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Los Angeles Kings 2020-21 Season Preview

January 14, 2021, 7:52 PM ET [2 Comments]
Ben Shelley
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Follow me on Twitter: @BenShelley_20
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The Los Angeles Kings open their season tonight against the Minnesota Wild. The Kings are in the midst of the rebuild and we can expect this year won’t really be as focused on their placement in the standings, as it will be on player development.

As a result, the most pressing storyline heading into the season will surround the Kings’ young players. With opportunities available in the lineup, it’ll be a matter of who takes advantage of their ice time and can earn a larger role. Gabriel Vilardi will have a good chance to establish himself as top-six forward, while Blake Lizotte could build off a strong rookie season.

On defense, it’ll be a similar story and hopefully, Tobias Bjornfot and Kale Clague can take a step in their development. It’ll also be interesting to see whether any more responsibility is given to Matt Roy and Sean Walker on the right side. Meanwhile in net, Cal Petersen should start getting into more action and if he’s able to stay consistent, we could see the Kings start transitioning him into the starter’s role.

Something else to keep an eye on is whether the Kings decide to try to sell players at the trade deadline. They’ve already dealt most of their veteran players who had value and given that Alex Iafallo is on an expiring contract and coming off a strong year, he could be Los Angeles’ biggest trade chip. Something else to keep in mind will be the expansion draft and whether the Kings should move players in advance, to avoid losing them for nothing.

Regardless, this will be another season of development for the Kings. That said, it’ll be exciting for more young players to enter the lineup and it should be fun to watch.


For a comparison of the Kings and Wild’s rosters ahead of the game tonight, click here.



***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Kings Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_LAKings for updates on articles, Kings news, etc.***

Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):

Do you think the Kings will trade more players for future draft picks/prospects at the trade deadline this year?
Yes
No


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OTHER KINGS ARTICLES FROM JANUARY

Breaking down the Kings’ training camp roster
Trevor Lewis signs PTO with Jets
Weekly Recap: Kings Edition (January 3)
West Division Comparison: Kings/Ducks
West Division Comparison: Kings/Coyotes
Six Kings prospects earn medals at World Juniors
West Division Comparison: Kings/Avalanche
West Division Comparison: Kings/Sharks
West Division Comparison: Kings/Wild
Weekly Recap: Kings Edition (January 10)
West Division Comparison: Kings/Blues
Kings assign 14 players to AHL
Kings announce roster and taxi squad
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