Going 1-3-1 through their first five games — and with injuries piling up — the LA Kings aren’t exactly enjoying the early days of their 2025-26 campaign. Yet, entering play on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, there’s a positive to be found in this less-than-ideal situation.
Injuries and poor starts often create opportunities for players who wouldn’t have been there before. Jeff Malott, for example, saw a spot open up during training camp with an injury to Corey Perry and he’s taken full advantage of coach Jim Hiller’s search for a fourth line replacement.
An injury to somebody of Anze Kopitar’s status will always be a massive blow to a team, but his recent leg injury should provide a few forwards the opportunity to shine in an expanded role.
For starters, we’ll get a good look at Quinton Byfield as ‘the guy,’ with Kopitar now expected to miss his second straight game — and likely a few more later this week, as LA heads out on the road. Perhaps in a little bit of a sneak peek what things may look like next season while Kopitar is enjoying retirement in Slovenia, all eyes are about to focus on Byfield. Can he step up and lead his team offensively? Yes, Thursday against Pittsburgh only provided a one-game sample of life without LA’s longtime captain, however it was a great start for Byfield, even in a loss.
The Kings first-round selection from 2020 had a beautiful assist on his team’s opening goal, and on just about any other night likely pots a goal or two of his own. Byfield was all over the ice, and if performances like that become commonplace, there won’t be a 1C problem in LA any time soon.
Meanwhile, the two Alexs up front also stand to gain a lot from this opportunity. Alex Turcotte was initially moved between Warren Foegele and Trevor Moore for part of Tuesday’s game and performed well. He’s seen spot duty in a top nine spot for a few games now and is developing into a capable NHL forward, who slots in nicely at wing or center. In the latter, his faceoff numbers have looked strong through five games, with him winning 22-of-35 draws (63%). Continual improvement from their first-round selection in 2019 could be key for this year’s Kings team.
To further that point just a bit, Turcotte rounding out his game after a solid rookie campaign last year appears to highlight something, as well. While he performs adequately at 4C, he’ll always be miscast there. He owns the talent to play higher in the lineup and contribute as a complementary player, coming in a top nine role, at minimum.
Speaking of having an Alex at center, all signs point to Alex Laferriere getting a look up the middle in Kopitar’s absence.
This won’t be the first time Hiller has tried the New Jersey native as a pivot and it’s an idea that’s been gaining some traction of late. Laferriere as a potential long-term 2C option was suggested to me as a real possibility by a source within the Kings earlier this summer and this weekend’s attempt to make it a reality at least supports that line of thinking.
Even so, there are some reservations about such a move, as it’s very uncommon to see someone go from wing to center at the NHL level. Laferriere might be the exception to that rule, though. He’s a highly intelligent player with a great motor and solid physical presence. When you look at his toolkit in isolation, he makes a lot of sense at center and it’s easy to see why Hiller and Kings management are confident he can make a move to the middle.
Life after Kopitar is coming next summer, and this stint without him allows the Kings to experiment with a few looks for ‘replacing him’ in Hiller’s lineup while still having the safety net of the future Hall of Famer returning soon for one more sprint to the finish.
Thus, the next few games should be a good audition for a few Kings forwards to move into more significant roles and could end up being a long-term positive, even if there’s some short-term pain.
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