- Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Yaremchuk ripped Ken Holland’s summer in Los Angeles
- The Kings lost Anze Kopitar and answered with Mats Zuccarello, Corey Perry and Erik Haula
- Read below for the full breakdown on LA’s aging roster and thin center depth
The Los Angeles Kings spent the summer getting older, and Daily Faceoff isn’t buying it.
Host Tyler Yaremchuk went after Ken Holland’s offseason on Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, and he didn’t soften any of it.
“Ken Holland had what I would call one of the worst offseasons in the league,” Yaremchuk said. “They don’t have a lot of cap space. They have some glaring holes. They have important spots where they’re a year older.”
Watch the full episode here:
LA was the third-oldest team in the NHL last season and did nothing this summer to change that.
Anze Kopitar retired. Holland’s answer was 38-year-old Mats Zuccarello, 41-year-old Corey Perry and 35-year-old Erik Haula, all brought in on the first day of free agency.
Drew Doughty is 36 and the blue line behind him isn’t young either. Brian Dumoulin is 34, Joel Edmundson is 33 and Cody Ceci is 32.
Darcy Kuemper turned 36 in May. Anton Forsberg, who handled a big chunk of the crease last year, is 33.
Yaremchuk’s biggest issue sits down the middle. With Kopitar gone, the center group runs Quinton Byfield, Haula, Scott Laughton and 23-year-old Samuel Helenius.
“That’s not a playoff group of centermen,” Yaremchuk said. “Let’s not kid ourselves here.”
Byfield put up 24 goals and 25 assists in 79 games last season. Yaremchuk wants another 10 goals and 15 assists out of him, plus a similar jump from Brandt Clarke, before he treats the Kings as a real threat in the West.
People around the club see it differently. Tony Granato told the LA Kings Insider Show that this year should look different with Artemi Panarin and Peter Laviolette reunited and the offense running through them.
Panarin is 34 and arrived at last season’s deadline along with Laughton. Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala still give Holland scoring on the wing.
Los Angeles has reached the playoffs five years running. A sixth trip leans on Byfield finally becoming the No. 1 center this roster needs him to be.
