A look inside the Kings roster moves, adding “character, playing hard & size” a priority for Rob Blake

When Rob Blake hired Jim Hiller back in May, he gave a pretty firm answer on what the Kings need to do in order to take the next step.

“There’s a certain desire to win that needs to be raised within our team here,” Blake said in that press conference. “What that is, is getting a little uncomfortable.”

Blake also spoke about the need to get on top of the goaltender, getting to the dirty areas within five feet of the net. Fighting through crosschecks, though slashes, through hits to get into those areas. Getting into shooting lanes on the other end and doing those things consistently, doing them regularly. To do that, Blake said, “we have to get uncomfortable with our group.”

It’s those things that Blake feels the Kings need to do in order to breakthrough the barrier that has held them up in three straight seasons. Three straight round-one exits. It’s within this context, through that lens, that moves over the last 72 hours were made. Changes had to be made, with an attempt to do things differently. That’s why the Kings went the direction they did over the last few days.

Looking here at three players who were brought in externally – Tanner Jeannot, via trade on Saturday, along with Warren Foegele and Joel Edmundson who were signed today. The Kings also re-upped Trevor Lewis on a one-year contract earlier today. We’ll touch on each of those signings individually, along with the reasoning behind them, but the theme of those signings as a whole was to help the Kings move forward in areas that were not at the required level, while helping integrate younger players into the lineup in roles they can be successful in.

It’s easy to say “just play the kids” and make no mistake, the Kings are planning to play the kids. They have to be utilized in the right way, though. They have to be put into situations in which they can be successful, alongside players who will help make them successful. The veterans added and retained here over the last few days helps the Kings to do that the right way.

“All of them, they’re all high character for one, they play hard and they have size,” Blake said. “The character of these guys are good, when you do the background checks, they fit a lot of those boxes that make you harder to play against at certain times.”

Looking at the additions of Foegele and Jeannot, Blake classified both as “middle-six forwards”, who can interchange within lines, something he felt the Kings needed up front. The Kings are viewing their lineup for this season, right now, in terms of three pairs of two within the top nine, with Kopitar/Kempe, Danault/Moore and Byfield/Fiala. That leaves three players to round out that group in Foegele, Jeannot and Alex Laferriere, players who should complement those pairs, as well as younger players who could start on the fourth line and ideally push forward into larger roles if they develop along the way.

Naturally Jim Hiller guides this part of the conversation, but from speaking with Blake today, it sounds as if the first combinations tried will be –

Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Jeannot
Fiala – Byfield – Foegele

Don’t get too worried about that order. It’s not reflective of minutes distribution, which could fluctuate from night-to-night.We also know that Hiller is a coach who will move the pieces around, so what you see today might not what you see in September, October or beyond. Foegele and Jeannot were acquired, though, to play in the middle six, or the top nine, and to help push the team’s style of play in the direction of a team that can get over the hump in the playoffs. The way the Kings played didn’t work in the postseason, in the way that it was intended to. These types of players should help push the organization towards that harder to play against style.

One of the best parts of the Foegele signing is his versatility.

Blake said that while Foegele might first slot in with Byfield and Fiala on what could be a pretty exciting line, he could just as easily play with Kopitar and Kempe or Danault and Moore. He’s versatile, he plays both sides of the ice and he’s just as comfortable playing up in the lineup as he is playing down. Foegele’s most-common linemate this season was Ryan McLeod but he also played a lot with Leon Draisaitl. We’ve seen guys who might need certain situations to find success. Foegele is a guy who can do both.

“He creates on his own, good speed, good size, can play both sides,” Blake said. “He played with Draisaitl, but he also played down, so he’s played with different lines. That’s what we were hoping as a middle six in that area, after the Jeannot trade.”

Speaking of the Jeannot trade, the Kings parted with a pair of draft picks to acquire him and they acquired a style of play they’ve looked at bringing in for awhile now. The Kings not being hard enough to play against in the playoffs is a theme I’ve seen regularly enough within the fanbase. We saw that this April. Jeannot is a guy who helps to change that.

In 2021-22, Jeannot scored 24 goals during a breakout season in Nashville. He did not reach those heights last season, burying just seven goals with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Blake said the Kings probably see Jeannot “somewhere in between those numbers”, so let’s say he’s a 15-or-so goal guy for the Kings going forward. If he can chip in with 15 goals and deliver the same style of play he’s always brought, he’s a really good fit for what the Kings are trying to build.

