LAK AT 18: RIGHTING THE SHIP ON THE ROAD

TORONTO, ON — A bad season start. A home record inversely proportional to last season. Veteran acquisitions who were either underperforming or injured. Special teams that were anything but special. Goaltending that appeared to be in regression. A style of play that looked to be outdated to win in a league with increasing speed and skill.

The Los Angeles Kings 1-3-2 start to the 2025-26 season had some heading for the exits with less than 10 percent of the regular-season completed. Considering the four consecutive losses to the Edmonton Oilers last spring in Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one victory in 10 games over two seasons was no way to build confidence that this year’s model was an upgrade over the last four model that achieved regular season success but fell flat at Game 83 and beyond.

Though the question about the Kings being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender is far from being answered, those who exited may be finding themselves coming back in through the back door.

An 8-2-2 streak has stabilized things both internally and externally – the calls for Coach Jim Hiller to be replaced by sidelined Peter DeBoer have quieted, the narrative that General Manager Ken Holland had lost his touch seem hollow.

These Kings aren’t overpowering the opposition by any means but they are making the winning plays that were missing in the season’s first month. The execution in some facets of their game has improved – specifically improvement on the penalty kill, less risk and better decision making – and vaulted them near the top of a Pacific Division that looks winnable given the overall standard of play.

Darcy Kuemper is returning to the Vezina-nominated form of last season, and Quinton Byfield awoke from a weeks-long goal scoring slumber to pot back-to-back game winning goals in Montreal and Toronto. Corey Perry is arguably the team’s MVP since his delayed debut. Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci no longer seem to be an adventure every other shift. Kevin Fiala is more dangerous than risky. Warren Foegele is undersold as a key player and the “check for the chances” style that many disdain has found its effectiveness again.

But there’s still lots to do for Los Angeles to establish its legitimacy as a threat to the league powers – or is it power, the Colorado Avalanche appear to the lone seat of power as the season’s quarter-mark approaches.

• The offense is still struggling and no player is struggling more than Andrei Kuzmenko, who found himself in the press box at Scotiabank Arena during the 4-3 overtime comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. The player who revived the Kings power play with his shiftiness and creativity last season after escaping Philadelphia has relapsed into the inconsistent player who surfaced in his other NHL stops. To his credit, the effort is not in question, his coach still believes he can return to form and other players of his nature often need a reset. But if he does not, Holland will have to address the need for another winger for the 20th ranked offense and 26th ranked powerplay.

• Adrian Kempe’s last few efforts have raised the question as to whether his prolonged contract extension negotiation is affecting his on-ice play. An uncharacteristically poor game in Montreal (in a building he usually dominates in) and a flat performance in Toronto has fed this narrative. Kempe’s stoic personality makes it difficult to gauge if the impasse is affecting him given he’s earned the right to be the organization’s highest paid player.

• Phil Danault’s season has been forgettable, not unlike the majority of last season. He salvaged last season with a solid last quarter and was strong in the Edmonton series but setting aside his poor offensive production (three assists in 18 games) his defensive play isn’t making up for the lack of production. Foegele’s return could galvanize both Danault and Trevor Moore but Danault’s game will be under the microscope as the season lengthens.

The difficult schedule to start the season has lessened with the quality of the competition declining and it’s hard to fathom that the team’s 1-4-2 home record will not reverse form over the next month, a necessity given their road record pace is not sustainable.

A couple of randoms from the road:

• Don’t expect Drew Doughty to go the route of the Tkachuk brothers in the podcasting world. Though he’s the most quotable player I’ve ever covered, he is an intensely private person away from the ice. When I brought up the notion of a DD8 pod, he was succinct, “I’ll probably same something I shouldn’t.” But isn’t that the point?

• The last thing Darcy Kuemper wants is a February vacation. Given the state of Team Canada’s goaltending as the Olympics approach – The 4 Nations trio of Adin Hill (injured), Sam Montembault and Jordan Binnington (the former with an .857 save percentage and 3.61 goals against average, the latter .873 save percentage and 3.21 goals against average) opens the door for Kuemper to represent Canada. Team Canada’s management team (Don Sweeney, Doug Armstrong and Julien BriseBois) were in attendance for Kings-Canadiens in Montreal. Darcy says “it would be a dream come true” to rep the flag in Italy.

• Spent a few minutes with Ken Holland prior to the Leafs match in Toronto. He believes the team’s overall record is a fair representation of their play (lost some points they should have gained, stolen others), buoyed by the team’s current play and road record. “Earlier in the year, we had our moments. We played 40 good minutes, 45 minutes, not 60. Now we’re getting more 60-minute efforts. Penalty killing's gotten better. You've either got to score goals, or you got to prevent them.”

• If he does plan to add to the team as the trade deadline approaches it may be as difficult as it’s ever been. “I think the parity in the National Hockey League is as close as it's ever been. There might have been more teams, I don't know that there's many rebuilding teams anymore. I think everybody's trying to win. Everyone's trying to be a playoff team. So I just, I think it's really, really, really close.”

• With respect to Dumoulin and Ceci, he credits Hiller for the temporary shift of Mikey Anderson down the depth chart for stabilizing Ceci’s play, gave more confidence to Dumoulin in Anderson’s spot alongside Doughty and as a result Hiller is more confident rolling three pairs and it’s reflected in the defensive corps time-on-ice.

A final take on the Kempe contract:

Talks with CAA’s J.P. Barry continue. Holland met with him face-to-face in the past week. Term is not the issue, an eight-year extension has always been on the table and continues to be, and in speaking with Kempe in Las Vegas before the season, he’s willing to commit to the full term – the final season to be eligible for an eight-year deal. It’s apparent that the Annual Average Value is the impediment to a deal and the fact that Kempe will be 30 years of age when the new deal will start (he turns 30 in next September, most long deals are with younger aged players) keeps the gap in place.