The corresponding domino to the Los Angeles Kings moving Quinton Byfield back to center is that a left wing was needed to play with Anže Kopitar and Adrian Kempe on the top line.
Warren Foegele was a free-agent signing. Tanner Jeannot was acquired through trade. But from the start of training camp, Alex Laferriere has been the linemate for Kopitar and Kempe. And in Saturday’s preseason contest against the Anaheim Ducks, Laferriere got the kind of scoring opportunities that could come from playing with two of the team’s premier players.
One way to stick with them is to put the puck in the net.
“They’re going to find the open guy,” Laferriere said. “If it’s me out there, I want to be able to score and just kind of do it for those guys. Their job is to score goals and create plays. If they’re not doing that because of me, then I’m holding them back. So, I think for me, it’s just trying to make their job easier and do anything I can to make that happen.”
Barely moving into his second season, Laferriere is coming in with a ton of confidence. In the Kings’ 3-2 win over the Ducks, the 22-year-old scored twice on plays that showed he can thrive if he continues to display finish around the net.
Laferriere’s first goal was a clean-up job, with Kempe’s shot from the right circle creating a rebound after he got a pass from Kopitar. It was a four-on-three power play and it helped that one Anaheim penalty killer was without a stick so there was more room to make plays, but Laferriere was a net-front presence and quickly cashed in as he beat the Ducks’ Noah Warren to the loose puck.
The second goal came from Laferriere delivering a one-time strike near the right faceoff dot off a Kopitar pass after Kempe’s forecheck created a turnover. It’s the kind of chance the Harvard hockey product will get with two veterans who have been the Kings’ top point producers in recent seasons (Kempe led L.A. in scoring last year, while Kopitar has long been its point leader).
“Yeah, I think it’s huge,” Laferriere said. “I think throughout my life, I’m a guy who kind of thrives when I know where my linemates are and when I have chemistry built with them. Kind of getting that little time with them and learning their little habits and just kind of where to be when they have the puck.
“Like the second goal. Just knowing when Kopi gets that puck, he’s going to be looking right in the slot. I think just building that chemistry is vital.”
A shot at a hat trick Saturday went awry as Laferriere couldn’t find the empty net on a couple of attempts. But the winger has goal-scoring potential. Last week, he slammed in a power-play feed from Alex Turcotte against Vegas. His 147 shots on goal ranked sixth among all NHL rookies last season and he scored 12 times for the Kings in 81 games.
“My job last year was just trying to prove that I belonged,” Laferriere said. “I think there were definitely points throughout the season where I questioned that and just kind of can get down on myself on whether or not I belonged. I just did the best I could.
“And then obviously it shows the trust that Jimmy (Hiller) has in me to put me up there. I think that just does a huge number for my confidence. Now not only do I feel like I belong, but I feel like I can be one of the top guys and contribute. It’s huge.”
Ding, dong, the Kings’ 1-3-1 is dead
System changes rarely rate highly in terms of camp intrigue but the Kings’ switch from the 1-3-1 neutral zone trap setup to 1-2-2 is notable in that it’s something the players have lobbied for. The 1-3-1 boosted their defensive play for years and helped bring success but also left them feeling stunted in realizing offensive potential.
Most notably, Kempe and Kevin Fiala expressed their wish for change after last spring’s playoff loss to Edmonton. At the start of camp, Kopitar flatly said, “We’re not going to play the 1-3-1 this year.” It’s clear they’re embracing the change.
“Everyone likes to be on the attack and not playing on your heels,” Jeannot said. “Hopefully what we’re trying to do this year is just be hard on the other team. Don’t give them any time and space and keep them on their heels. Keep the momentum sloped our way. We’re just learning this new system and everyone’s going to take the time to buy in and just learn it. Come the regular season, it’s going to be dialed in and working really well.
“I think it’s going to cause a lot of turnovers and be a little bit more aggressive maybe. Hopefully get some more opportunities for our offensive guys and keep us out of our D-zone more.”
Jordan Spence, whose ice time will spike upward in Drew Doughty’s lengthy absence, mentioned how, as a right-side defenseman, there will be fewer times when he and others will be the ones to retrieve dumped-in pucks by the attacking team. Kempe said right wingers like himself will benefit from being more in motion on breakouts as opposed to starting from a standstill.
