News & Notes – Three-game trip ahead, Doughty (LBI) to travel, Kings acquire Joseph Cecconi

Happy Thursday, Insiders!

The Kings are all aboard the aircraft, set to travel to Dallas this afternoon to begin a three-game roadtrip. Big one for the Kings, who carry with them a seven-game point streak (5-0-2), which has brought them to within two points of second in the Pacific Division and four points of first place, with two games in hand. It’s a big trip because of those seven games, six have come at home. Home games have not been any sort of an issue, even if no one can seem to put their finger on why they’re so good at home this season. The Kings are 19-3-3 in Los Angeles, good for a .820 winning percentage, the best mark in the NHL.

So far, that form has not carried with them onto the road. The Kings are 12-14-5 away from home this season and this three-game trip is the longest remaining trip on the schedule. They don’t feel like they’re doing anything different on the road, the team feels prepared and ready, but the results have been vastly different.

The trip begins in Dallas, where the Kings have not won since I’ve been with the team. January 2019 was the last victory in Texas, although the Kings have won the first two meetings with the Stars this season at home. I’m really looking forward to that game, personally. The Stars were on another level than the Kings last season. Hasn’t been the case this season. See how the matchup translates onto the road, before the Kings visit St. Louis and Chicago for two more big games.

Joining the team on the road will be defenseman Drew Doughty.

Doughty missed last night’s game with a lower-body injury and is considered to be out day-to-day at this time. Doughty took the morning skate yesterday in El Segundo but did not play in the game against Vancouver. Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller did not have a ton to add onto the situation but did add that Doughty would travel with the team today, which he is. Can’t imagine he would be on the plane if anything was particularly serious, meaning more than a day-to-day timeline. Kings didn’t skate today and are scheduled to have a full-team morning skate tomorrow at American Airlines Center in Dallas. With three games in four nights, there’s got to be at least a puncher’s chance Doughty is able to go in those games, otherwise why bring him? Consider him a day-to-day evaluation, so we’ll check in tomorrow on his status.

When Doughty is ready, he’ll go. And ready means, as we’ve seen, ready to play 20+ minutes, not just ready to slot back in playing a lesser role. I think the 11/7 look for the Kings is the preferred alignment and Doughty is going to take his share of the minutes when he’s back in the lineup. As Hiller said last night, Doughty will likely eat into the minutes of Jordan Spence, Jacob Moverare and Brandt Clare when available, although the 11/7 configuration seems to be the best look for this team right now, with all seven defensemen playing. See how it shakes out tomorrow, but the Kings have all 22 players on the roster on the flight. Again, well get a sense tomorrow of Doughty’s availability at the morning skate.

Not with the team, but now with the organization, is defenseman Joseph Cecconi, who was acquired via trade from the Minnesota Wild organization yesterday evening, in exchange for forward Tyler Madden.

Haven’t been hit with a good freeway trade in awhile. Was fighting my way through traffic on the way to Crypto.com Arena last night, with an accident on the 105 severely slowing my journey. As such, was sitting in the car, helpless, as the emails came in and ultimately the trade went out. Oh well.

Cecconi is a veteran of 326 AHL regular-season games with three clubs – Texas, Rochester and most recently Iowa, the AHL affiliate of Minnesota, in addition to 21 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Cecconi appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023 as a member of the Rochester Americans, collecting five points (2-3-5) from 14 games played in that playoff run. Standing at 6-3, Cecconi is known for his size and stature. He’s a penalty killer and a defensive-minded defenseman. Ontario is currently down a couple of players on the backend, dressing a younger lineup at the moment. Cecconi adds a veteran, right-shot option into the mix with that team right now, which even at full strength is loaded with left-shot defensemen. For Ontario, adding a veteran defensively is important for a team that currently sits in first place in the Pacific Division, both by points and points percentage. In the AHL, having the top seed is important, because it provides a bye to the second round of the playoffs. Cecconi should benefit them in that quest.

Heading out the other way is Madden, who was a well-liked member of the Reign squad, who departs the organization with 250 games played in Ontario, the second most in franchise history. That’s a number that goes in two directions. He was a good AHL player who had a 20-goal season and three, 30-point seasons and was a regular in that lineup. Just wasn’t able to take that next step beyond a call-up to the NHL that didn’t result in an NHL game. Madden was acquired as a prospect back in 2020, as a part of the Tyler Toffoli trade. A very productive college player at Northeastern and that level just didn’t quite translate to the NHL. He’s still just 25 and perhaps a fresh start in Minnesota can spring him forward. Wishing him all the best.

Kings are back in action tomorrow in Dallas while the Reign are in Colorado to begin a two-game set versus the Eagles. Will have a check-in with forward Adrian Kempe later this afternoon, reflecting back on his 4 Nations Face-Off experience with Team Sweden, his first best-on-best international event and a nice preview of the Winter Olympics in 2026.