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An in-depth look at the Los Angeles Kings in 2026-27: Canucks Pacific Previews

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

By Lachlan Irvine

Aug 23, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 23, 2026, 02:11 EDT

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The Pacific Division in 2026-27 is a top-heavy division made up of two groups: the Haves and the Have-Nots. The gap between the best and worst has never been larger, and the Vancouver Canucks sit firmly at the bottom. Seven teams stand in their way on the path back to contention, and we’re going to look at all of them over the next two weeks in our Pacific Previews series.

Today we’re looking at the Los Angeles Kings.

The Los Angeles Kings were on the cusp of a breakout for a long time. Then the Edmonton Oilers came along and crushed all their hopes and dreams in a Hollywood-level disaster — four straight times. By the time the Colorado Avalanche swept the Kings in the first round last season, the door to Cup contention was already shut.

The Kings are entering a slightly new era. This is LA’s first season in two decades without the leadership of Anze Kopitar, leaving 36-year-old Drew Doughty as the last link between the modern Kings and the mini-dynasty that won two Stanley Cups in three years.

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In 2025-26, the Kings snuck into the postseason with one of the most middling regular season performances in recent memory; 35 wins and 27 losses doesn’t sound too bad, until you add in the 20(!) overtime losses that set an NHL record and slipped them into the West’s final wild card past more deserving teams.

The Kings’ rebuild was largely undermined by the team’s inability to find game breakers through the draft. Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte and Brandt Clarke have been totally serviceable players, but haven’t lived up to their pre-draft expectations. Adrian Kempe has grown into one of the league’s most underrated stars, but beyond him and the recently acquired Artemi Panarin, the Kings don’t have the X-factors they need to get through the postseason.

This year, the Kings have a new coach in Peter Laviolette, a few new veterans in Mats Zuccarello and Erik Haula (and former Canuck Lane Pederson) and a team that’s got no choice but to push forward for the playoffs again. Kings GM Ken Holland has more or less stayed the course left over from predecessor Rob Blake, filling out the backend of the roster with brand-name depth pieces like Zuccarello, Scott Laughton and… Corey Perry? Again?

So what are the Kings going to look like this season? Last year, they had the Canucks’ number with three wins and one overtime loss in Vancouver’s season finale. Ideally for them (and anyone with eyeballs), they’ll be getting away from Jim Hiller’s unwatchable “park the bus” hockey under Laviolette, hopefully adopting a style of play that opens up the ice and creates more scoring opportunities for their forwards. But how much they can do that without taking away from a defensive group that only allowed a division-best 247 goals will be a puzzle to figure out.

Canucks/Kings fun fact: Last season Marcus Pettersson went from one goal in the first six months of the season to scoring twice in a week. The first was his iconic game winner against Colorado, the second (and his last in a Canuck uniform) came against the Kings in Vancouver’s 4-1 loss on April 9.

The Kings will certainly have their work cut out for them. The Golden Knights and Oilers’ dominance in the Pacific is well established, while their fellow Californian teams, the Ducks and Sharks, are poised to take big steps over them and have plenty of deep playoff runs ahead. The Kings are firmly caught between a rock and a hard place: not strong enough to beat the division’s best, and not young enough to have their best years still in front of them.

Los Angeles’ chances of making the postseason aren’t zero, but their fate is largely in the hands of the teams around them. If one of them stumbles, the Kings have the tools to pounce and steal a wild card spot again. Especially if teams keep letting them steal overtime points at the rate they did last year.

Bold Prediction

Quinton Byfield is going to crack the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. The time feels ripe for him to take over as the Kings’ scoring leader.

Season Series

December 12 @ Crypto.com Arena

December 28 @ Rogers Arena

March 23, 2027 @ Rogers Arena

March 29, 2027 @ Crypto.com Arena

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