff position and, as a result, played jump rope with the line that separates being a buyer or a seller. They sold Phillip Danault, Warren Foegele, and Perry for three separate second round picks, one of which was used to buy Scott Laughton late on deadline day. Of course, they also picked up Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers to replace Kevin Fiala, whose season was put to an early end by an injury suffered at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

All of which—in a vacuum—were perfectly fine moves for a team in L.A.’s position to make. They didn’t sacrifice the future and recklessly buy to try and get Kopitar one last Cup, but they weren’t overly stingy, shying away from making any big moves. Granted the Panarin of it all just happened to work out in their favor, but still. The Kings made all the right preparations to get to the playoffs, unfortunately there just wasn’t much they could do to prepare for a team like the Colorado Avalanche. 

Series Recap

In a bit of a surprise move, the Kings decided to open the series with Anton Forsberg as their starting goaltender. It wasn’t surprising in the sense that Forsberg was the hot hand heading into the postseason, but surprising given the fact that Kuemper was a Vezina Trophy finalist just last season and won a Stanley Cup four years ago with the very team they were going up against. Despite the fact that they lost the series in four games, it proved to be the right decision as Forsberg was excellent all throughout. 

Credit where it’s due, as the Kings kept it close in game one, keeping the Avalanche off the scoreboard through almost two periods of hockey. With five minutes to go in the second, Nathan MacKinnon set up Artturi Lehkonen to make it a 1-0 game. Early in the third, Logan O’Connor finished on a nice individual move to extend Colorado’s lead to two, but when it came down to crunch time, Artemi Panarin brought the Kings within one on the power play. With two and a half minutes to go, there was plenty of time for the Kings to try and force this one to overtime. But they ultimately fell short, dropping game one by a score of 2-1. Forsberg was fantastic, allowing just two goals on 34 shots, registering a .938 save percentage. 

The Kings continued to give Colorado a run for their money as game two was scoreless for the first 47 minutes of play. What likely became the high moment of the series for Los Angeles, Panarin again converted on a man advantage to give the Kings their first lead of the series. At this point in time, they were only down by a game in the series and just established a lead midway through the third period of game two, making anything possible. Alas, just three minutes later, Gabriel Landeskog tied the game up with just three and a half to go in regulation. Forsberg was again a difference maker for the Kings, making 34 saves (.944 save percentage), but Nicolas Roy would be the hero in overtime.

With the Kings down two games to none, the series moved to California, giving Los Angeles an opportunity to rewrite the script. While Landeskog gave the Avalanche an early lead, Trevor Moore tied the game early in the second, which presented the game changing moment of the series. Had the Kings built off that momentum, the potential for hope may have remained. But instead, it shifted back to Colorado. Cale Makar scored seven minutes later and Lehkonen extended their lead in the third. Adrian Kempe picked up a power play goal to bring them within one, but an empty netter from Brock Nelson sealed the deal as Colorado won 4-2 and threatened the series sweep. 

Game Four by default became the low moment as MacKinnon’s power play goal in the first set the tone and more goals from Makar, Roy, and Devon Toews helped them run away with the game in the third period. Granted, the game was a bit closer than it may sound leading up to that, but the Kings just did not stand a chance against the heavily favored Avalanche. While the game itself was a bit of a low, the energy and attention quickly shifted to Anze Kopitar who upon taking the ice with just over a minute to go, would take his final shift in the National Hockey League. 

1,521 games played, 452 goals, 864 assists, 1,316 points. Two Stanley Cups, a five time all star, two Selke Trophies, three Lady Byng Trophies, and a Mark Messier Leadership Award, Kopitar will surely be on Hall of Fame ballets in the coming years. Not bad for a kid from a country with a population of roughly two million that, prior to him, had never produced an NHL player.  

Prediction

Roberto and I reigned victorious in our roundtable predictions as we both said the Avalanche would sweep the Kings. Jake was also quite close, suggesting it would be a gentlemen’s sweep in the Avs favor. And even though Eric and Chip followed their hearts and picked the Kings to win the series, they were well aware that Colorado was likely going to break out the brooms. I don’t know what the percentage was of people who expected the Avalanche to win this series, but I’m willing to bet it was much, much closer to 100 than 50. 

