2025 Exit Interviews – Anderson, Byfield, Edmundson, Foegele, Clarke, Spence

Continuing through exit interviews for the players with six more from Monday’s availability.

All six players below spent the full season in the NHL with the Kings and all six players are under contract with the team for next season. These six include a mix of guys with Quinton Byfield and Mikey Anderson emerging into key fixture on the team. Joel Edmundson and Warren Foegele were key offseason acquisitions while Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence are up and coming players who had varying degrees of success this season, Clarke’s first in the NHL and Spence’s second.

*Of note, the videos this season were posted in one YouTube video as opposed to 18 separate ones. The embedded videos below are the same link, timestamped to go directly to the players mentioned when you click play.

Mikey Anderson & Quinton Byfield

Byfield Of Dreams
It took Byfield some time to get up to speed in his move back to center this season.

His defensive game was solid early but his scoring really struggled to match last season’s pace. Then came the flip of the switch down the stretch and Byfield collected 31 points from his final 32 games played, from February 1 through the end of the season, tying for the team lead in points and leading the Kings with 19 assists.

It took him some time to get up to speed, but once he did, he was the player everyone expected he could be.

“For myself, it wasn’t the ideal start in the season,” Byfield said. “I think it also goes into preseason a little bit, coming into that, coming back to center, playing a lot with Kevin during the preseason, I feel like we played really good in that stretch and then the first couple games we weren’t at our best. It took us a while to get back together and then once we got back together, everything started to click again. Consistency is something I do have to fix and be better at.”

Heading into next season, Byfield’s ceiling remains sky high. His potential is still the highest within the Kings organization and although his offensive totals were very similar to what we saw in 2023-24, his second half of the season should really drive and inspire some confidence heading into the 2025-26 season.

The next step for Byfield is to end the conversation about halves or parts of a season. It’s to deliver at the level he is capable of for 82 games. If he can do that, he’ll be an impact player in the NHL, capable of centering a top forward line. That’s the goal heading into next season.

“Next year, it’s more so being more consistent,” Byfield said. “It’s a long season. There’s ups and downs but keeping it a lot more level next season. I think something that’s big too there’s faceoffs as well, just being able to get better on that and not getting taken off in some positions because of the faceoff, I think that’s a big thing. I think there’s more strides in my defensive game this year and offensively as well, so hopefully I can just keep progressing in that direction.”

Fourth Straight Similar Outcome
Mikey Anderson is one of a small group of players to be here in full for all four playoff series against Edmonton.

Four series that had a different cadence and a different flow but ultimately, it’s the same opponent at the same stage of the season. Does it matter who the Kings lost to? Not particularly, but it certainly factors in a little bit.

“It just sucks losing,” Anderson said. “I mean, it’s not fun losing to the same team every year either, but end of the day, it’s the same result, same situation. Just couldn’t find a way to get it done.”

Anderson believed that this year’s group was different, as noted in Monday’s key takeaways story.

Of the four years, he believed that this team had the best opportunity to get the job done. It was also the tightest team in the locker room he had been a part of, which was great, but also it adds to the level of disappointment when that team falls short.

“That’s why it makes it much harder.”

What made this team different in the minds of the players was that the core group established was there together blended so well with the new additions. It created a dynamic within the room that was not there last season, for sure.

“We’ve had a fair amount of guys that have been here now for the whole time I’ve been here, which helps you get to know guys and their families a little bit more,” Anderson said. “We bring in some new guys and they all bought in right away, they really cared about the group. As the year went on, I felt like we had a big group where no one really cared how it was getting done but we were finding ways to win. Guys wanted to perform for each other, you wanted to go out there and leave it on the line for everyone in there.”

So that one will sit with him and the team for awhile. As it should. A disappointing ending for the group.

Moving Forward
Posted this on Monday, but Game 4 still sits with forward Quinton Byfield.

“It sucks. In the moment there, my thought process in that was just that I didn’t want to ice the puck on the empty net, I tried to make the safe, smart play and chip it out and I didn’t get that out. I think that play there, I’ll be thinking about that all summer, honestly. If I make that play there, we’re up 3-1. That’s a tough one to swallow and I think all summer, I’ll be thinking about that. It’s something that could have been a what if and I’ve got to deal with that. I play for all the boys, all the time, and in that moment, I felt like I let them down and I let them down in the playoffs.”

