While most teams have been focusing on letting go of their older guys and bringing in younger names, one team has been the total opposite. The Los Angeles Kings have been one of those teams that have yet to make any big moves.
In fact, since the 2025 NHL Draft, the Kings haven’t made any moves to improve their blue line situation either. Their back line is one of the oldest across the league, and recently, one insider made it clear what his view on the whole situation is.
Insider Believes That the Kings’ Older Backline Would Soon Cause Them Problems
While teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to replace their entire roster with new names amid a rebuild, the Los Angeles Kings lie on the opposite end of the spectrum. With no moves and more than $6.7 million still in cap space, they are in a weird place.
Not to mention, they have one of the oldest blue lines. The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman mentions how the Kings have yet to reach past the first round of the Stanley Cup, being eliminated by the Oilers for four seasons straight.
And for Goldman, one might attribute this to their aging team. Unlike other teams, which have some young players on their offense and defense, the Kings have only three players younger than 30Â on their back line. And they have no real plan for this offseason as of yet.
All this can be traced back to the time the Kings were facing a playoff drought. Management ended up building a team with a few new names and an aging core led by Anže Kopitar on the offense and Drew Doughty on the defense.
Since then, Adrian Kempe and Mikey Anderson have emerged, followed by the likes of Alex Laferriere and Quinton Byfield, but the core remains the same. The goaltending remains a minor concern, with Darcy Kuemper’s backup, Anton Forsberg, seemingly past his prime.
And while Brandt Clarke, Alex Turcotte, and Akil Thomas look like they are finally ready to lead the Kings, the overdependence on the veterans is a concern. Goldman mentions, “But around that infusion of youth, the Kings opted to get older and slower this summer.”
She further mentions, “That is especially glaring on defense, with Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin replacing Spence and Vladislav Gavrikov.” For the Kings to move on from their veterans, they will need some landmark moves this offseason.
Goldman further continues, “Despite no changes in dollars and cents, this defensive swap cost the team 18 goals in Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, which landed the Kings dead last in our offseason improvement round-up.”
One thing that GM Ken Holland might be looking for is waiting for the summer to end, when many flash deals will come through, and the Kings might land some good players to rebuild around.
Underwhelming goaltending? Kuemper was a Vezina Trophy finalist just a few weeks ago. He’s won a Stanley Cup. What?