50 Days, 50 Facts About The LA Kings

50 Days.

50 Days until the LA Kings take the ice at Crypto.com Arena against the Colorado Avalanche to begin the 2025-26 regular season. A lot can happen in 50 days. Adrian Kempe could sign a contract extension. And……okay, maybe that’s about it. But still. Something could happen.

As we stand right now, Kings training camp is shaping up to be one of the least entertaining camps of my time here from a roster battle standpoint. What I mean by that is the roster appears to be as set as it’s been in years. Assuming full health, I really only see one, maybe two spots up for grabs with a number of players with NHL experience looking to claim an NHL place. That, I suppose, does carry some interest in itself but what we’re talking about here is a 14th forward or an eighth defenseman.

What makes this camp very interesting is with regards to the players who we know will be on the roster this season, playing in roles that we likely also know. We just don’t know exactly what version of those players will be filling them.

Take this comparison for example, highlighting two Kings players, identities hidden.

Player A: Of the 185 defensemen with at least 2,000 minutes played at 5-on-5 from 2021-24, Player A ranked in the Top-5 in the NHL in shot attempts and shots on goal against, per/60. He also ranked in the Top-10 in expected goals against on a per/60 basis and in the Top-15 in actual goals against. This player was also in the Top-20 in scoring chances and high-danger chances against on a per/60 basis. Player A accomplished all of this despite starting just 45.8 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone and was one of two players in the Top-20 in goals against with a PDO of under 1.0.

Player B: Among Kings defensemen last season, Player B ranked seventh of seven in terms of percentage of shot attempts, shots on goal and high-danger chances controlled while he was on the ice on a per/60 basis. He ranked sixth of seven with regards to scoring chances within the same parameters, with his numbers across the board well below his career averages to date.

Player A is Drew Doughty’s cumulative totals for the 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Player B is Drew Doughty’s 2024-25 season.

I do understand some of the criticisms of the 2025 offseason for the Kings. But when I look at what the Kings did, the keys to making it all work are Doughty and Brandt Clarke. I think people are really sleeping on Doughty. Over a three-season span, Doughty was a true number-one defenseman in the NHL and the numbers support that. Last season, he was not. I’ve always believed that when one thing happens for several seasons in a row and all of a sudden, something changes, you bank on the body of work, not the thing that happened most recently.

With that being said, the Kings are banking a lot on Doughty returning to the player he was from 2021-24. He’s 35 and that’s no guarantee. He’s spent his entire summer in Los Angeles, in the gym each day, to try and get there. If he can, that player was a top-pairing defenseman on just about any team in the NHL. Last season, he was not that player. If he does what the Kings believe he will, however, everything comes more into focus.

That’s what makes this camp interesting. You could do very similar comparisons with a number of different players on the Kings roster. Players who we’ve seen play, players who will be in camp and be on the roster, in roles we can likely define. We just don’t know exactly what we’ll get.

Now, to the story.

The Player A/B comparison above is based purely on facts. The commentary around the comparison has more of my opinion involved but that’s not the purpose of this article. What will follow has no opinion involved at all. It’s purely based on statistics and facts that tell a certain story. Those facts might all be slanted towards the story that I want you to read. But it’s just the facts, baby.

Presenting 50 Facts about the 2025-26 LA Kings.

1. To expand on Doughty, he and defenseman Mikey Anderson logged 3,047 minutes together over the three-season span from 2021-22 through 2023-24, third most in the NHL among teammates.

2. Of the 53 defensive pairs to log over 1,000 minutes in those three seasons, the Anderson/Doughty pairing ranks first in the NHL in terms of fewest shots on goal allowed, per/60.

3. In just shy of 300 minutes together during the 2024-25 season, the Anderson/Doughty pairing allowed just 1.02 goals per/60, third best in the NHL among pairs with at least 250 minutes together.

4. Anderson, individually, was one of five defensemen in the NHL last season with a goals against per/60 under 1.5.

5. He was also one of three Kings defensemen in the Top-8 in that metric along with Jordan Spence and Vladislav Gavrikov.

6. Spence and Gavrikov no longer play for the Kings.

7. Among defensemen with at least 1,000 minutes played at 5-on-5 during the 2023-24 season, Doughty ranked third in the NHL in goals against per/60 at 1.7, while Anderson ranked fifth.

7A. Doughty and Anderson are slated to be paired together for the 2025-26 season.

8. Speaking of the 2023-24 season, ranking just outside the Top 10 on that list? Brian Dumoulin – in 11th – at 1.88.

9. During his time in Seattle, Dumoulin ranked first the NHL among defensemen to play at least 1,000 minutes at 5-on-5 in allowing 8.36 high-danger chances against, per/60.

10. He also ranked in the league’s Top 3 in scoring chances against and placed in the NHL’s Top-10 in shot attempts against and shots on goal against, ranking 11th in goals against as noted above.

11. Dumoulin signed a three-year contract with the Kings on July 1.

Quick Pause.

One More Player Comparison, looking at the Dumoulin numbers from above. Consider him Player A.

Brian Dumoulin’s 2023-24 Season: Dumoulin ranked first in the NHL among defensemen to play at least 1,000 minutes at 5-on-5 in allowing 8.36 high-danger chances against, per/60. He also ranked in the league’s Top 3 in scoring chances against and placed in the NHL’s Top-10 in shot attempts against and shots on goal against, ranking 11th in goals against as noted above.

