A look now into the final three forwards on the Kings roster, with a look at forward Quinton Byfield. Byfield moved back to center this season and spent almost the entire season playing through the middle, experiencing some ups and downs along the way but ultimately putting together a pretty strong season overall.
Quinton Byfield
LAK Statline – 81 games played, 23 goals, 31 assists, +16 rating, 46 penalty minutes
LAK Playoff Statline – 6 games played, 3 goals, 1 assist, -7 rating, 2 penalty minutes
NHL Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 55.5% (+3.0%), SCF% – 56.6% (+4.5%), HDCF% – 59.8% (+6.3%)
It certainly was not a straight line to get there but Byfield navigated his way through a pretty effective season overall. He was back at center for the first time in 18 months, centering various lines offensively while taking on more responsibility in all areas of the game throughout the course of the campaign. More on Byfield’s season below.
Trending Up – In looking at Byfield’s season in full, his on-ice metrics were among the best on the team. In looking specifically at high-danger chances with Byfield on the ice, the Kings controlled 59.8 percent of high-danger chances, the eighth-best clip in the NHL throughout the season. Byfield also led the Kings in on-ice percentage of scoring chances controlled. When you’re top of the charts in both categories, good things are happening. That was the case for Byfield over the course of 82 games as one of the most dangerous Kings players throughout the roster.
From February through April, Byfield was not only one of the most dynamic offensive players on the Kings but one of the most dynamic around the NHL. He collected 12 goals and 31 points from his final 32 games played during that span, tied with linemate Kevin Fiala for the team lead during that span. Of his 31 points, 25 came at even strength, tied for the tenth highest total in the NHL over those three months, while his 16 assists were tied for the eighth most. It did take Byfield some time to get cooking – more on that below – but once he got going man did he get going. We saw the player everyone was hoping to see down the stretch.
Where Byfield took a huge step forward this season was on the defensive side of the puck. A big part of why Byfield’s overall possession metrics were so strong was the defensive side of his game, as he led the Kings in fewest chances against, per/60, looking at high-danger chances, scoring chances and shot attempts against. Byfield also took a massive step forward as a penalty killer. He ranked fifth in the NHL in goals against, per/60, while shorthanded and he ranked in the 95th percentile in the NHL in time spent in the defensive zone on the penalty kill. All culminated in a very strong defensive showing across the board for Byfield, who earned a fifth-place vote for the Selke Trophy as a result of his strong numbers. While it felt off the board to some, I thought it was well deserved. Byfield became a matchup-caliber center and it was nice to see him recognized for the steps he took in that department.
Trending Down – I think there are two pretty clear downs to Byfield’s season. It starts at the start and ends at the end.
On the start, it took much longer than expected for Byfield to get things going offensively. He totaled just three goals and 11 points in his first 29 games played, despite averaging around 17 minutes in ice time, playing his natural position through the middle of the ice. In his next 24 games, Byfield scored more goals, eight, but still collected just 12 points (8-4-12) from 24 games played. All-in-all, those games account for October through January and for a player in the role Byfield took on, 23 points from 53 games played is not the output that he or the team expected. As noted above, it certainly exploded over the final three months of the season and his final totals were very close, season-over-season. The start offensively, though, wasn’t where he wanted it to be.
The other trending down from Byfield’s season can unfortunately be summed up in one moment he likely still hasn’t forgotten about and that’s the failed clearing attempt in Game 4 of the playoffs. With the Kings leading 3-2 late in the third period, Byfield had the puck on his stick with a chance to clear the zone and was not able to do so. It capped off a series in which Byfield did score three goals but was also -7. Personally, I did not feel that the moment with Byfield was the biggest reason the Kings lost that game – or the series – but everyone knows it was a tough situation for him and one of many plays in Game 4 specifically that could’ve tilted that game and perhaps the series as a whole in the Kings favor. Ultimately, it didn’t and his involvement in that play is one of the highest-profile moments that stands out.
2025-26 Status – Byfield signed a five-year contract extension last summer, keeping him with the Kings through the 2028-29 season at a salary-cap hit of $6,250,000. Byfield’s extension solidifies his status as a key building block for the Kings both now and in the future. Expecting Byfield to be a full-time center again this season and the hope is that he could continue to see his role and responsibilities grow, perhaps to that of a top-line center. That’s a best-case season for Byfield, would be to grow on his 2024-25 campaign and exceed his contributions next season, taking that next step forward as a top-tier center. I firmly believe that outcome is in there and could come as soon as next season for a very talented player.
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