A Look Into the Pacific Division: Los Angeles Kings

Round two of our review of the Ducks division rivals. Today’s post will be the Los Angles Kings who have added some depth to their offense and are looking to make a Stanley Cup run this season.

Losses:

-Michal Handzus: A solid center who went off to the San Jose Sharks. One of the bigger losses for the team, due to his great faceoff percentage.

-Ryan Smyth: Picked up by Edmonton, Smyth is a good secondary scorer.

-Wayne Simmonds: For some reason, this upset many Kings fans. A decent player who I felt caused more trouble for the Kings. No surprise he ended up in Philly..

Gained:

-Simon Gagne: One of the biggest free agents this off-season, the Kings were able to sign him for two years. Gagne is going to be a pain for the Ducks.

-Mike Richards: The Flyers decided to let go of their captain, and shipped him off to LA for Simmonds and Schenn. A great center, which will be great for the Kings offense.

-Colin Fraser: Another center with a good faceoff percentage. The Kings are looking for set-up men for top scorer Anze Kopitar.

Still to Come?:

-Drew Doughty: Surprisingly, he still has not signed with the Kings. Although some people think their team is getting him, it is unlikely. If he wanted to leave, it would have happened already. There is probably just contract issues, but Kings fans will be joyous when he does re-sign.

Overview:

-The Kings have added some solid centers for their offense. This will be great for setting up goal-scorer Anze Kopitar, who has been slacking as of late. The addition of two Philadelphia Flyers will add some toughness and some offensive production. They do still lack an enforcer, who can protect their younger players. Goaltending is no issue with Jonathan Quick, but if they plan to keep playing him for 60+ games a season, they may find themselves in some problems in the future. Another problem with their roster would have to be their defense. I will probably be attacked for this, but I found their defense to be mediocre with the exception of Doughty. I expected some buffing up this off-season.

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