Tough moment for a younger player. You could see it as he answered the question – and others – that the moment continues to weigh on him. I think it speaks in some ways to what Anderson said above about the tight-knit group. Byfield felt like he let his teammates down, which hurts more than just the failure to make the play. Tough to watch but that’s part of the job. He didn’t execute in that moment and to his credit, he has owned it every step of the way. For a gifted younger player, he’ll move past it in time and be better off for it.

Joel Edmundson & Warren Foegele

Strong Debut Seasons
Both Edmundson and Foegele concluded their first seasons as members of the Kings organization and both, I would say, exceeded expectations coming in. In their exit interviews above, both players spoke about the promise of an expanded role and new opportunities when they signed with the Kings organization. I think that both players received that and largely delivered.

Edmundson – As soon as I signed here, Jimmy called me right away and he told me what was going be my role. Play alongside Clarkie for the most part, kind of show him the ropes. I think I was healthy, I was able to get my confidence back. The past few years, there’s been a lot of injuries but felt good for the whole year. The coaches trust me and I think my teammates did also. It was just a good year and hopefully build on that next year.

Foegele – Jimmy called me in the summer and said that he envisioned me with a bigger role. He of challenged me to push myself to be more consistent, and take on more minutes. I thought he was awesome for that, it gave me a lot of confidence. It was a lot of fun coming to the rink with the guys and for myself, I was probably the most consistent that I’ve ever been. It goes a long way.

For Edmundson, he set a new career high in games played after going through various different injuries over the past few seasons. Minus two games missed for the birth of his first child in October and a few games missed for body maintenance at the end of the season, Edmundson was healthy and reliable, playing some of the most effective hockey of his career to this point.

Foegele has always had the health but this was a new opportunity for him to play a role he really had not had before. Foegele was a Top-9 player for the entire season and set new career highs in goals and points. When you look at production compared to contract, he was one of the best value signings in the NHL from July 1, 2024. A season, hopefully, to continue to build on going forward.

Impacting The Culture
When asked about the culture and locker room of the team, defenseman Drew Doughty pointed to the players acquired over the summer as being difference makers in that department.

Edmundson and Foegele are certainly included in that mix.

In answering the question, Edmundson said that he didn’t change anything about who he was and that the people and players they were is why they were brought in. And that’s fair. It was clear coming out of last season that the Kings needed change in a number of ways. In Edmundson and Foegele specifically, the Kings got that.

“I think just coming in and being ourselves,” Edmundson said. “Some guys are more vocal, some guys lead by example and I think they brought us in for who we are. We didn’t change anything but we wanted to make a difference. Obviously, the goal was to win a Stanley Cup this year, they hadn’t won one in about 10 years, so something had to change. We just bring in different pieces, just getting the energy up, lots of playoff experience between us four. We wanted guys to lean on us, young guys in our locker room obviously had great years and they lean on us. They asked us the right questions, and we’d answer for them.”

Who they are is why the Kings acquired both players and it makes sense to see the impact that both players made.
Follow In The Footsteps
This was a really good question posed to Warren Foegele and I liked his answer.

Foegele was asked that if he were to speak with a pending UFA this summer on why that person should sign with the Kings, what would he say?

“I would tell them this is a great group of people in the locker room, but throughout the whole organization. Since I got here, they’ve treated my fiance and I so well and it’s been a lot of fun to be here. The other thing I would say is this is a competitive group. That’s one thing I kind of talked about last summer, was how competitive playing against the Kings were for the past couple years. There’s a hunger in this dressing room. Obviously we’re really disappointed with the outcome but I think that’s just going to drive more motivation for this offseason. The standard for the LA Kings is to try to win the cup and that’s kind of been talked about since we’ve got here. We practice hard, we play hard and it’s a fun group to be a part of and we’re hoping to build on that.”

The Kings do have places on the roster that they can afford to upgrade.

Not sure if Foegele will be a part of the sales pitch or not, but perhaps not a bad idea. The organization has ample cap space to use to try and upgrade the roster around the group they already have in place and whether it’s more players in the mold of a Foegele or an Edmundson, or perhaps a different type of piece who can help lift the group over the top, the Kings have work to be done this summer, certainly.

Brandt Clarke & Jordan Spence

Brandt New Challenge
Certainly a roller coaster of a season for Brandt Clarke.

His start, offensively, was exactly what it was expected to be. There was a bit of a lull come the dog days of December and January, which resulted in a few healthy scratches for the young defenseman before he finished the season with his best stretch of hockey, heading into what was a strong playoffs.

