- Darcy Kuemper and Trevor Moore are floated as Kings trade candidates before training camp
- Kuemper is on the last year of a $5.25M deal after losing the net to Anton Forsberg
- Read below for the numbers on both cases and where Peter Laviolette fits in
The Los Angeles Kings might not be finished tinkering.
Ryan O’Hara of The Hockey News named two veterans whose spots in Los Angeles are worth watching between now and camp: goaltender Darcy Kuemper and winger Trevor Moore. Neither has to go anywhere. Both have a reason to be in the conversation if Ken Holland wants another shuffle.
Kuemper is the trickier one. He was a Vezina finalist in 2024-25 with a 2.02 goals-against average, a .922 save percentage and five shutouts in 50 games.
Last season looked nothing like that. Kuemper went 19-14-15 with a 2.78 GAA and a .891 save percentage, and an injury wiped out most of his February. Anton Forsberg took the crease and ran with it, finishing 36 games at 2.57 and .910.
Then there is the new voice behind the bench. Peter Laviolette has usually leaned on one goalie rather than a rotation, and if Forsberg wins that job outright, the Kings are paying $5.25 million for a backup in a contract year. Catch Laviolette on what drew him to Los Angeles:
Moore’s case is about opportunity. The 31-year-old put up 13 goals and 32 points in 69 games last season and has struggled to hold a top-six spot, which got harder once Artemi Panarin arrived and posted 84 points.
He scored 31 goals in 2022-23, so the finishing touch is there when the minutes are. Moore carries a $4.2 million cap hit with two years left and no trade protection, which makes him one of the easier contracts on the roster to move.
Take a look at every goal the current Kings roster scored last season:
Los Angeles squeaked into the playoffs at 35-26-20 and 90 points, the last seed in the West. Holland answered by overhauling the roster, and his summer has already taken plenty of criticism.
The bigger change is down the middle, where Quinton Byfield inherits the No. 1 job from Anze Kopitar.
Laviolette, for his part, has been out meeting the fan base ahead of his first season in Los Angeles:
Camp will settle a lot of this. If Forsberg holds the net and Moore stays stuck on the third line, Holland has two contracts other teams would take a call on.
