The Kings head into opening night with more uncertainty than they’ve had in a while, and the timing couldn’t be sharper. On Wednesday night in Denver, Los Angeles will see the same opponent that ended its season last spring: the Colorado Avalanche, the team that swept the Kings out of the first round and handed them a fifth straight first-round exit over the last five seasons.
This time around, the Kings arrive with a new coach, a reshaped roster, and the same two familiar pillars in Drew Doughty and Adrian Kempe. They also arrive with some real questions that need answers fast.
The biggest one starts behind the bench. Can Peter Laviolette actually change what this team looks like?
That’s the job in front of him after Los Angeles moved on from Jim Hiller because of defensive issues. General Manager Ken Holland has made it clear what he wants the new approach to be: more scoring chances, more aggression, and a transition-heavy style that looks a lot different from the dull structure that got Hiller dismissed.
That’s a big shift for a franchise that has leaned on defense for most of the last two decades. That identity helped deliver Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014, but the question now is whether that formula still works with this group.
A few younger players could be the real test case for the new system. Brandt Clarke, Alex Turcotte, Quinton Byfield, and Alex Laferriere all sit in that category, and all four are part of what the Kings hope becomes a stronger core.
Clarke, in particular, looks built for what Laviolette says he wants. The Stanley Cup champion has talked about creating more offense off the rush and in transition, and that kind of game fits Clarke’s style.
Since beginning his play on ice in 2022, the 23-year-old has improved his numbers every season. Last year, he posted eight goals, 32 assists, and 40 points in 82 games.
Now he’s being asked to thrive in a system that should pull more from the back end, while the roster around him includes older defensemen and younger players like Byfield and Laferriere who are also trying to carve out bigger roles. That leaves a real competition for who turns into the biggest offensive engine in this new setup.
Then there’s the question in the middle of the ice. Who takes over at center now that Anze Kopitar is gone?
The Kings haven’t made a splashy move to replace him, which leaves Scott Laughton and Alex Turcotte as the main options. They’re very different bets.
Laughton arrived midseason in a trade and brings the kind of veteran stability teams usually trust. Turcotte is the younger upside play, but his path has been messier.
Turcotte had a career season in 2024-25, then followed it by missing about a month the next year with an upper-body injury. That only added to a pattern that has followed him over the last two seasons, when repeated upper-body injuries have cost him a lot of games. At 5'11 and 195 pounds, durability has been part of the concern.
Laughton comes in from a different angle. The 32-year-old center is 6'1 and 190 pounds, has built a reputation as a tough player, and has never dealt with a serious injury.
He also produced better numbers than Turcotte, even while adjusting to a new system after the trade. Laughton finished with 13 goals, seven assists, and 20 points.
So the Kings are set to start the season with a new coach trying to reshape the team, a vacancy at center, and a young group that could either rise into bigger roles or leave the same old questions hanging around. Answers are coming soon enough.
For now, the puck drops Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 7:00 PM PT against the Colorado Avalanche.
In Other News...
Kings Still Have One Obvious Center Fix For Their Playoff Push
The Kings opened the 2026-27 NHL season with a familiar roster question hanging over their playoff hopes, and it is one that could shape how aggressively they shop for help in the months ahead. They still need a top-six center, and the search naturally points to the kind of dependable middle-six pivot who can stabilize a lineup and make the rest of the forward group fit a little cleaner around him.
One name to watch sits in Boston, where the Bruins have their own center uncertainty with a player entering the final year of his contract. If Boston decides not to commit to a new deal, Los Angeles could have a path to get involved, though the price would almost certainly depend on whether an extension comes with the trade. For the Kings, it is the sort of offseason target that could help, but only if the timing and the terms line up the right way. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Got An Early Look At One Reign Trait That Matters
The Ontario Reign gave Kings fans a useful glimpse of a trait that tends to travel well from the AHL to the NHL: resilience under pressure. In a 2-1 shootout win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds at Acrisure Arena, the Reign spent much of the night trying to claw back into a tight game before finding a way to leave with two points.
Kenny Connors helped force extra time with a late equalizer, and then Taylor Ward delivered the only shootout goal of the night. Erik Portillo did the rest, turning aside every Coachella Valley attempt in the skills competition after making 18 saves in regulation, a strong all-around effort that gave Ontario a result worth remembering. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Enter Opener With Two Lineup Questions Still Unsettled
The Kings have wrapped training camp and turned their attention to Wednesdays opener against the Colorado Avalanche, but the first lineup card of the season still has a couple of open questions. One sits in net, where Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg both made strong cases in camp and left the club with a decision still to make before puck drop.
The other is down the middle, where Los Angeles never added a top-six center over the summer and is giving Alex Turcotte a real look in the second-line spot. Coach Peter Laviolette has framed the construction of his lineup as a strategic process, and that makes the final choices at center and in goal among the most interesting pieces to watch as the Kings start the season. [Read more 🡒]