Kings Forward Hitting Stride At Perfect Time

The Los Angeles Kings were one of the quietest teams during this year's NHL Trade Deadline. Relative to the rest of the Western Conference contenders, the Kings didn't do much. They brought in streaky scorer Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers, which should help their top-nine offensive production.

One reason the Kings were not compelled to spend for a top line forward is due to the offensive resurgence of forward Quinton Byfield. After signing his new contract extension, the first half of the year was a disappointment. He registered 20 points in the first 41 games of the year, putting him on pace to regress offensively in 2024-2025. Despite his downturn in scoring, the Kings were keeping pace in the Pacific Division.

The last 21 games have been a flipping of the script for Byfield, much to his and the Kings' delight. Over that span, he's looked like the $6.25 million player the organization expects him to be. He's currently in the middle of a three-game scoring streak, the longest such streak of his young career. In the last 21 games, he's produced five goals and 11 assists for 16 points. On the season, he has 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points.

But it's his playmaking that stands out the most. In the last 21 games, he's had three multi-assist games. The highlight of those was a four-assist performance against the Vegas Golden Knights. He was all over the puck, and when he had it on his stick, he could not be disrupted.

The way he's playing, the Kings are dangerous. The team is looking for another consistent scorer to take the offensive burden off Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe, and Kevin Fiala. Having Byfield playing his best rounds out the top-six in Los Angeles, and it's coming at the perfect time for the Kings.