The Los Angeles Kings’ offseason has already done a lot of the heavy lifting, and that’s opening the door for a few familiar names to step into bigger jobs in 2026-27.
With general manager Ken Holland and the Kings active on Day 1 of unrestricted free agency, the roster looks reshaped and the internal pecking order looks different, too. That matters for a team that’s about to sort through a crowded training camp under new head coach Peter Laviolette, where younger players will be chasing opening-night spots and others will be fighting for more ice time, more trust, and more versatility.
Three players stand out as the clearest beneficiaries of that shift.
Quinton Byfield is now being handed the spotlight down the middle after Anze Kopitar’s retirement this offseason. For years, the Kings have been building toward this moment, and now the expectation is straightforward: Byfield becomes the next No. 1 center and a central piece of the franchise’s next era.
That means more than just a bigger offensive burden. The Kings are counting on him to drive play from the top six, create more scoring, and take on tougher defensive matchups while still delivering at the other end. In other words, the job is getting bigger in every direction.
Brandt Clarke is in a similar spot on the blue line. The Kings locked him up this offseason with a five-year contract extension in restricted free agency, worth around $7.4 million in average annual value, and that deal signals exactly how important they believe he is to what comes next.
Clarke already handled a significant role in the top four last regular season, but the next step is even more responsibility. The Kings want him to push the offense from the back end and take on a larger special-teams role on the power play.
Over the last couple of seasons, he’s started to look like a regular fixture in the top four. Now the challenge is becoming the team’s primary offensive defenseman.
Then there’s Angus Booth, who may not be penciled into the opening-night lineup but still has a real shot to matter this season. Booth will be in the mix at camp for the rotational seventh defenseman role, and he could also be the kind of depth option the Kings turn to if injuries hit the blue line.
Booth kept building his game with the Ontario Reign this past season and emerged as one of the stronger sophomores on the AHL affiliate’s defense. He’s earned a reputation there as a dependable, skilled blueliner with real upside, especially because of his skating, puck-moving ability, and instincts in transition and on controlled exits.
He also already got his first taste of the NHL, making his debut for the Kings this past regular season and scoring a goal in his first game against the Colorado Avalanche in early March.
Booth may still be a long shot for a permanent spot right away, but compared with most prospects in the system, he enters training camp with a clearer route to NHL minutes.
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Kings Just Made A Huge Brandt Clarke Commitment
Brandt Clarkes breakthrough season gave the Kings exactly the kind of evidence they needed before making a long-term commitment. The young defenseman played all 82 games in 2025-26, chipped in eight goals and 32 assists, and finished with 40 points while taking on a bigger role at both ends of the ice. He also led Kings defensemen in power play ice time and found real chemistry alongside Joel Edmundson, making himself much harder to leave out of the clubs future plans.
The payoff came this offseason in restricted free agency, when Los Angeles locked Clarke in on a five-year extension after his career year. It is the kind of move that says the organization is no longer just projecting upside, but expecting him to grow into a top-pairing defenseman moving forward. His four playoff games against Colorado offered a smaller sample, but the bigger picture is clear: the Kings have decided Clarke is central to what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Familiar Kings Defenseman Signals End Of A Long LA Chapter
Jacob Moverares time in Southern California has come to an end after the former Kings defenseman moved on in free agency. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after not re-signing with Los Angeles, closing the book on a stretch that had him in and out of the NHL lineup while trying to carve out a steadier role.
For the Kings, the departure is another small but meaningful opening on the blue line. Moverare got into 15 games last season and reached a career-high 49 appearances in 2024-25 while Drew Doughty was sidelined, so his exit leaves one more spot for a younger defenseman to push for NHL minutes this season. [Read more 🡒]