The Kings have a chance to catapult themselves within the dense Pacific Division standings during a back-to-back set against a pair of struggling rivals this weekend, when they’ll visit the Ducks Friday before hosting the Arizona Coyotes Saturday.
Since returning from an extended all-star break, the Kings, who are one point behind first-place Vegas but just one point ahead of fourth-place Edmonton in the Pacific, have been prolific on the ice and diligent in the front office. They won two games by a combined 11-2 tally while they’ve also signed emergent goalie Pheonix Copley and top-pairing defenseman Mikey Anderson to contract extensions.
With those moves –– along with the extension of Trevor Moore and his return from injury alongside Arthur Kaliyev and, imminently, Gabe Vilardi –– the trade deadline has come into tighter focus with all eyes on General Manager Rob Blake. Though the Kings are widely speculated to be the front-runner for Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychrun and may be exploring other options on defense and in goal, both Blake and Coach Todd McLellan have expressed confidence in their existing group. McLellan did so after Saturday’s victory over Pittsburgh and Blake reaffirmed the sentiment Wednesday night at a fan event where he addressed the audience.
“Getting these injured guys back I think solidifies the forward group and how they slot in there. We really haven’t had that since probably the first couple weeks of the season. That’ll be nice to get that going,” Blake told those on hand. “I think every team, come the deadline, they’re always exploring all different options and if there’s something there, but the one thing to be clear, it has to make our team better. We’re not taking away from this team anymore.”
Blake also joined McLellan, defenseman Sean Durzi and others in a chorus of voices singing the praises of Copley, who had been toiling in the minors before becoming the NHL’s winningest goalie since his early December recall. Durzi spoke of the poise that permeated the group, while McLellan focused on timely plays, both early in games, like his stellar stop of Sidney Crosby during a power play Saturday, and late, such as several saves that thwarted a comeback push from Buffalo Monday.
“I think he’s been able to come in and solidify that spot in net for us; his win/loss record has been really good over that time,” Blake said. “Just looking at our goaltender situation going forward, we only had one goalie under contract next year, so to step in there and get him under contract, it gives us [flexibility] there in the net.”
While Copley’s deal was only a one-year commitment, the Kings tied down Anderson for eight more seasons, and at a sound annual average value of $4.125 million. Anderson has been a key figure in suppressing shot attempts, denying zone entries and otherwise delighting the analytics crowd. But his development has also coincided with the Kings’ resurgence, giving him concrete results to complement his fancy stats.
“He’s risen to a real capable defender against top, top offensive players in the league. He’s low maintenance, shows up every day, a big part of the leadership going forward with our group too. We felt that commitment over time,” said Blake, adding that he felt Anderson had “the pedigree of a captain” from the outset.
Next up, the Kings will face the Ducks, who have determined that, at least for this season, no one on their roster quite had the pedigree of a captain. Since Ryan Getzlaf’s retirement in the spring, they’ve rolled three alternate captains and kept the “C” under plastic wrap, much as Arizona has done with Chychrun, scratching him until a trade is completed.
The Ducks also haven’t had a season that anyone would be eager to take responsibility for: they sit last in their division, only two teams in the NHL have lower point totals, their acrid negative-92 goals differential is the worst by a wide margin, they’ve allowed the most goals while scoring the second fewest and their special teams have been atrocious. Their power-play is the league’s least efficient and while their penalty kill is only the fifth worst, their troubles a man down have been exacerbated by the fact that they’ve taken the second most penalties in the NHL and have its second-worst penalty differential.
Arizona owns the worst mark, having taken 42 more penalties than it has drawn. Its perpetual rebuild may be in better hands with GM Bill Armstrong, but the optics haven’t changed much so far. Their leading scorer, winger Clayton Keller; their No. 1 goalie, Karel Vejmelka; and their top defenseman, Chychrun, are all in their mid 20s and under contract for at least two more seasons. Yet they’ve been bandied about in trade rumors, particularly Chychrun, whose trade request has lingered across two campaigns.
The Kings won their only prior meeting with the Ducks this season, 4-1, on Dec. 20, and split a pair of December matchups with Arizona, winning at home and falling in overtime at the Coyotes’ makeshift Tempe home.
Kings at Ducks
When: 6 p.m. Friday
Where: Honda Center
TV/Radio: ESPN/iHeart Radio
Arizona at Kings
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeart Radio
