What is in store for the 2013-14 Stanley Cup Champions this upcoming season?
After a disappointing 2014-15 season, the Los Angeles Kings will be looking to have a bounce back year. Let’s have a look at what is most important; the Kings depth chart.
| LW | C | RW | |
| Line 1 | Milan Lucic | Anze Kopitar | Marian Gaborik |
| Line 2 | Tanner Pearson | Jeff Carter | Tyler Toffoli |
| Line 3 | Dwight King | Trevor Lewis | Dustin Brown |
| Line 4 | Kyle Clifford | Nick Shore | Jordan Nolan |
- Lucic will be joining Kopitar and Gaborik on the first line this year. Look for these guys to be lights out!
- Carter will be up the middle between Toffoli and Pearson. Expect big things from both these young wingers.
- Lewis & Shore will be up and down between playing centre on the third/fourth line. Either option, they will both have Nolan, King, & Clifford to add some big body grit.
- Captain Brown slots in nicely with the third line to add a great combo of hard work and finesse.
| Defensive Pairs | ||
| D-Pair 1 | Jake Muzzin | Drew Doughty |
| D-Pair 2 | Alec Martinez | Christian Ehrhoff |
| D-Pair 3 | Matt Greene | Brayden McNabb |
- Doughty will take another stab at the Norris. Muzzin will compliment all of Doughty’s skills as he did last year.
- Ehrhoff as a new addition will be a great fill in for a few defensive departures.
- Greene and McNabb will hold down the back end well with their solid defensive play.
| Goalies | |
| Starter | Jonathan Quick |
| Backup | Jhonas Enroth |
- Quick will of course be the number 1 in Los Angeles. He is typically pegged as a top goalie in the league, although is numbers are very average. Quick needs to have another solid year for the Kings to make another Stanley Cup run.
Key additions: Milan Lucic & Christian Ehrhoff
Key departures: Justin Williams (RW), Mike Richards (C), Jarret Stoll (C), Andrej Sekera (D), Robyn Regehr (D), and Slava Voynov (D).
2015-16 Predictions
Kings Record: 44-27-11 (99 points)
Regular Season Standings: 2nd, Pacific Division. 6th, Western Conference.
Playoff Outlook: Lose in the Conference Semi-Finals to Anaheim Ducks.
Not-so-bold prediction: Lucic will top his career season point total with 70+ points.
Bold prediction: Kopitar will score a career high 40 goals and notch up 90+ points.
Smith’s Sleeper: Predicting Tyler Toffoli to be a King’s top 3 scorer and be in the top 50 of NHL scoring.
Bryan Smith
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