“Just the heaviness he brings every night, we’ve been looking for some of that in our lineup for a while,” Blake said.

On the backend, once it became clear that Matt Roy would not be back in Los Angeles, the Kings knew that both Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke would be in the NHL lineup from the start of the season. Those two players will help to share the minutes that the Kings got from Roy, but you can’t just throw them into the fire. The Kings wanted to support those two players with “strong, heavy left handers”. Both Spence and Clarke are gifted and both will be counted upon for a step forward. To achieve that, they need experience alongside them.

The Kings have Mikey Anderson and Vladislav Gavrikov already in the fold, who have some size and some toughness, but in Joel Edmundson as another option on the left, they got that kind of player.

“Stability on the left side with Spence and Clarke [was important],” Blake said. “Once Roy was out of the picture, we had to balance that we’re going to play Clarke, we’re going to play Spence. You bring in Burroughs as a depth right shot, who has played games in the NHL and then surround them with strong, heavy left handers. We got Mikey, Gavrikov, Englund and obviously Edmundson.”

Edmundson did not come cheap. Four years, a $3.8 million cap hit. He’s a player, though, that the Kings have had an interest in for awhile and he’s strong in some of the areas in which last season’s Kings team was weak. If you want a player who will get uncomfortable and has that desire to win, Edmundson fits that mold.

“I think because of the youngness on that right side, with Spence and with Clarke, that means both of those guys get good veterans [as partners],” Blake said.

While Edmundson has a four-year term, Gavrikov’s deal has just one season remaining at a cap hit of just under $6 million. The Kings could re-sign him, if both parties are interested in an extension, but with just the one year, there’s plenty of cap flexibility heading into next summer as well, both on the left side of the blueline and throughout the lineup. That helped with the comfort level of a big financial commitment towards Edmundson.

That contract is not a small commitment, it’s not, but the Kings want to support their younger defensemen as best they can. Edmundson is the player who the organization feels can do that and he brings certain things to the table that should make a Clarke or a Spence not only feel more comfortable, but ideally allow them to play their game and produce offensively. That’s what went into making the decisions that the Kings did.

That brings us to the final move made mentioned here and that’s Trevor Lewis.

Lewis is not back with the Kings to hold up younger players, to take the spot of younger players or to prevent younger players from developing. It’s the opposite. He’s here to help younger players grow and become the players they are capable of becoming.

I’ve had countless players tell me about the example Lewis sets. In the gym, in his preparation, in his attitude and approach. It’s easy to aspire to be Anze Kopitar or Drew Doughty but more young players have a path to the NHL as a Trevor Lewis. The professionalism Lewis brings extends beyond the ice and even if Lewis doesn’t play in all 82 games this season, he’s an important part of what the Kings are building. He could play zero games and play a role.

“The whole of Lewie’s game, in and out, not even just on the ice,” Blake said, about the decision to re-sign Lewis. “Right-shot [on the] PK, is important, Thomas can do that too but Thomas hasn’t played there yet, so we’ve got to balance that right-handed faceoff person there,” Blake said. “With the loss of Lizotte, whether it’s Quinton or Thomas, will get some of those PK minutes.”

The Kings want to see Akil Thomas become a regular penalty killer. They want Alex Turcotte to play more, with Blake pointing to him as a guy who could rotate higher in the lineup on given nights. They want to see Samuel Fagemo become a consistent NHL player. These aren’t guarantees, though, and Lewis is a known right now. He’s a smart and capable fourth-line player on this team who is more than capable of filling the role, and willing to embrace it. It’s a part of the safety net when you’re integrating younger players in and the Kings have a reliable one, who will help the younger players around him grow along the way.

Moving forward, the Kings still have Byfield and Spence left to sign as restricted free agents. Still plenty of space with which to sign them and the Kings don’t plan on being as tight to the cap this summer as they were last year. They’re planning to have flexibility, which helps them both throughout the season and ideally at the trade deadline as well. It allows them to have both Trevor Lewis and a group of younger forwards, giving Hiller options on different nights. It allows for different looks on the backend as well. Hoping to see those situations resolve themselves sooner rather than later, with eyes now focused on those areas going forward.