Hey ! I'm doing my preparation for some hockey pools. I'm a habs fan, but I want to know the other teams better. I have some questions :

1. Where will LA finish in the ranking?

2. What will most likely be the PP?

3. Who is likely to have a breakout year or who will surprise in terms of point production? Who is advantaged by the line combinations?

4. Who is likely to have a bad year in point production?

5. How many games each goalie is likely to play?

1. Early projections show that Calgary and Edmonton will compete for the division title, and Vancouver and LA will probably be in close competition for 3rd in the division. Vegas will likely be right behind them, while San Jose, Seattle, and Anaheim will be competing for Connor Bedard.

2. Power play lines are still a work in progress. Kopitar, Fiala, Kempe, and Doughty are all locks for the 1st PP unit. While Danault, Kaliyev, and Durzi will be locks for the 2nd. The remaining spots will be in competition by Iafallo, Moore, Byfield, and Vilardi. Once Arvidsson is back, he'll likely get in on the 2nd unit as well.

3. Breakout candidates are Byfield and Vilardi. Vilardi looks to be the player who will be slotted in on the 2nd line while Arvidsson is out for the first few weeks of the season. Brandt Clarke has looked really good in camp, but due to his age and the waiver status of other players on the team, he's unlikely to stick. If he does, he's a strong candidate to surprise as well.

4. Define "bad". Guys like Mikey Anderson and Matt Roy are never going to put up a ton of points, but they'll likely meet their average season production. If you're asking who is likely to decline below expectations, that's a different question entirely. A big question mark is whether Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe will be able to match their career highs from last season.

5. As it stands, Quick is the starting goaltender for the Kings. Petersen had a down year in 2021-22, and Quick had one of the best of his career. That being said, the Kings are looking for Petersen to step up so they can start handing the reins over. If their quality of play from last season continues, I'd expect Quick to get around 50 starts, and Petersen to get the other 32, with Quick getting all the playoff starts. If Petersen starts to play better, or if Quick starts to show his age, then it will be closer to an even split.

Your lines are off a bit. Season opener should look like this, barring injuries, trades, or major camp surprises:

Fiala-Kopitar-Kempe
Moore-Danault-Vilardi
Iafallo-Byfield-Kaliyev
Lemieux-Lizotte-Grundstrom

Anderson-Doughty
Walker-Roy
Edler-Durzi

Quick
Petersen

Man, it's too bad that this hasn't aged better

What's wrong with it?

Byfield and Petersen are down in the minors

Byfield caught COVID and lost like 15 lbs while he was out. He went down to get his legs back under him. There's speculation from insiders that he'll be recalled to the Kings on the upcoming homestand.

Petersen was a setback, but he's playing lights out in the AHL right now. I expect we'll see him again soon.

Better hope that plays out, although I'd call it an absolute best case scenario. Even last year though, Byfield struggled to drive play on the 3rd line. Still not good optics for a player drafted 2nd overall

Robitaille and Blake have said on numerous occasions that they plan on taking their time with all their prospects. They think that teams make mistakes rushing teenagers to the NHL, going so far as to say that their development is "ruined." They're content to let Byfield develop in the AHL.

Even if Byfield plays the rest of the season in the NHL, the Kings are still content with his development. He has been on a tear the last couple weeks, with 7 points in his last 4 games.

Did you mean "even if Byfield plays the rest of the season in the *AHL"? Pretty damning typo if that's what you meant. Also, being patient is one thing, but discovering when reality isn't going to match expectations is another. Either way, Kings are walking a narrower tight rope by the day as the young core comes along

I did mean AHL.

The Kings knew Byfield was a project when they drafted him. I don't understand what the rush is. They signed Danault specifically so they wouldn't have to rush Byfield to the NHL.

Byfield is still projected to be the Kings' 1C of the future.

Their future depends on it, because if it doesn't work, then trading for the likes of Fiala will look like a mistake

Why? Fiala leads the Kings in scoring right now and has been a fantastic addition. Why would that be considered a mistake?

Byfield or not, he's been a massive success so far.

Can't win a Stanley cup without a true 1C

How does Fiala prevent them from getting a "true 1C?" It's not like they emptied the pipeline to get him. They still have all of their 1st round picks and a deep stable of quality prospects to barter with should the need arise.

Byfield is the only guy with 1C potential. Turcotte's development is slipping, and guys like Helenius, Thomas, and Madden look like stretches to even be NHL caliber players. If that elusive 1C comes in one of the upcoming drafts and isn't already in the Kings system, then I'm not sure a guy like Fiala fits this team's timeline

Fiala signed a 7 year deal. If Byfield doesn't work out for whatever reason, the Kings have plenty of money and assets to go out and acquire a 1C through other means than the draft. Vegas did it with Eichel. St. Louis did it with O'Reilly.

The Kings can go get Auston Matthews when his contract is up in Toronto next summer if they want.

They theoretically could, but how many cup winning team's acquired their 1C via free agency?

No one said that they would acquire him from UFA. They'll probably have to swing a trade with Toronto at the deadline next season.

St. Louis did it with ROR just a few years ago. Vegas could be the next one to do it soon. They're looking to be pretty unstoppable in the West right now.

If Byfield doesn't work out, that doesn't doom them to mediocrity for the next 7 years. You're reaching for reasons for them to be bad.

I'm not reaching for reasons to be bad, I'm reaching for reasons to be mediocre. Good point on the O'Reilly comparable, but we both know Matthews will cost a lot more than O'Reilly in trade(are you sure the Leafs won't just let him walk in FA in their quest to win just a single playoff round?). Lastly, Vegas has looked pretty pedestrian as of late, so not sure I agree there

They very well could let him walk to UFA. If that's the case, then I'm sure the Kings will be happy to pick him up for free (assets-wise anyone) on the free agent market. I agree that he'll cost a lot in a trade, and the Kings are one of the few teams in the league that have the assets in the stable to pull off such a trade.

"Pedestrian" still has Vegas with the 4th best points percentage in the NHL and single best in the Western Conference (by a significant margin). Every team has their ups and downs.

If you look at the games they've played recently and the scores of those games, Vegas really doesn't look as dominant as they were earlier to start the season. Sure, some of that has to do with injuries, but every team has to deal with that sort of thing(they should know better than any), and a lot of people were criticizing that Vegas had spent too much time chasing after the shiny new toy that appeared on the market that now as soon as a lineup regular gets injured, it becomes exceptionally more difficult for them to cover up those holes exposed by injuries than it is for other team's

Like I said, every team has their ups and downs. Vegas is still the best team in the West by a large margin. They're looking much more impressive than Colorado has this year.

Colorado is dealing with injuries too man, more extensively than Vegas. Colorado won the cup last year, so they kind of have a built in excuse for being so injury riddled, Vegas did not make the playoffs last season, so they don't

Yea I don't agree with that. Vegas is missing their #1C, #1D, and #1G, and is still on top of the West. Colorado has a few injuries, but MacKinnon, Makar, and all their goaltenders are healthy.