Transcript of Los Angeles Kings 2024-25 NHL Season Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

I want to do an intro about the Los Angeles Kings for our 10-minute preview, but I can't do it without first feast your eyes upon this LA King's redesigned jersey. That's Quitten Byfield. My God, did they do a good job.

They might win an extra 10 games on that.

That's such a great jersey, such a great redesign.

Does it change your opinion that it looks like the Chevrolet logo?

I mean, it does look like the Chevrolet logo.

Yeah, but it's looked that way since the '90s. Yeah.

What came first?

Chevrolet. Chevrolet, for sure. Yeah.

No, but the Chevrolet logo. I know Chevrolet came first.

When did they... Here, all good. When did they make the logo?

They launched the same day.

It was wild. It was one guy, and he submitted both designs for both projects. And he's like, You know what? I forgot to do one. He just copied the other.

So last minute. Yeah, the Chevron.

What do you mean?

You can't tell him apart.

The Chevy bow tie emblem was introduced He was released in 1913. Oh, wow. Co founder of the Chevrolet Company, Will C. Durant, during a visit to Paris, was struck by the mesmerizing design of a piece of hotel wallpaper. And That's where he got the idea. So there you go.

Hotel wallpaper. Hotel Wallpaper.

Kevin Durant.

Wow.

Now, that, I don't think, is where the LA Kings got their logo. But that is the Wayne Gretsky LA Kings logo to you, friend. And last year, they were third in the division, seventh in the conference, 99 points, and what exactly one game against the Oilers before being punted in the first round. Two years ago, we would have said LA was a team on the rise with great core star players, a great pipeline of young prospects. You remember Sean Dersy, Ryan Clark, Jordan Spence? They have two or three of those guys. But after a disastrous trade with the Winnipeg Jets last year that saw Pierre-Luc Dubois join, signed for eight years, and then probably put up 23 less points than the year before, and then spent a good chunk of the final games on the fourth line.

I I'm honestly surprised it was only a 23-point dip.

I know. It went from 63 to 40. Things haven't gone the way they wanted. Now, we're going to add to this. Okay, guys. Very odd and very expensive signing of Joel Edmondson for four years. And then we got a three-year, $10.5 million deal for Warren Fogal. Per year? And they traded a fourth round pick in 2024 and a second round pick in 2025 for Tana Jeanot without any money retained. You have to ask the question, are the LA Kings getting Berjavant?

Listen, it's funny. They finished third in the division last year, and you describe them as a team on the rise.

Well, two years ago, I would have.

Well, two years ago. I do still think there They're a team on the rise. I don't think they'll come close to third. They're a team on the rise, and they're also not as good.

Yeah, so they're on a rise. We thought they would be on the rise now. They might be on the rise later. Yeah.

Our definition of what we think the Kings are, like this defense, first big hulking. No, not even close. They're not built through goaltending. Their goaltenders are Darcy Kemper and Dave Riddage.

Oh, I'm sorry. Did you forget Phoenix Copley? Because he just recently.

How could I forget about North Pole? Phoenix Copley. How could I possibly- You could not. Their decor, like Jordan, Spence, Bryant, Clark, there's so much to be excited about there. But this year is this year, and it's coming up fast. And just because there's reason to believe that this team is going to have some good years ahead of them doesn't mean that those good years are here yet. This team has a lot of in experience up front, back-end, and they, in my opinion, don't have the goal-tending to cover up those problems. You had Kam Talbot put on a performance that got him an appearance in the All-Star game. I don't think you're getting either of those from Kemper or Big Save Dave.

Darcy Kemper is probably looking for a big turnaround. And Jesse, this is a division that includes Edmonton, Vancouver, and Vegas. A conference that includes Dallas, Colorado, Nashville, if they can score goals, and a 110 standpoint, Winnipeg jet team that people forget about. You have to wonder, who does LA think they can actually win against? What are your thoughts on the LA Kings?

Yeah, Steve nailed exactly where I was going with this because last year, their leading goal scorer was Trevor Moore. He had Trevor Moore had 31 goals.