“It is a long year, it is 82 games, I wasn’t perfect every single every single night, I’d be the first one to tell you that there was ups and downs,” Clarke said of his season. “[The coaches] think maybe they saw a stretch where they didn’t see the consistency they wanted to see for me and they thought that was the best situation for me. Obviously, I didn’t love it, you know, I want to be out there with the team, I want to be battling, I want to work my way out of things, but it’s a little different when you’re sitting on the bench or you’re not playing, or it’s definitely an adjustment for myself.”

Whether you agree with it or not, to Clarke’s credit, he approached the situation the right way.

I thought his closing stretch of hockey, in March and April, was his strongest of the season. Both he and the coaching staff agreed. He didn’t look out of place come the playoffs either, as he seemed to meet the challenge of what was a really tough time of the year for a player who has never experienced playoff hockey at the NHL level.

Clarke pointed to the right approach in that situation and the way that he handled some personal adversity, which helped him come out the other side better off for it.

“I think I did a good job of that and I think that’s why I bounced back and I got that opportunity again later in the season,” Clarke added. “I thought I handled it well. It was definitely different, definitely some stuff was not the optimal situation for me but I think I handled it well, and I think overall, it’s just it’s in the past now, and I’m happy with how I finished.”

Regular Season Up, Playoffs Down
The playoffs were a tough go for Jordan Spence.

Some within his control but a lot of it was outside of his control. His role was reduced significantly, especially in the final four games, including a healthy scratch in Game 4 in Edmonton after playing under three minutes in Game 3.

What makes it more difficult is that Spence had a really strong season. He wanted to be able to contribute more in the postseason than he did and again, not fully within his control there.

“I wish I was able to contribute more in the playoffs, it was unfortunate for me to just kind of sit there and not be able to be on the ice,” Spence said during his exit interview. “There was more to bring that I could probably have done in the playoffs, but we move on. I think my season that I had this year I was really happy with and I think I can just continue to grow and become more of a complete player and for them to trust me more in certain situations.”

That trust was something Spence perhaps thought he had built up more of over the course of 82 games. He, like Clarke, had his own ups and downs during the regular season, especially in October, but he settled in and took a step forward from his 2023-24 campaign.

Now he heads into the offseason off of a disappointing finish on a personal and team note.

When he comes back for training camp in September, he believes that he is ready and prepared to take on a larger role both in the first 82 games and beyond. He reiterated multiple times he wants to remain with the Kings, the organization that drafted him and a place he likes playing. So, within his control, he wants to keep that the same. At the same time, though, he believes he is ready and prepared for a bigger piece of the pie, so to speak.

“I think I’m ready for the challenge, for them to give me more opportunity,” he said. “I’m going to go back home, train hard and see where it goes. Really, I’m ready to go for another long run again, go on the playoffs and hopefully win the cup. That’s everyone’s goal. So, yeah, we’ll see how it plays out.”

You could see a frustrated player in answering the questions, which is understandable. Hopefully it’s a frustration that fuels Spence into a step forward next season.

More HERE from Spence on a frustrating playoffs for him in Monday’s key takeaways story.

First Timer
For Clarke, his playoff showing was largely solid.

He didn’t play a huge role, but was certainly the team’s trusted fifth defenseman, playing more minutes when the Kings were trailing later on in the series. He scored two goals, including the game-opening goal in Game 2 and an early goal in Game 6 that could’ve swung momentum if the Kings settled into the game earlier than they did.

He spoke on Monday about how while everyone tried to prepare him for the playoffs, nothing could match actually just playing in those games.

“It is different, everyone says the playoffs is different, but then you really get up there and it is a change,” Clarke said. “They’re hunting for you, they’ve got a game plan that, like we’re going to do stuff tonight that is still going to affect you in Game 4or Game 5, like that’s going to wear you down, so it’s kind of that mentality. It’s definitely different and it’s definitely a challenge. It’s definitely something that experience does play a factor in, for sure, to just be ready for that, but I think I handled it well. I think I was up for it, like I said, I like the big moment.”

Clarke said he settled in fairly quickly, despite perhaps a bit of a shock right off the bat. Despite his youth, he looked like a player who not only likes the big moments but embraced them in that series. I thought he had a good series and could’ve probably featured even more in certain moments.

Something to build on, certainly, as we move forward.

That’s a wrap for today, Insiders. Six more players to go this weekend and then exit interviews are in the past. Will finish with a collection of free agents, for the most part, along with goaltender Darcy Kuemper, arguably the team’s most reliable performer throughout the course of the season.