2026 Exit Interviews – Kempe, Laferriere, Anderson, Panarin, Doughty, Kuzmenko

With exit interviews for Kings players held yesterday, sharing the first batch of those interviews with thoughts from team leaders and veteran players.

Starting here with the three players who are the most likely candidates to succeed Anze Kopitar as Team Captain, should the Kings go that route. That would be Mikey Anderson, Drew Doughty and Adrian Kempe. Alongside those players were Alex Laferriere, Artemi Panarin and Andrei Kuzmenko, who also shared their thoughts following a disappointing 2025-26 season.

The videos were posted on YouTube as one video, so each embed below is the same, just timestamped to the start of the conversation of the players mentioned. For those interested, you can watch every video at once in any of the embedded players below.

Adrian Kempe & Alex Laferriere

New Year, Same Place
The LA Kings have made the playoffs five years running and have been eliminated in the first round in each of those five seasons.

For Adrian Kempe, who has been the team’s best player across those five playoff runs, it was tough to stomach that.

“I’m still frustrated and disappointed with the results. We’ve been here a couple times now, where we get into playoffs and then really can’t take the next step. So yeah, big disappointment. Like I said after the game, we maybe didn’t have the season we wanted to in the regular season, we got into the final spot and maybe not ideal to get in that spot and play Colorado first round. Obviously, it’s a really tough matchup and arguably the best team in the league. I think we did everything we could against them. I think we played them good enough the first three games, played good enough to win, but overall disappointed still over the season. I don’t want to say we took a step back, but I feel like in the regular season, we didn’t really get the results that we wanted to or maybe had in the previous year. [Last year] on most of the nights where we played really good, we would win games and this year felt like it was a lot of overtime, obviously, and we lost close games that we couldn’t really get the wins. That probably would have put us in a different spot in the division and conference.”

I think a lot of what was said will feel like a theme throughout these interviews.

The Kings did not win the games they could have, should have and needed to in the regular season and that set them back further than they could have recovered. Regular season performance, as Kempe put it, wasn’t good enough and the Kings did not win enough of the games that they should’ve won. The Kings went into overtime routinely, more than any team in NHL history. Those were games they had ample chances to win. It was the regular-season play that set up the Round 1 matchup against, as Kempe put it, the NHL’s best team.

I think the Colorado matchup is also a bit of a cop-out, though. It masks over those issues. It’s not really on the players to explain that but if quality of opponent is an excuse in the playoffs, the team probably isn’t at a contending stage. It’s not incorrect to say that a matchup with Colorado is extremely difficult. What’s more concerning is the notion of relying on a matchup to advance. In the four losses to Edmonton, it’s not something we’ve really heard much of, but it came up a lot with this series.

Center Of Attention
Both Laferriere and Kempe were asked about the prospects of potentially playing center going forward, considering the team’s lack of options through the middle and the depth on the wings. Not to mention the acquisition cost of adding a top-tier center is typically far greater than that of a winger.

Here is what both said –

Kempe – I’ve been playing wing for so long now, that is where I’m at my best. I haven’t played center in a while, but when I was playing with Laf earlier in the season [we] were going back and forth to take the faceoff and then wherever we ended up, we played. I’m pretty comfortable playing as a center……I don’t know, we haven’t talked about it or anything, but like Laf said, I would be open to play anywhere. I think I’m old enough, I’ve played long enough to know how to play down low, whether you end up there when you’re playing winger, or if you start there, it is a difference, but it’s not a big difference. I still think that winger is where I’m at my best, obviously I haven’t played center since my second or third year in the league, so things could have changed. We’ll see where we’re at towards the after the summer.

Laferriere – I’d be open to it. I think obviously it’s a learning thing and I think I got more comfortable with it as it kept going on. My whole mindset throughout my entire career has just been wherever they put me in, wherever they want me to be, I’m going to try and be my best and try and have a positive impact. With Kopi leaving, it’s really hard shoes to fill and obviously I’m not going to be Kopi if I’m playing center, but I’m going to try and kind of have my own spin on things. If that’s where they want me to be, that’s where I’m going to try to be.

I would say that I have more belief in Laferriere as a center than most. I believe he could be an effective center in the NHL and I believe he could be that player with Kempe and Artemi Panarin. He brings the tools to complement those players, with a shoot-first mentality through the middle and tenacious forechecking, plus he and Kempe can be interchangeable defensively, as he mentioned. It’s probably not Plan A. But if Plan A fails, I like it more than overpaying for a second-tier option.