“Last year as a right winger you had to go back for the puck a lot and maybe aren’t up in the rush as the main guy,” Kempe said. “Sometimes you come late, and you get good chances. But I think playing 1-2-2, once we turn the puck over in our favor, I think there’s going to be some times where we get good rush opportunities. That’s where I feel like my game is really good so that’s something I’m excited about.”
The change to 1-2-2 as a means of creating more offense means the Kings goaltenders could be asked to do more, as the 1-3-1 helped limit chances and insulate them. But they’re on board.
“We have enough practices to figure out what’s going to be important in our system for goalies,” David Rittich said. “Some sort of things we already know what we’re probably going to see more than we’ve seen in the past. But I think it’s good. I personally feel like we have a really fast team and 1-2-2 is just going to help us.”
Fourth line possibly taking shape
The Kings have three forward lines formed, leaving the fourth group with spots up for grabs. Given how Turcotte and Akil Thomas fought off injury troubles in their young careers and had prosperous 2023-24 seasons for their pro development, locking down spots in L.A. to start the season would represent another step forward for both.
Turcotte has had an effective camp and appears to be in line to fend off Samuel Helenius for the fourth-line center job. But the picture for Thomas was cloudier, with him admitting he had a slow start in camp. Meanwhile, Andre Lee, Jack Studnicka and Samuel Fagemo have had productive moments. It figures that Trevor Lewis will have a place after the club re-signed him.
Thomas had the kind of game the coaching staff wanted to see Monday night in Anaheim. The 24-year-old assisted on Jeannot’s first-period goal and beat the Ducks’ Nikita Nesterenko to a “perfectly sauced” pass from Phillip Danault in the Kings’ 4-0 win.
It was a night in which Thomas took full advantage of the Kings opting to keep Trevor Moore home and get a look at the versatile youngster with Danault and Jeannot as his linemates. A multi-point effort should have Thomas heading to Quebec City for the final two preseason contests, but did that help secure a spot on the 23-man roster?
“I don’t know, to be honest,” Thomas said. “I just came here and saw I was obviously playing with these two guys and just thought to myself, ‘I just want to have a good game.’ If I just play hard and have a good game, my chances get better. I don’t really know. Just try to show up and have the best game possible.”
Thomas opened eyes with his first NHL stint at the end of last season when he scored three times over seven games. He wanted to build momentum off that in this camp while not placing expectations on himself, but he also hadn’t done much in his two prior games and was feeling a little pressure from Hiller. “I think he kind of wanted me to get going,” Thomas said.
“Well, he got going, didn’t he?” Hiller said Monday. “Is it that simple? I say get going and it just happens. … That’s a good opportunity for him to play with Phil and Jeano. And so what do you do with your opportunity? He took it and ran with it.
“He looked more like he did when he played for us in the stretch run last year than he has at any other time since the training camp started.”
Kaliyev’s hopes for fresh start are dashed
Arthur Kaliyev was talkative and expressive on the first day of training camp. Optimism flows this time of the year but it was especially notable for Kaliyev, coming off a difficult 2024-25 season and with an uncertain future with the Kings that was partially reflected in a one-year, $825,000 contract signing just one day prior.
“You can’t get down on yourself,” said Kaliyev, recalling when he spent the second half of the season as a regular scratch. “I think it would be even worse. I think this is a good fresh start. Fresh on your mind. Just start from the bottom and then try to get back up. Do your best every single day you come in here.”
Which made the next day and those that followed difficult to process. Kaliyev suffered a fractured clavicle when hit by Kyle Burroughs during a team scrimmage. It was another blow for the 23-year-old, whose trade value both for himself and the Kings plummeted when he wasn’t used regularly or at all.
The Kings have said Kaliyev will be out indefinitely which makes for a rough month-to-month timetable. The irony is Kaliyev liked how physical the camp was on the first day and knew this preseason was big for him. He watched how Laferriere won a job last year and became a lineup staple. Now he’s back to square one.
(Top photo of Akil Thomas: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)
