The LA Kings are heading into 2026-27 with a roster that’s loaded, experienced and built around a familiar core. The club announced its Opening Night active roster with 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders, while defenseman Kirill Kirsanov was loaned to the Ontario Reign and forward Kevin Fiala remains on injured reserve.
Up front, the Kings will roll out Joel Armia, Quinton Byfield, Erik Haula, Samuel Helenius, Adrian Kempe, Alex Laferriere, Scott Laughton, Andre Lee, Trevor Moore, Artemi Panarin, Corey Perry, Alex Turcotte and Mats Zuccarello. On the blue line, the group includes Mikey Anderson, Cody Ceci, Brandt Clarke, Drew Doughty, Brian Dumoulin, Joel Edmundson and Erik Gustafsson. In goal, Anton Forsberg and Darcy Kuemper are the two names on the active roster.
A big chunk of that roster already has Kings experience. In all, 19 players skated in at least one game for Los Angeles last season, a list led by Drew Doughty.
The veteran defenseman, a two-time Stanley Cup Champion and the franchise’s all-time leader in goals by a defenseman with 165, is set to start his 19th NHL season. He’s 17 games shy of matching Dustin Brown’s 1,296 for second on the Kings’ all-time games played list, and 21 games away from becoming the 22nd different blueliner in NHL history to hit 1,300 career games.
Adrian Kempe is back after another huge year. He won the Bill Libby Memorial Award as the Kings’ Most Valuable Player last season after pacing the club in goals (36), assists (37), points (36-37=73), game-winning goals (8), shots on goal (226), overtime goals (4), shootout goals (6), multi-goal games (6) and multi-point games (16). One stretch stood out even more: Kempe put together a career-long seven-game road point streak from Oct. 11-28, 2025, collecting 11 points in that run.
Brandt Clarke also returns after claiming the team’s Most Outstanding Defenseman honor. The 23-year-old posted career highs across the board, finishing with 82 games played, 8 goals, 32 assists, 40 points, 13 power-play points, 159 shots on goal, 19:48 of ice time per game and 2 game-winning goals.
He led Kings defensemen in goals, assists, points, power-play points and game-winning goals, and his 32 assists were second among all Kings skaters. Clarke signed a five-year contract through the 2030-31 season in June.
Panarin is another major piece in the mix as he prepares for his first full season with Los Angeles after arriving from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4, 2026.
He wasted no time making an impression, setting up two goals in his debut on Feb. 25 against the Vegas Golden Knights and becoming the third skater in the past 20 years to record multiple assists in his first game with the Kings. Over 26 games from that debut through the end of the regular season, Panarin matched Kempe for the team lead with 27 points, putting up 9 goals and 18 assists, while also finishing with a team-best plus-9 rating.
Seven of those 26 games were multi-point outings.
The offseason additions add another layer to the roster. Zuccarello, Haula and Gustafsson are all in line for their first season with the Kings, and together they bring 237 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience into the room.
Los Angeles opens the season Wednesday, Sept. 30, at Ball Arena against the Colorado Avalanche at 8:00 p.m. MT. The Kings then head to San Jose to face the Sharks on Saturday, Oct. 3, before returning home for their opener on Tuesday, Oct. 6 against the Florida Panthers at 7:00 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.
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Kings Power Play Already Feels Different Under Peter Laviolette
A preseason game against Anaheim offered an early look at how the Kings want their power play to function under Peter Laviolette, and the changes were hard to miss. The group leaned into a 1-3-1 setup and moved the puck with more purpose, creating better looks than the unit has often generated in recent seasons. It was the kind of sequence that suggested structure and urgency can coexist, especially when the first wave is getting to its spots quickly.
Training camp has also pointed to a more defined role for Artemi Panarin, whose ability to drive the attack gives the group a different kind of edge. Laviolette appears willing to let him improvise within the framework, which could be the difference between a predictable power play and one that keeps penalty killers guessing. The early signs are encouraging, but the real test will be whether that chemistry and cleaner execution hold once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Leave Door Open For Two Prospects To Force The Issue
The Kings trimmed their training camp roster on Sept. 24, placing Martin Chromiak, Francesco Pinelli, Cole Guttman, Lane Pederson and Joe Hicketts on waivers so they could be assigned to the Ontario Reign. For Los Angeles, the move was part of the usual fall sorting, but it also kept a couple of young forwards in the organization who still have a chance to push their way into the NHL picture as the season unfolds.
Chromiak and Pinelli both cleared waivers and will start the year with Ontario, where they can keep developing without losing their place in the Kings plans. Both players signed one-year, two-way contract extensions in June, a sign the club still sees them as part of its pipeline, and their next step will be to turn AHL minutes into a stronger case for future call-ups. [Read more 🡒]