Trevor Moore had 31 goals? Yeah.

Dude, he's a really good player. He's just stupid. Damn.

But if you're building your team around your leading scorer being Trevor Moore in 31 goals, it's not a recipe for success. Obviously, they flamed out in the first round as they have done consistently. That's where I lean on this. It's a team that hasn't had success recently. They relied heavily on Cam Talbot's 921 to get where they were last season. Rob Blake has been general manager since the spring of 2017. I have zero confidence that he can build a winning team. Since he's been general manager, the spring of 2017, they have never won a playoff series. Oh, jeez. Flat out, they haven't won anything.

What's that like?

I look at this team and I say, if this is another year where they're not able to get out of the first round, the general manager's job should be on the line. Rob Blake should no longer be GMing this team because he has had enough time to build a competent team. But I still think the floor of the Kings in a division where the bottom teams, or you can feast on them, the floor is pretty high. I still have them making the playoffs, probably a wild card team because they do have competent pieces. They do have Kembe who can put up enough goals. Byfield might take another step. Maybe you get those extra goals from Byfield there. The back-end is going to be... It's going to be very young, but the thing they excelled at last year was team defense, which is good. But then they ended up firing Todd McClellan halfway through the year when they went through a giant losing streak. So we'll see how they play based on that spring performance. But the Four is good. I just think the ceiling is very low for this team.

I agree there. There's some somewhat exciting names, but they all need to literally have the best season of their lives. Like, young guys. Artur Kaliev, brutal season last year. He wants out. Yeah, and he wants out. Alex Lafarier, he has to take a step. He's got to crack 25 points or whatever it was he had last year. Alex Turcotte, top 10, I think even top five pick.

He was a top five pick.

He was a fifth overall. Hasn't been there. Akil Thomas was another guy who there was so much hope for him, and he could make this team.

But he's a 2018 draft pick. Can you believe that?

I can because there's a guy we expected a lot out of. How come we haven't gotten a lot out of him? Oh, 2018 draft pick. He's in that group. So with the Kings, there's a lot of youth, a lot of inexperience, and basically nothing but potential, which is good. It's not a bad place for your team to be. But this is no longer the team that every year you're like, All right, they're lining up the Edmonton Oilers from the beginning of the season onward, and they're going to build a team just to beat them. It doesn't look anything like that.

They might be lined up with them against their will this year.

Yes, they might. That's every season. The last three years, they've been eliminated by the Oilers in the first round.

Oilers win the President's trophy, King's getting the final wild card, and oh, heavens, and that's going to be a tough eight days.

Now, the one thing, with a team like this, I think you got to look at the smaller positives. I will say that they do have some awesome deals for the younger stars. Byfield, five-year, 31.25 million dollar deal. Jordan Spence, two-year, three-million dollar contract. Somebody to keep an eye on, and I don't know if he's going to get time this year, But Ontario Rains stand out, Eric Portillo, 911 save percentage last year, and a three-year, 2.35 million dollar contract. Alex Turcotte, three-year, 2.35 mill. Sorry, 325 mill, not to be a taken. And then Akil Thomas just signed a two-year, 1.55 million dollar deal. So they got these guys. If they have the seasons of their lives, these contracts are going to look amazing. And I want to ask you guys, Onze Kopitar has been the center of this team. In In a way, Drew Dauti is the center of the offense, Onze Kopitar has been the beating heart of the LA Kings for a decade. If Quitten Byfield goes from 55 points to, let's say, 70, is he now officially the first LA King's top center and not named Anze Kopitar in over a decade.

Oh, man. I got to think that torch gets handed. Kopitar is still so good, and maybe even underrated at this point in his career. He's old. He's old, man. And Byfield is so, so good. That back half he had was ridiculous.

We don't know if Bayfield is going to play center, though. We don't. He excelled as a winger last season at that time. So who knows if they give him that task?