Player B: Player B also placed in the NHL’s Top-5 in high-danger chances against on a per/60 basis, ranking fourth in the NHL. Player B ranked in the Top-30 in scoring chances against, posting career-best numbers in that category. His expected goal share of 55.5 percent joined Dumoulin among the league leaders and was also a career best.

Those are, admittedly, mostly defensive statistics. Offensively, Player A had 0.79 points per/60 at 5-on-5 while Player B had 0.82.

Player A is obviously Dumoulin’s 2023-24 season. Player B is Matt Roy’s 2023-24 season.

12. From opening night through the trade deadline, the Kings were 30th in the NHL on the power play at 15.0 percent.

13. The Kings scored 21 power-play goals in the 60 games in that span, ranking in the bottom three in the NHL during that time.

14. At the trade deadline, the Kings acquired forward Andrei Kuzmenko from Philadelphia.

14A. After the trade deadline, the Kings moved to a five-forward look on the power play.

14B. Per Ken Holland, the Kings plan to begin the 2025-26 season with five forwards on the power play.

15. From the trade deadline through the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, no member of the Kings played more minutes on the power play than Andrei Kuzmenko.

16. From the trade deadline on, between regular season and playoffs, the Kings converted at 27.6 percent on the power play, close to double their numbers from beforehand.

17. The Kings scored 24 goals in 28 games from the trade deadline through the postseason, three more than the 60 regular-season games before the deadline.

18. The Kings and Kuzmenko agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension in June to keep him with the organization for the 2025-26 season.

19. Diving deeper into man-advantage output, the Kings scored 12 high-danger goals on the power play last season.

20. Only the Anaheim Ducks scored fewer high-danger goals on the power play than last season.

21. Among NHL forwards with at least 100 power-play minutes last season, no player had a higher percentage of their shot attempts be high-danger chances than forward Corey Perry.

22. The Kings signed forward Perry to a one-year contract on July 1.

23. Overall last season, the Kings ranked inside the NHL’s Top-10 in PK% and Net PK%.

24. In 5-on-4 situations, only three teams in the NHL allowed fewer goals than the Kings.

25. The Kings also signed forward Joel Armia on July 1.

26. Armia played the fourth most shorthanded minutes of all forwards in the NHL last season when he was with Montreal.

27. Armia was one of six forwards in the NHL to log at least 200 shorthanded minutes during the 2024-25 season.

28. Like the Kings, Montreal also finished in the Top-10 in PK% and Net PK%.

29. Players in the NHL who averaged at least 1.5 assists per/60 and at least 3.0 shot blocks per/60 at 5-on-5 in 2024-25: Phillip Danault (Joel Armia’s former teammate with the Montreal Canadiens and now teammate with the LA Kings).

30. Danault was tied for sixth in the NHL in primary assists last season in 5-on-5 situations. Only David Pastrnak, Nikita Kucherov, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid had more.

31. For the sixth time in his career, Danault received votes for the Selke Trophy.

32. Danault hit the post or the crossbar 11 times last season, five more than his previous career high.

33. Danault posted a 5-on-5 shooting percentage of 6.8 percent, ranking 323th of the 378 forwards to log at least 500 minutes last season.

34. His -6.23 actual goals to expected was among the bottom 20 players in the NHL last season.

35. 19 forwards finished with an actual goals to expected of -6.0 or lower in 2023-24 and played a full season in 2024-25.

36. Just two of those players scored fewer goals in 2024-25 than they did in 2023-24.

37. From February 1 through the end of the regular season, two Kings players collected at least 30 points – Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala.

37A. On February 1, the Kings put Byfield and Fiala back together on a line, with Alex Laferriere as the third member.

38. Among lines with at least 300 minutes together at 5-on-5, no line in the NHL had a better goal share (76.9 percent) than Fiala/Byfield/Laferriere.

39. While together, those three players were on the ice for just 1.04 goals against per/60 at 5-on-5, the best clip in the NHL, allowing just six total goals against.

40. Both Byfield and Fiala controlled a larger share of shot attempts, scoring chances and high-danger chances playing together versus apart during the 2024-25 season.

41. Byfield and Fiala ranked first and second on the Kings in 5-on-5 time on ice from February 1 through the end of the regular season.

42. Laferriere led the Kings in scoring chances last season and scored a career-best 19 goals.

43. During the games from December through March, Laferriere scored just five goals.

44. In that span, Laferriere ranked 839th of the 845 NHL players to appear in a game with -6.86 goals to expected.

44A. See Facts 35 and 36.

44B. Byfield, Fiala and Laferriere are expected to play on a line to begin the 2025-26 season.

45. Anze Kopitar collected 20+ goals and 60+ points for the third straight season and the 14th time in his career overall.

46. Among active skaters, only Alex Ovechkin (18) and Sidney Crosby (17) have done so more often than Kopitar.

47. Only 13 players in NHL history have more seasons with 20+ goals and 60+ points than Kopitar

47A. Seriously, how awesome is this guy.

48. The Kings have lost in the first round of the playoffs in four consecutive seasons.

49. The last time the Kings franchise lost in the first round of the playoffs in four consecutive seasons was from the 1977-78 season through the 1980-81 season.

50. The following season, the Kings defeated Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs.