Los Angeles Kings Still In Danger Of Being Stuck In Mediocrity
The Los Angeles Kings won two Stanley Cups in the early half of the 2010s, but then eventually had to rebuild, doing so between 2018-2021. The team finished near the bottom of the standings in three consecutive years and when the Kings came out of it with a great prospect pool and talented players still on the team, it only looked up from there.Most of the good prospects have graduated to the NHL, been moved, or haven't turned into anything and the Kings have lost three consecutive first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers, each time worse than the prior one.After Jonathan Quick declined, there just wasn't any good replacement plan in net and the team is still struggling to find a suitable goalie to help the team push deeper into the playoffs. Not only are Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar in their mid 30s, they are slowly declining and there aren't many years left to make a run.Some of the younger talent is solid, but the Kings didn't do a ton that looks like it will make a difference or get them over the hump again next season. Darcy Kuemper is now the starter after a very rough season and players like Warren Foegele, Tanner Jeannot, and Joel Edmundson were brought in to replace better pieces like Viktor Arvidsson, Matt Roy, and Pierre-Luc Dubois.The Kings have to get out of a tough Pacific Division where the Edmonton Oilers got better and the Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks are still good teams, not to mention the great teams in the Central Division. A team that is firing at every position is the only way the Kings are going to have a chance at going anywhere in the playoffs. As of now, it looks like the story is going to be the same and they will have to go back to the drawing board again.A major change was made, but it still doesn't seem like enough and the team wasted a good amount of the young talent they acquired over their rebuild.Photo credit: © Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports...
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