The Kings are heading into 2026-27 with a different look and a lot of questions, but one thing stands out as their clearest edge: the back end. With Anze Kopitar retired, the captaincy open and Peter Laviolette now behind the bench, Los Angeles has to sort out major changes up front and in goal. Still, the blue line gives this team a real foundation to lean on.
That matters because the Kings were already built on keeping pucks out of their own net. They finished seventh in the NHL in goals against last season, giving up 238 goals in 82 games.
Offense was a different story. Los Angeles scored just 220 goals, which ranked 29th in the league.
So even before the roster turnover, this was a team that lived more comfortably in low-event games than track meets.
Drew Doughty remains a central figure on that defense, and he is joined by a group that brings a lot of NHL miles with it: Mikey Anderson, Brian Dumoulin, Joel Edmundson and Cody Ceci. That kind of experience can steady a team through the grind of a long season. Brandt Clarke is another key piece, and he’s coming off a career year with room to keep climbing.
Clarke’s development could be one of the most important storylines on the roster. He’s still young, but the expectation is that he’ll take on more responsibility and become a bigger part of what the Kings do on the blue line. Los Angeles will need him to make good decisions when the pressure rises.
The same goes, in a different way, for the goaltending picture. Darcy Kuemper is expected to stay in the starter’s role with Anton Forsberg backing him up, while Erik Portillo could also force his way into the conversation.
If that group gives the Kings steady work, the team doesn’t need to win shootouts every night. It can survive on structure, patience and limiting the other side’s chances.
Up front, Quinton Byfield is the name that jumps off the page. He posted career highs last season with 24 goals and 49 points, and now he’s expected to step into the No. 1 center role after Kopitar’s retirement. That’s a huge opportunity, and a huge responsibility.
Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala are not the concern here. They’ve already shown they can score and drive offense.
The bigger issue is whether the rest of the forward group can chip in consistently enough to support them. That remains the open question.
But if the Kings can keep games tight, they’ll always have a path. A 2-1 game or a 4-3 game plays into their hands.
They’ve shown they can operate with a more structured approach, and that style will matter all season long. On nights when the offense stalls, the defense and goaltending will have to carry the load.
If they do, that blue line could end up being the reason Los Angeles has a successful year.
In Other News...
Kings Fans Just Got A Reality Check On Elias Pettersson Rumors
Reports that Elias Petterssons family bought a home in Los Angeles were always going to stir up the kind of speculation Kings fans know well, especially with the club still searching for a true long-term answer down the middle. Petterssons name naturally fits that conversation, and the fit on paper is obvious enough to keep the rumor mill moving whenever theres even a small off-ice clue.
David Pagnotta, though, offered a reality check on the buzz, saying the Kings did have real interest in Pettersson at one point but are looking elsewhere right now. On the Vancouver side, the message is even clearer: the Canucks want to get Pettersson back on track after a difficult season, not move him, and their focus is on restoring the kind of production that made him such a coveted center in the first place. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Blue Line Spending Signals A Changing Of The Guard
Cale Makars new eight-year deal reset the market for elite defensemen, and it also sharpened the view of how much NHL teams are willing to commit on the blue line. Around the league, the biggest spenders on defense are starting to tell a broader story about roster-building, with clubs like the Golden Knights, Rangers and Devils leaning hard into premium contracts for their back end as they map out the 2026-27 season.
For Los Angeles, the conversation is just as revealing, even without the flashiest headline in the league. The Kings have long treated defense as a place to invest, and their current commitments point to a blue line that is both expensive and in transition, with veteran money still on the books and younger pieces moving into more prominent roles. How that balance settles over the next couple of seasons will say plenty about where the Kings think their window really is. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Core Enters The Season With One Tier-Climbing Debate
The Athletics latest player tiers offered a useful snapshot of where the Kings believe their core sits heading into the 2026-27 season. Artemi Panarin was slotted among the All-Stars, while Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield both landed in the star conversation, a sign that Los Angeles is still leaning on high-end talent to drive its next push. The exercise matters here because the Kings are no longer just trying to make noise in the Pacific, they are trying to prove their top players can carry that form into the postseason.
Brandt Clarkes placement adds another layer to the discussion, since the Kings are also watching how their younger pieces fit into that hierarchy. A team built around established scorers and rising talent can look dangerous on paper, but these kinds of rankings tend to sharpen the real question for Los Angeles: which players are ready to climb another tier when the games get tighter? [Read more 🡒]