Based on my closing takes in last year’s article, the Los Angeles Kings failed to accomplish any of their goals in 2023-24 and promptly went back to the drawing board as their gambles failed to pay off. Following the big swings in acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois and Vladislav Gavrikov, Rob Blake fancied his roster a likely playoff and a Stanley Cup contended, only to be completely upended and embarrassed by a deeply flawed (but overwhelmingly talented in certain areas) Edmonton Oilers team in the postseason. The Kings’ neutral zone trap carried them all season against weaker opposition, but their lack of offensively capable defensemen and star-capable goaltenders rendered them overmatched against better built teams like the Oilers, Golden Knights, and Stars.

               Following the disappointing end to their season, Blake admitted his mistake and unloaded Dubois to the Washington Capitals for Darcy Kuemper. Dubois, 26, had his worst career year in Los Angeles posting a GAR of -0.6, a big regression from his 13.8 the year prior, which is indicative that he was a bad fit in their system, due to him having noted success with both the Blue Jackets and Jets. Kuemper, 34, is coming over following the worst year of his NHL career so far after posting a GSAA of -12.1 in Washington as their 1B goaltender due to the unexpected emergence of Charlie Lindgren. In addition to the Kuemper acquisition, the Kings signed Warren Foegele and Joel Edmundson in free agency. Foegele is an interesting pick up for Los Angeles after he recorded 20 goals and 41 points in a career best season with the Edmonton Oilers. At $3.5M over the next three years, this already looks like an overpay, as Foegele is historically a low-impact player in both zones with his offensive numbers seeing a significant uptick on one of the most offensively focused teams in the NHL. Edmundson, at $3.85M per season for four years at the age of 31 is also a confusing signing. Edmundson’s last two seasons saw him posting GAR scores of 0.7 and -5.7, with his last only impressive season being his 2020-21 campaign with the Canadiens when he posted an 11.1. Aside from that season, Edmundson has been a low to negative impact third pairing defenseman.

               In the draft, the Kings picked up Liam Greentree and Carter George with their only two selections in the first five rounds. Greentree scored 90 points in 64 games for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL last season. At this point, based on his size and growth trajectory, Greentree reminds me of former Ducks’ standout Bobby Ryan, and the Kings’ front office hopes that he’ll pan out that way to be a long-term big-bodied left winger to play with Quinton Byfield. George was a competent goaltender for the Owen Sound Attack last year, posting a 90.7% save. Overall, Carter’s greatest strength is his puck handling skills, but his positioning is also strong enough to be a key part of his foundation at the next level.

               Overall, Rob Blake and the Kings’ front-office (including and especially senior advisor Marc Bergevin and team president Luc Robitaille) should all have been shown the door a year ago in the way the Bruins once dismissed Peter Chiarelli to prevent him from doing more damage to the team’s long and short-term prospectuses. Brandt Clarke continues to be the solution to the team’s offensive woes from the backend as Drew Doughty can’t be expected to continue producing at a Superstar pace at 35 years old. The Gavrikov and Edmundson signings the last two years did nothing to help this team improve, and Foegele’s best and anomalous season offensively (2023-24) was the same level of output as Dubois last season (his worst season that he was healthy). The Kings get an F for their offseason because they’re clearly worse than they were a year ago. If they had kept Talbot to play with Kuemper, their grade would have been better, because they could have had an exceptional veteran goaltending tandem, but David Rittich doesn’t inspire the same level of confidence.