Erik Haula didn’t need much convincing once the Kings entered the picture in free agency. The first person he wanted to talk to was Joel Armia, a longtime friend who knows the new Los Angeles forward better than most and now happens to be his teammate.
Haula and Armia go back to high school, with family ties that made the connection even tighter. They were classmates a couple of grades apart, their parents knew each other, and the relationship carried all the way to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, where the two were roommates. That bond gave Haula a ready-made sounding board when the Kings became a real option.
“He was probably my first call when this came to fruition and was an option,” Haula said. “I obviously had a lot of questions, and he was my roommate in the Olympics, so we had a lot of time to talk about things in LA and when I was in Nashville, and vice versa. He’s helped tons, for sure.”
Whether the two wind up together on a line is still unsettled, and that uncertainty is part of what makes Los Angeles interesting for Haula. The Kings have more moving parts up front than they’ve had in recent seasons, and the way they sort out their top-six forwards will help determine where Haula and Armia fit.
For Haula, the appeal was simple: opportunity.
With Anze Kopitar moving on after a storied career, there’s a lane down the middle. Haula brings a versatile profile, able to play center or wing while contributing offensively, killing penalties and handling the kind of responsible 200-foot work coaches trust. The exact assignment is still to be sorted out, but the chance to step into a meaningful role was enough to make the fit stand out.
“Overall, the discussion has been that there’s good opportunity and we’re going to try different things out,” he said of his potential role in Los Angeles. “We have a pretty deep forward group, I would say, so I’m sure they’re going to try different things out and see what works the best.
For me personally, it doesn’t really matter. I feel pretty confident that we’re going to make it work.”
That kind of answer fits Haula’s reputation. He’s the sort of player who gets described in the familiar hockey shorthand: hard worker, 200-foot player, consistent veteran guy, does things the right way.
It sounds generic until you look at his track record. He’s put up at least 35 points in four of his last five seasons played, hovering around a half-point per game over that stretch.
He’s also one of the league’s more reliable penalty killers, which makes him a logical fit for a Kings team that struggled badly while shorthanded last season.
There’s also a certain steadiness to his game that doesn’t jump off the page in a stat sheet, and that seems to be part of the point. Haula isn’t arriving in Los Angeles as a headline-grabbing scorer or a player defined by glaring strengths and weaknesses. He looks like the kind of forward who can slide into different spots and keep things moving.
One obvious possibility is a third line with Scott Laughton, though either player could end up at center or on the wing. Haula also could center the second line during training camp.
His first interview earlier this week suggested the Kings expected him to play down the middle, though those conversations came before Laughton was re-signed. However it shakes out, the uncertainty didn’t sound like a problem for him.
“I knew that they needed help in the middle, if Kopi was back there or not, I think that from the initial conversations, there was going to be a good role for me either way,” he said. “I was just excited about the group in general.
It’s an older group and a lot of depth at forward. They needed a little bit of help at center, so hopefully I can come and fill that void a little bit and help out.”
Haula’s deal with the Kings runs two years and includes a no-movement clause in the first season. At this stage of his career, that kind of stability mattered.
He’s been around the league long enough to know what bouncing from place to place feels like. After starting with Minnesota, he went through six different teams in a five-season span.
He’s accepted the business side of the sport, but that doesn’t make it easier on a family. The two-year contract gave him a sense of security now, while still leaving Los Angeles flexibility after a season to evaluate how everything fits.
“I’m definitely tired of jumping around, that’s for sure,” he said. “I mean, eight teams in 14 years, it hasn’t been easy at times and it’s definitely not easy on the family.
It’s a blessing to still be able to play in the NHL, a couple more seasons gets me closer to 1000 games and that’s something that’s always been a goal of mine. Just going to try to keep on going as long as I can and I have high standards for myself.
Two years sounded perfect and we’ll see where we’re at after that.”
The Kings’ summer approach leaned heavily on veterans and shorter-term deals, and Haula seemed comfortable with that direction. The league keeps getting younger, but Los Angeles has gone the other way in the short term, adding players who are more established and closer to the same stage of life.
That matters to Haula, even if the real test comes once the puck drops. For now, he likes the look of the room and the potential for a group that can pull together quickly.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out, but I think overall, having an older team, I think we’re going to try to be a pretty tight-knit group, we’re going get along great, similar phases of life and and then we have some younger guys too that I’m excited to get to know,” Haula added. “I just think the dynamic is good on paper. Looking forward to getting there, and getting started.”
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