That could be a development over the season, right? That thing where he starts on the wing and ends up playing center by the middle of it. He's such an exceptional player because he also fits into our conversation with the 2018, '19, '20 draughts, where a lot of people had their development, a wrench thrown in there.

Now, what you can't hate are the top four on defense. Mikey Anderson, Drew Dauti, Vlad Gravacov, who is going to be a free agent at the end of the year. Brant Clark, a hotshot stud, right defenseman. Good I have. Then you've got Edmondson at a very high number, and Jordan Spence as well in there. Can LA defense this way to the top, or at least to the eighth spot in the conference? Because like I said, I don't think they're beating any of the teams I named earlier.

It's okay to overpay vets if it's to insulate youth, and the Kings are packed with it. So is the Edmondson deal good in a vacuum? No, it is reprehensible. But they have I love him there to insulate these kids, to show them the league, and also beat the shit of the guys who are getting in their face.

Yeah, who try to take a run.

Okay, so guys, I think you're overstating a little how young this team is. I don't think I am. I think you are because you look at the players around them. Dauti is not young.

No, I know. Dano is not young. Fial is not young.

Burrows is not young. Gavrakov is not young. They're guys who are going to be putting up the goals in doing the scoring are all middle-aged. They're late 20s. Fiala is late 20. Deneu is 31. Kempe is 28. Trevor Moore is 29. Warren Fogel is 28. 27-year-old Tanr Janel. I'm not running down a bunch of 24-year-olds.

Well,. I just look at it- He's 27. I just look at it. Yeah, but he's also just not that good.

No, but I'm not saying it's not a roster. There are plenty of teams in this league who are chocked full of young players. I wouldn't classify the Kings is one of those.

But I feel like you have to take load off of Dauti at some point. He's on the back nine. You have to take load off of Kopitar. He's on the back three. You know what I mean? And a lot of that's going to fall on the kids who all have to take a step this year.

It's a difficult thing to do. What about Fiala? What about-Fiala is great. What about Kembe?

You need lots, right? Yeah. Those two are good. All right, what else?

What about Trevor Moore? Good. Okay. What about Warfogel?

Fogel, that doesn't get me excited. No. Fogel is a 35, 40 point player. You know what I mean? Like, Fiala, yes. Moore was their leading goal scorer last year, and he scored over 30 goals, yes. Kempe is an All Star, yes. All those things completely valid. I'm just looking at what we have known the Kings to be in recent years, Dauti and Kopitar as the pillars, and those guys are real old. So like, by field needs to take a significant step. Totally. Deneu, still good. Back half of Prime, though. Brant Clark. Brant Clark is going to be taken over from Drew Dauety at some point in the not so distant future. Same with Jordan Spence and or Jordan Spence. You know what I mean? So when I say they're young, most teams who have aspirations of making noise in the playoffs, they only have a couple of these guys, maybe three. The Kings are full of them, and that's a good thing. It just makes immediate success difficult is all I'm saying. This isn't meant to be a... I'll spoil it. I'm putting them in fifth in the division, and that's not meant to be a criticism of the team.

I think they're in... I don't know about in good hands because Rob Blake's record has been terrible, but I think they're in good shape.

Interesting. Okay. All right. Now, just while you're on that track, the LA Kings, according to Bet MGM, They had 99 points last year. The over-under is set at 96.5. Steve, since you gave us where you have them in the division, do you have them above or below 96.5?

I hate when they make the over-under really good. I'm like, Oh, shoot. That's where I'd roughly have them. I'll say under.

You're going to say under. Jesse Blake, where do you have the LA Kings finishing in the division?

I have them finishing fourth, and I'll hit the over.

Okay, fourth, and he's going to hit the over. Now, I'm going to say under because I gave the crack in a little bit more of a boost than I think perhaps I probably thought. I'll still...

For those of you keeping track, I have the crack in finishing above the Kings, which I think is a wild pick.

I do think it's a wild pick. I think the LA King still finished fourth, and I do think they finish under 96 and a half points. That is your LA King's supposed to be 10 minutes, but a little bit longer season preview.