Was the Season a Success?

Twelve years without winning a playoff series really isn’t anybody’s definition of success. At the end of the day, the Kings weren’t expected to win this exact series. But they were expected to get back to the playoffs, they were expecting to finally make some progress, regardless of who their first round opponent was going to be. And to top it all off, they came out of it without winning a single game.

The Kings of the past are officially gone. Dustin Brown has long since retired. Jonathan Quick, Trevor Lewis, and now Anze Kopitar are all officially retired. It’s time to build something new and, so far, they haven’t shown much promise of that up to date. Those answers aren’t coming in free agency. So what they do with the first and second round picks (they have eight total) in the next three drafts, is going to be extremely important.  

UFA’s/RFA’s

Brandt Clarke is the only restricted free agent the Kings have to worry about, which is good, but there are lots of pending UFA’s they need to make decisions on. They have Scott Laughton and Andrei Kuzmenko (who was tied for fifth in goals for the Kings this season), who both played significant roles with this team down the stretch. Especially with the massive hole Kopitar leaves for the Kings down the middle, perhaps Laughton is a guy you consider bringing back. 

Then there are more depth players like Matheiu Joseph, Jeff Malott, Jacob Moverare, and Pheonix Copley. If I’m the Kings, I’m not breaking the bank to bring back any of them. But if the price is right, then by all means. There are bigger questions, however, than answers left by the group that will be here at the start of training camp. 

Biggest Question Moving Forward

I’d say it’s pretty obvious that the biggest question for the Kings is how do you even begin to replace a guy like Anze Kopitar? That’s something that doesn’t happen overnight and, even if you were to try, you have to think about what he meant to this team on and off the ice. On it, he was a clear first line center, a regular in the Selke Trophy conversation, capable of leading your team in points, year in and year out. Off of it, he’s your captain, the guy everyone in that locker room turns to who at the same time can lead by example more so than with words. That's another reason why you potentially keep Laughton around, but either way, this team needs to address their center depth. 

Outside of that, they’re mainly going to be running the same group back next year. They began the season by giving Kempe and Laferriere the big extensions, and they immediately gave Panarin that two year extension to keep him around. But Rangers fans know better than anyone that you don’t build a team around the wings. Not to mention their aging blue line is built around Drew Doughty who could very well begin his farewell tour next season, having dealt with a number of injuries that impact his longevity in this league. At 36, he’s not the only part of their blue line on the wrong side of 30, as Joel Edmundson, Ceci, and Dumoulin, are all turning 33, 33, and 35, respectively. Extending Clarke is imperative, but beyond him, they need to start shaping a future for this franchise and it starts down the middle and on defense. 

Projected Lineup 

Panarin - Byfield - Kempe
Fiala - ? - Laferriere
Moore - Turcotte - Armia
Wright - Helenius - Ward
Connors 

Anderson - Doughty
Edmundson - Clarke*
Dumoulin - Ceci
? 

Kuemper - Forsberg

Next in line:

• Goalie: Carter George
• Forwards: Jimmy Lombardi, Brendan McMorrow, Koehn Ziemmer
• Defenseman: Henry Brzustewicz 

(*-RFAs)

Final Thoughts

I suppose a better question to their biggest question is the one that asks if Quinton Byfield is ready to be a true number one center in the NHL. In 79 games played this season, he only had 49 points to show for it (24 goals and 25 assists). I’m not too worried about goaltending as Carter George could be ready to take the next steps if Kuemper and/or Forsberg struggle or go down with injury. The defense is currently being held together by duct tape, but there are some guys in their minor league system that could become something as needed. There’s still plenty of talent in their top six, but none of them are getting any younger. The Kings need to continue to draft, develop, and prioritize the future, especially now that Kopitar is officially hanging up the skates. 

Goalscoring and point production are really going to be big areas of concern for them moving forward. Outside of Kempe, no one on the Kings roster finished with more than 50 points this season. With a full year of Panarin and a healthy Fiala that can surely change, but even still Kopitar was one of their five most productive forwards. Kuzmenko and Perry weren't far down that list either.

With a shallow prospect pool (The Athletic's Scott Wheeler has them 27th in the league) and limited free agents, it isn't going to be easy to address those needs heading into next season.