NHL hockey is back, and now that we have finally hit September, things have started to ramp up. With rookie camps underway and training camps and preseason around the corner, there is a lot to start getting excited about. Given that we are less than a month from Los Angeles Kings hockey, let’s take a look at who could lead this club in the major statistical categories for the 2024-25 season.
Who Could Lead the Kings in Points
With a team that has a handful of elite forwards but not a true superstar just yet, there are a few candidates for which King will finish the 2024-25 season with the most points. It wasn’t by a large margin, but Adrian Kempe led the Kings in points last season with 75. The 27-year-old winger finished the 2023-24 season with 28 goals and 47 assists playing on a line with grizzled veteran Anze Kopitar and young gun Quinton Byfield. Considering Kempe’s age and the fact that he is in his prime right now, the thought of him slowing down seems highly unlikely. Kempe has been a driving force offensively for the Kings for multiple seasons now and it wouldn’t shock anyone if he were to lead the Kings in points for the second season in a row.
Someone who has a good shot at challenging Kempe for the most points is Kevin Fiala. The 28-year-old winger finished with the second most points last season with 73. He potted one more goal than Kempe with 29 and had three fewer assists with 44. While Fiala is a player who is more than capable of producing at 5-on-5 regularly, he takes advantage of being on the powerplay. He led the Kings in power-play points last season with 30. Fiala has been decent as a King but he does have the potential to produce more than he has. Playing on a line with Byfield should allow him to unlock more of that potential and improve on his 73-point season.
Of course, we can’t forget about the player who continues to put this team on his back, the longest-tenured King of all time, captain Kopitar. It’s remarkable with his age how little Kopitar has slowed down. He had the third most points as a King last season with 70, collecting 26 goals and 44 assists. We could go on and on about the impact and importance he holds for Los Angeles but the main point is that he’s this team’s anchor and he continues to bring it every season.
In all honesty, either one of Kempe, Fiala, or Kopitar has a good chance at leading this team in points and it’s never a bad thing when multiple players have that capability.
Who Could Lead the Kings in Goals
Scoring goals is something that hasn’t come easy for the Kings over the past couple of seasons. LA only had one 30-goal scorer last season and it’s hilarious that it was none of the top three point-getters for the Kings last season.
California native Trevor Moore led the Kings in goals last season with 31. He only finished with 57 points which was the fourth most out of any King, but is still a pretty decent dropoff from Kopitar’s 70. Moore took a major step last season with his production, improving on his career-high in goals by 14. Last season was the first season where Moore showed some real progress and the expectation would be for him to continue to build and remain a top goal scorer for this team. Moore was also the only top-six forward last season that finished with more goals than assists. Goal scoring is one of the most important if not the most important aspect in hockey and for a team that has struggled to put the puck in the net, Moore is going to need to continue playing a key part in changing that.
Fiala and Kempe are realistically the only other two Kings who could finish the 2024-25 season with the most goals.
Who Could Lead the Kings in Assists
It’s no surprise that one of Kempe, Fiala, or Kopitar will most likely end up leading the Kings in assists. These three players are the engine behind this club’s offense. What makes predicting these stats a whole lot more difficult is the fact that all three of them have produced relatively the same amount for the past couple of seasons. Kempe did finish with the most assists last season and both Kopitar and Fiala were tied with the same amount, not far behind.
A sleeper pick could be Byfield. He finished with 15 more assists than goals last season and with a bigger role possibly centering the Kings’ second line with Fiala on his flank, as well as the expectation he takes that next big step in his production, it could be the perfect recipe for him to rack up those points.
Who Could Lead the Kings in Points by a Defenseman
LA has a couple of defensemen who could potentially lead the back end in points. One is none other than long-time King Drew Doughty. The 34-year-old has been the face of the Kings’ blue line for a long time. The consistency and durability he has shown the city of Los Angeles is something special, and much like Kopitar, age doesn’t seem to be having as much of an effect as it should be. Not only did he lead the blue line in points last season with 50, but he also had the 19th most points out of any NHL defenseman. What makes him a fan favorite in LA is that he brings a little bit of everything. He provides offense, is defensively sound, will rough it up in the corners, and with one of the biggest personalities in the league, won’t think twice about laying down some chirps. Age will continue to become more and more impactful on Doughty’s play, but coming off a 50-point season playing all 82 games, there’s no reason not to believe that he’s got at least a couple more seasons leading this team’s defensive group.
Related: Analyzing the Kings’ Roster Heading Into 2024-25 Season
Brandt Clarke is going to get the chance to play his first full season in the NHL in 2024-25. Although he is a defenseman, he is known for his offensive capabilities. Looking at the rest of the Kings’ defensive group, he would be the only one who could possibly give Doughty a run for his money. He is projected to be one of the future faces of this Kings team, he has the potential and talent to be able to lead the Kings’ defensive group in points one day, but since he will still be getting accustomed to being a full-time NHLer, realistically this is probably not the season that he ends up taking the cake.
Kings’ Stat Leader Predictions
With all of that in mind and looking back at what certain players finished with last season, here is my prediction for which players will lead the Kings in a bunch of different stats for the 2024-25 season.
- Points – Kevin Fiala (82)
- Goals – Trevor Moore (36)
- Assists – Anze Kopitar (46)
- Power-Play Goals – Kevin Fiala (28)
- Shots on Goal – Trevor Moore (255)
- Defensemen Points – Drew Doughty (47)
- Hits – Tanner Jeannot (239)
- Blocked Shots – Drew Doughty (138)
- Penalty Minutes – Tanner Jeannot (120)
- Plus/Minus – Mikey Anderson (plus-19)
The Kings are in a good situation here with more than one player totally capable of leading these categories. Because of how close of a gap each of their stats has been, Fiala, Kempe, and Kopitar are the “big three” when it comes to the scoring categories aside from Moore.
While there are a couple of holes and deficiencies throughout this Kings roster, there is no shortage of talent and skill, and we are just a few more weeks away from seeing what this group can do on the ice.