I hadn’t really thought about the prospects of Kempe playing at center again, but he was drafted as a center and played center in the NHL for a few years. Him saying he feels he’s better on the wing probably seals that conversation, but he’s now the player in the organization with the most term on his contract and he’s arguably the team’s best player. So, plenty of time to try things, if needed.

Interested to see what Ken Holland has to say about it on Friday.

Adrian Cap-eh?
Lastly, sharing Kempe’s thoughts on leadership and being someone who would be potentially considered to be the team’s next captain.

“I think as a group, everybody knows how good a leader Kopi is and was and they’re really big shoes to fill. I think we have to just more, as a team, come together, step up everybody. I feel like we still have Dewey and some other guys that are really vocal and really good leaders. For myself, I try to take steps at a time as well. I don’t want to change the person I am in the locker room or on the ice just to be more vocal. I’m still trying to be the same guy I am. Might be a little more quiet off the ice but then I try to be as much as I can on the ice and be more vocal out there. Kopi wasn’t the most vocal guy in the locker room either. We can definitely feel his leadership on the ice and stuff like that, so that’s something that I’ve been trying to learn from him and take into my game as well.”

Kempe certainly was not campaigning. He’s not a loud voice in the locker room but not every captain in the NHL is. I think when he speaks, people listen. He’s not a “rah rah” kind of leader, which vibes with his personality. Kempe is signed for eight years and he’s a part of the team’s leadership group. I think he’s certainly in the mix to be the team’s next captain, if the Kings opt to name one this season, but that’s a decision that will require a lot of input.

Artemi Panarin & Mikey Anderson

Two Perspectives, One Situation
Like Kempe, Mikey Anderson was a part of each of the five playoff series the Kings have lost over the last five seasons.

The process has become too familiar. In talking about the series with Colorado, Anderson acknowledged that the Kings did some things well and played hard, but losing in four, coming off four straight Round 1 defeats, is the ultimate story here.

“We got to find ways to win the games that matter. It’s great, you get in, do everything but it’s year after year and now we just can’t find a way to win when we need to win. I think it’s digging deep for everyone, giving a little bit more and try and learn from it again, but at a certain point, it’s back on us.”

For Panarin, the perspective was completely different.

This was his first playoff series with the Kings, so perhaps he offers a different viewpoint of what the team needs. Panarin pointed to stylistic changes he might like to see going forward, more so than personnel.

“It’s very difficult to say that we just need one thing,” he said, through a translator. “Maybe it’s not that we need anything at all. We could possibly have the team that we have right now and we can assess it when the season starts, it could possibly be enough. I would like to play a more attacking style, a more aggressive style.”

Ultimately there aren’t a ton of answers here and that’s generally a theme throughout the course of the interviews.

Bread Still On The Menu
Panarin was asked in the interview if he still wants to remain with the Kings going forward.

I’m not really sure I really understood the question, considering he asked for a trade specifically to Los Angeles three months ago and he signed a two-year extension back in January, but he reinforced his commitment to the Kings and he’s looking forward to being here again next year.

“I’m very happy in Los Angeles, to this day I’m still very happy that I’m here,” Panarin said, through a translator. “It’s not as bad as it seems. There was a real struggle in the o-zone, all year it seems like. When I got here, I see all these guys that can play hockey. [Being with the Kings] was actually better than I thought.”

In terms of what’s to come, his center will be different at the very least. With Anze Kopitar retiring comes a shift in how the Kings will align going forward. That trio worked very effectively in the regular season but didn’t produce much offensively in the playoffs and they were eventually broken up in Game 4.

Panarin is the team’s most productive player and finding the right fit for him will be important.

“It’s very sad that Kopitar is leaving, but like I said before, we have a very good team here,” Panarin added. “We have very good depth on the team, such as Mooresie, Laf and Q, who played very well. Next year, we’re going to have a lot of good chances to go further.”

C4PT4INCY Talk
Anderson gave a similar answer to Kempe regarding the possibility of being the team’s next captain.

He pointed to the leadership group as a whole, as opposed to the notion of any one person stepping up to just replace Anze Kopitar.

“The best part about our leadership group is, if you take Kopi out of it, you’ve still got Dewey who has been here, you’ve got Juice, Eddy’s in there, Laughty brought some good stuff when he came at the end, you have a guy like Bread that’s played for forever. The guys that have been in LA, you got to learn from Brownie, got to learn from Quickie, Carts, Marty. All these guys have won, you got to learn from them and you still get to see them, you can still talk to them. They’re very engaged and want to keep helping the organization. I think they all do a good job, but with Kopi leaving, I think we’re still in a great spot to carry on the culture they’ve built and trying to keep with it. That’s what has had success in LA, so we owe it to them to try and carry on with what they’ve done for the city and for us.”

