Kings’ Playoff Ceiling Still Looks Low After Underwhelming Offseason

Unfortunately, hindering the progress and development of young prospects by plugging in veterans has been a common theme for the Kings for a while because of this mentality, where they feel they are “right there” and in a good position to contend. The problem is that while the opportunity for their young players to grow slows down, they also aren’t winning.

It’s not like this current roster isn’t playoff worthy, but making the playoffs is no longer a feat that equates to success for the Kings. There isn’t any logical or reasonable way they could drastically improve before the season starts that would put them in a position where all of a sudden they look like a real threat to contend. Looking at the Kings’ roster on paper, all signs are pointing toward another season in that mushy middle where they are good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to win in them.

That’s not to say this group has no shot at shocking us all, because there is a scenario where certain players like Quinton Byfield, Andrei Kuzmenko, Alex Laferriere, and Brandt Clarke all take big steps forward, Trevor Moore has a bounce-back year and finds his scoring touch again, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty remain reliable for one more season, and Darcy Kuemper replicates last season’s performance. Still, the odds of all that happening at the same time seem slim, and it doesn’t get any easier in a Pacific Division that could very well have five to six competitive teams. 

Outlook For 2025-26 Season

There’s nothing about this current roster that implies they have a good shot at making it past Round 1 when they inevitably play the Edmonton Oilers for the fifth season in a row, even though this franchise swears they’re in “win now” mode. Signing Corey Perry and Joel Armia to short-term deals with low AAVs were smart moves that have rounded out the depth and given the Kings more structure and reliability in the bottom six. However, loading up on aging, bottom-pairing defensemen doesn’t automatically put you in this amazing position for success just because they are “pros” and have had experience with successful teams in the past.

It also looks a whole lot worse when Dumoulin and Ceci are the ones to replace Vladislav Gavrikov, who ate up a ton of minutes against opposing teams’ top lines and was crucial on the penalty kill (chose to go to the New York Rangers) and Jordan Spence, who continued to grow and get better as the season went on and was the Kings’ only offensive defenseman aside from Clarke playing key minutes on the power play (was essentially forced to ask for a trade due to the lack of opportunity once Doughty returned from injury).

The Kings were also unable to add the scoring forward they had their eyes set on, but desperately needed in order to improve. Alex Laferriere was brought back and should take a step forward, contributing to the team’s forecheck and offensive production, but he isn’t going to move the needle in that regard, and he’s not expected to. One of Mitch Marner, Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers, or a player of that type of caliber needed to be acquired to call this offseason a success, and while there was interest in both Boeser and Marner, there wasn’t enough from Boeser to leave Vancouver or for Marner to stray away from Sin City.

Instead, the Kings re-signed Kuzmenko, who could be a wildcard depending on how he performs this season. He can be that player for the Kings; he can be that scoring forward they need, but it’s been over two seasons since that same Kuzmenko has shown up. Glimpses were shown once he joined the Kings late last season, but even then, it’s the consistency that’s always been an issue. Banking on the fact that he can return to that type of player is a gamble, and one that the Kings are aware of, which is why he was only brought back on a one-year deal. They still lack some scoring punch, and because they weren’t able to fix that hole during the offseason, the growth and production in that category is going to have to come internally. Two big pieces of that will be one, Kuzmenko, and two, Moore, who had a rough time finding the back of the net in 2024-25 after potting 30 goals the season before. 

Stylistically, the inevitable playoff matchup against the Oilers might even be a worse one for the Kings this season, when looking at the lack of mobility throughout their defensive group. Containing the Oilers’ speed in transition and the dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is already a tall task, but thinking of having any of the Kings’ defensemen out there to shut them down aside from Mikey Anderson sounds like a recipe for disaster, depending on how Doughty looks this season.

We saw numerous times throughout the first round series against the Oilers how sitting back and trying to clog the neutral zone, as opposed to being aggressive and disrupting the Oilers’ transition game, didn’t work. It’s the way the Kings play that’s going to need to see some change as well. Sitting back and defending leads with an older, less mobile defensive group may not work out the same way, and would be even more problematic in a series with a team that has as many offensive threats as the Oilers. The Kings added seasoning, experience, size, and toughness, all four important traits, but they also didn’t add anything that moves the needle or has made them better from last season. They have also gotten older and slower, and that will most likely remain a problem when they are up against top teams in the playoffs, like the Oilers or even a Vegas Golden Knights team that now has both Marner and Jack Eichel. 

Many things have to go right for the Kings to have a successful season, and by that, I mean find some success in the postseason. With Kopitar and Doughty on the decline, the weaker defensive group, the lack of a true superstar, the need for more offensive production, and the type of teams they will have to deal with come playoff time, the thought of them doing anything of significance and finally finding playoff success isn’t a confident one. That being said, anything can happen; there are more than a few players on this roster capable of having big years and changing that narrative, and while playoff success may not seem likely for the Kings this season, it would be unfair to come to that big of a conclusion without seeing this group play a game yet.