A Thank You, as 2025-26 comes to a close

It was a challenging season, Insiders.

Really was. And right from the start too.

As you go through an NHL season, you kind of experience things and think back to similar experiences and feelings that you’ve had in the past. I saw lots of 2022-23 and 2023-24 in this Kings season, but in different kinds of ways.

At the start, this felt like the way 2022-23 started, just for opposite reasons. Inside the first 25 games of that season, the Kings either scored or surrendered five goals in a game 11 times. There was a 7-6 win in there. A 5-4 win. A 6-4 loss. A 6-5 loss. And, in Game 25, a 9-8 loss. It was a wild start to the season and with that came a very middling record, created by ups and downs. After that 9-8 game, the Kings were 12-9-4.

This season felt similarly in terms of a team that could not find its identity early, nor did it find any sort of consistency. The difference here was that the Kings prevented goals fine, they just couldn’t score them. In 11 of 25 games, the Kings scored two or fewer goals, with 12 of 25 games going into overtime. The two starts were exactly opposite, though both had a common theme of inconsistency. However, early, it felt as if things would come around. With that came a different yet similar record of 12-6-7. Same number of wins, just a little bit different on the dispersal.

As the season progressed, though, it became clear that this was more 2023-24 than 2022-23. The 2022-23 team was inconsistent but they found that path towards success. It was right around Christmas when they found it and played very good and consistent hockey down the stretch. By the time they reached the playoffs, you could argue they were peaking and you could argue that 2023 was the series this team most should have won, leading 2-1 and winning by a 3-0 margin in Game 4. We all know how that went.

The 2023-24 team was the most disappointing the Kings have had. They got off to one of the best starts in franchise history, with a season-opening record of 16-4-4, all while setting an NHL record for the most consecutive road wins to begin a season. They had made big moves and declared the competitive window to be open. Then things went downhill. The 2023-24 team had its moments early but all throughout the season, it just felt like something was missing. By the time the stretch run hit, there was no resurgence. No peak. Nothing hit. The Kings lost that series in five games and never felt like they really had the chance they did in 2023 and 2025.

The feeling that something was missing was there all season here in 2025-26. Even if you aren’t particularly keen on the way the Kings were constructed, there’s no way this roster should have had 90 points. But they did and that’s a total that, at best, sneaks you into the postseason. Which is naturally what the Kings did. Sneaking in typically comes with a team like Colorado on the other side of a Round 1matchup. There was really never a time this season when it felt like the Kings had it figured out. They’d give you games and glimpses but for 86 games between regular season and playoffs, there was never that feeling when things came together, no matter what was tried.

It was a feeling that was hard to measure and harder to explain. This team was not a contender but they weren’t as bad as they performed either. Shortcomings were exposed come the playoffs, despite a valiant effort, which leaves just so many unknowns heading into the offseason. To play as hard as they did, to do things well in many areas and still lose all four games shows how much work there is to be done.

I say all of that, in far too many words, because this was a trying season throughout. It’s something that I’ve thought about for some time now. It was not the easiest season to detail and cover and from the comments here on LAKI, it was not the easiest season to consume either. But, despite it, the show rolled on. The interest here on the site felt like what it always was and the numbers show that. I hope that the content met that same level of devotion shown on my end. Tried my best to work through a season I had yet to encounter. It’s one thing to provide coverage when expectations were zero. Different when there were expectations that were publicly set and when those expectations were not met. Despite the challenges on the ice, it was still rewarding for me to have the platform that I do here to be able to try and provide coverage of a team in a market that does not have much of it.

In terms of first-person coverage of the LA Kings, there is not another place it exists besides here. I wish there were more options for Kings fans, especially with an external voice, but the facts are that traditional external media outlets do not provide first-person coverage of the team on even a semi-regular basis and platforms that exist beyond traditional media either don’t have the commitment, staffing or the access to offer first-person coverage. Whether that changes or not – and for the record, I hope that it does, as do most people who work for the team – there will never be a more direct line to the Kings than right here on LAKI. The reasons behind that precede me but the commitment to providing content worthy of the following here on the site has remained steady. I am honored to be the person to deliver that most regularly and as long as I have a voice in the process, that’ll be what I’ll continue to try and do.

Won’t have much over the weekend here, barring any kind of major news on the Kings front. Ontario Reign coverage will persist as long as the team continues to play and will likely beef up as the team rolls forward. For me, though, it’s time for a weekend off. See you next week for an Insider Q&A and thanks again for all that you bring.