He clarified that what he wants to see continue are the things that are behind the scenes, things that you don’t really see publicly. The Kings do a good job of making new players feel welcome, taking care of families, lots of things away from the rink. It’s not necessarily the culture of what’s happening on the ice, because what was there and worked in 2014 isn’t the case anymore. But behind the scenes, there are things that have to keep going and Anderson was confident they will.

Anderson is more of a vocal leader within the room and has been now for some time. Dating back even to when he was early in his career, Anderson has not been shy about speaking up in the room. He’s a different type of leader than say Kempe. You want and need both. Again, not sure if the Kings will have a captain or not next season. But Anderson is one who will probably be considered.

Drew Doughty & Andrei Kuzmenko

Not A Ton To Offer
Drew Doughty was uncharacteristically quiet in his exit interview.

His comments were probably the most interesting of the day, as a whole.

When asked about the series against Colorado and what he feels the Kings need to do moving forward, Doughty did not really have an answer.

“I don’t know, I don’t have a complete answer for you. I guess we’ve got to work our butts off this summer, do better next year. I don’t really have an answer.”

Doughty said a variation of that three times, with regards to not really having an answer to what he feels the Kings need to do differently to get over the hump. It’s extremely different from Doughty and that certainly perked the ears a little bit. For better or for worse, Doughty has always been honest and always been up front with saying what’s on his mind. That he didn’t do that yesterday was, at the very least, interesting and definitely makes for some questions heading into the summer.

Respective Futures in Los Angeles
For Kuzmenko, his answer regarding an interest in re-signing with the Kings was only two words long, but those two words certainly had a telling message.

“We’ll see.”

It was not the easiest season for Kuzmenko. He was such a positive story in 2025 but was unable to replicate the same kind of form in the 2025-26 season, his first full season with the Kings. There were positive spurts but the fit was not the same as it was the season prior. Blame whatever or whoever you want for that, but it didn’t work as it did the season before. Would have to imagine that he might seek a different opportunity elsewhere, however he’s got offensive skill that the Kings lack overall. Certainly doesn’t seem promising, but you never know what might transpire between now and July 1.

For Doughty, he indicated that there has not yet been any conversation between he and the Kings regarding his future with the team.

“There’s been absolutely no conversation about it,” Doughty said today. “I want to stay here. I would hope that the Kings want me to stay here too. If they approach me to get something done, I’m going to get it done.”

Doughty didn’t shy away from a season that saw his level of play drop below what was expected. The amount to which that occurred is overblown, however Doughty didn’t give the same type of performances he has throughout his career and that come along with the salary-cap hit and usage he has. The Kings banked on Doughty returning to his form from say 2023 when building their defensive corps and didn’t get that resurgence. Now, entering his age-36 season, as the final remaining member of the 2012 and 2014 teams, things feel like they are at a crossroads.

Doughty has the 2026-27 season under contract, so this isn’t pressing. Nothing can be done, extension wise, until July 1 anyways. But for the first time in his career, there seemed to be some doubt as to what exactly the future has in store. An extension would certainly come in below his existing cap number and at his age, the contract could include performance bonuses. Were the two sides to explore a trade, there would be interest around the league, certainly. Or, perhaps it’s a wait and see situation, since there is a signed contract, before making a determination after the 2026-27 season.

Ken Holland will certainly be asked tomorrow and it’ll be very interesting to see what he has to say about not only Doughty, but his fit within the group of defensemen as a whole.

Drew Dought-C
Unlike Kempe and Anderson, Doughty spoke more candidly about what wearing the “C” for the Kings would mean to him.

“I would love to be the captain of this team,” Doughty said. “It’s something that when I was younger, it’s something I never thought of and I kind of grew into a leadership role and now it’s something I cherish. It would mean the world to me to be captain.”

Doughty isn’t one to shy away from questions or situations like that. It would mean something to him to have that role with the Kings.

Both Anderson and Kempe highlighted Doughty as a more vocal leader within the room. This interview aside, Doughty has always been extremely vocal.

The elephant in the room there comes down to Doughty’s contract. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to have a player on an expiring contract named as your captain, in my opinion at least. Doughty didn’t seem to disagree when asked about that. In order for Doughty to be considered for the captaincy, he and the Kings would likely need to come to terms on an extension that works for both sides first.

Ken Holland will address the media tomorrow afternoon at 1 PM at Toyota Sports Performance Center. Will have the full video of that press conference.