The Los Angeles Kings made some major moves in the offseason to improve and take a step towards advancing in the playoffs. They opened up the offseason by hiring Ken Holland to be the new GM after the departure of Rob Blake. The team now needs to hope they made the right moves, and players perform to their potential. If the Kings want to get past the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, they not only need their moves to work out, but players to breakout this year.
LA finished the 2024-25 season at 48-25-9, which was good for second in the Pacific Division. That led to yet another first-round playoff date with the Oilers. While they would fall in six games, they had multiple players who had solid years. Adrian Kempe scored 25 goals for the third time in the past four seasons. He also had his second straight 70-plus point campaign. Meanwhile, Kevin Fiala scored a career high of 35 goals, while also having his fourth straight season with 60 or more points.
Darcy Kuemper also had one of the best seasons of his career. He was 31-11-7 with a 2.02 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. This would make him a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. While many players had great years, the Kings have yet to break through in the playoffs and get past the Oilers, who have beaten them four times in a row in Round 1.
If they hope to finally slay the dragon this year, these three players will need to breakout.
Quinton Byfield is ready to take next step for Kings
The Kings were one of the best teams in the NHL in the last month of 2024-25. From March 8 through the end of the season, the team went 17-5-0, and only once lost back-to-back games. A major reason for the surge was the emergence of Quinton Byfield. He scored 13 goals and had eight assists as the team went on its winning streak. That means 38.9 percent of his points were scored in the final 26.8 percent of his season. It would also give him his second straight season of 50-plus points. Byfield was also solid in the playoffs, finding the back of the net three times while adding a helper.
The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft now needs a full breakout season. The advanced stats show that the breakout may be coming. While his IPP, individual point percentage, did decline some in 2024-25, it was still strong, and his last month of the season saw a massive boost in that category. Further, his shooting percentage was great, and he has created more scoring chances each season he has played in.
For Byfield, it is all about consistency. In 2023-24, the forward was solid in the middle of the year. In a 37-game stretch, he amassed 30 points. Regardless, in the other 43 games that he played, he compiled just 25 points. That means he went from .81 points per game at his peak in that campaign, to just .58 points per game the rest of the season. The same was true in 2024-25. At his peak, he was scoring .95 points per game. The rest of the season was just .56 points per game. If the Canadian forward can be near peak for a full season, he could break out into a 65-plus point forward for the team.
Can Brandt Clarke become a top-level blue liner?
Brandt Clarke just completed his first full season at the NHL level. The 22-year-old defenseman from Canada played in 25 NHL games prior to this season, but would play in 78 games this year. During that time, he lit the lamp five times, while adding 28 assists. Now the blue liner needs to become a constant presence on the top two defensive rotations for the team. Clarke was sixth on the team in ice time per game among blueliners. One of the players in front of him was Jordan Spence, who is now with the Ottawa Senators. The major defender to leave the team was Vladislav Gavrikov, who is now a New York Ranger, and averaged 23:05 per game of ice time. Now, Clarke needs to be part of replacing Gavrikov.
He has shown he can play major minutes on the ice. The rearguard was great the first month of the year, averaging over 18 minutes of ice time, while amassing 11 points in 11 games. Still, he saw his ice time and production vary throughout the rest of the season. His usage was inconsistent overall, but when he was on the ice, he was a plus player. The team was +16 in goals when he was on the ice in five-on-five situations in 2024-25. Further, he was solid offensively. He was in the top 15 percent of defensemen in points per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations. If the defender can get solid ice time this year, he will breakout and could become a top-pairing player for the Kings.
Los Angeles will get a huge year from Alex Laferriere
Alex Laferriere was signed to a new three-year deal this summer. He is growing into a solid scoring option for the Kings. If the American can continue the progression he showed from his first year to his second, he will have a breakout campaign in 2025-26. In his first year in the league, the forward found the back of the net 12 times while adding 11 assists. Then, in 2024-25, he chipped in 19 goals while adding 23 helpers. Further, his overall impact on the offense in five-on-five situations grew.
His IPP went up over five percentage points, while his expected goals, shooting percentages, and creation of high-danger scoring opportunities all took major steps forward. The biggest jump was his point total in those even-strength situations. In 2023-24, he compiled 20 points in five-on-five situations. That would grow to 36 points in his second campaign. He also became more of a powerplay threat. His time on the powerplay tripled, but his increase in production was not as stark as it was in even-strength situations. If he can continue his growth, plus improve on the powerplay, the young forward will burst onto the scene this year.
The Kings have been a consistent franchise the last four years, but have yet to get past the Oilers. They have lost to them in the first round in four straight campaigns. If players such as Byfield, Clarke, and Laferriere can take the next step and enjoy breakout campaigns, the losing streak could come to an end. If LA can finally get past Edmonton, they could become a legitimate threat to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2014.
