Kevin continues his offseason tour around the Western Conference with stops in Los Angeles and Winnipeg

Following the lottery draft we’ve been examining each Western Conference squad’s offseason outlook, emphasizing points-only pool production with some peripheral considerations and highlighting potential breakout candidates. We started in the cellar points-wise and are moving up as we go. We’ll tackle Vegas shortly after the June expansion draft. Last week was Arizona and Dallas. This week we look at the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets.

Los Angeles Kings – 39-35-8 (86 points)

Greatest needs: offense

A valiant effort after Jonathan Quick’s opening night injury and Peter Budaj’s amazing sub job still got the Kings only so far. LA dropped 16 points in the standings last year from 102 to 86. That’s their worst in a non-lockout year since 2008-09. They missed the playoffs for the second time in three years, and that’s on the heels of five straight postseason berths including two Stanley Cups.

A look at the stats highlights their symmetrical strengths and weaknesses. They were the sixth-best club in goals-against, limiting opponents to 201, and sixth-worst in goals scored with 199, down from 223 in 2015-16. This is surely a product of their style over a significant run of campaigns and success, but obviously the offense can use some bolstering.

They have just over $10.8 M in cap space to help make this happen. And a good place to start, as we heard often at the trade deadline, is to find team captain Anze Kopitar some top-line help. With just 12 goals and a career-worst 0.68 points-per-game, he still led the team with 40 assists, but needs another threat or two to draw defensive attention and set him up with timely passes. His five most frequent 2017-18 linemates Dustin Brown, Marian Gaborik, Trevor Lewis, Dwight King, and Tyler Toffoli in last year’s system didn’t cut it.

The Rob Blake/Luc Robitaille/John Stevens administration has identified increased goal scoring and a quicker pace as primary improvement targets. So the system may be in the works. If you are looking for breakout candidates, keep an eye on Kings’ acquisitions that may bolster, as well as holdovers that could increase production with a philosophy shift.

A Kopitar rebound seems natural. I’ll also take Toffoli (provided the RFA re-signs) coming off knee problems and a 24-point drop, with a possible return to 2015-16’s 30-goal form. Newly signed to a four-year, $15M contract Tanner Pearson appears important to future King plans, is adept at helping linemates produce more shots, and may see totals increase over last year’s 44-point career high. Maybe Nick Shore or 20-year-old Adrian Kempe will take a scoring leap forward, but let’s see who they sign. Offensive machine Eeli Tolvanen or possibly sniper Owen Tippett may be available when the Kings pick 11th in the entry draft and could bring great benefits in the long run.

Jeff Carter’s team-leading 66 points, surpassed only by his 46-goal, 38-assist 2008-09 Philly campaign, may see an increase as well, but be wary of regression. Blueline stalwarts Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez likely will continue their playmaking amid system-fused increases, and upstart Derek Forbort should again bring solid peripheral production unless he’s left unprotected and Vegas snaps him up.  

There’s no doubt Jonathan Quick is LA’s top goaltender, particularly with Ben Bishop out of the picture. He was solid after a late-season return from injury, approaching his goals against average (2.26) and save percentage (.917) from the previous two years. The Kings will hope for no groin injury recurrence and likely see if Jeff Zatkoff can fill the bill as second in command of the net. 

Winnipeg Jets – 40-35-7 (87 points)

Greatest needs: defense, improved goaltending

Boasting one of league’s most dynamic collections of young forwards and the NHL’s seventh-best 3.00 goals-per-game on offense, Winnipeg needs to shore up their back end to keep pace. With multi-category star Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, last year’s injury casualty Tyler Myers, and up-and-coming Josh Morrissey, they don’t need a complete overhaul, but a key piece or two on the blue line will go far. Expect their 13^th selection in the entry draft to fetch perhaps big Finnish rearguard Juuso Välimäki and his solid two-way game, or the best defenseman left on the board to improve last year’s, fourth-worst 3.11 goals allowed per game.

With close to $18.8 M in cap space, Jets’ GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will likely land further reinforcements after missing the postseason for the fifth out of their last six years. At age 26, Winnipeg native Michael Stone is an intriguing long-term deal possibility.

Coming off a poor statistical campaign, Connor Hellebuyck (26-19-4, 2.89, .907%) ranking 35^th in goals-against, and 36^th in save percentage among goalies with 30 or more contests, enters a contract year with much to prove and more to gain.

As quality, available netminders are dwindling with the trades and signings of Scott Darling and Ben Bishop, Hellebuyck looks more likely to retain the top spot next year. The price is still right and the Jets may want to see what he can do with a bolstered defense. With this in mind, see how the offseason goes and, should the Jets upgrade on defense and stand pat in goal, Hellebuyck could be a bargain.

If you’re looking for breakouts, you may get even greater offensive performances from forwards Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers who, after further experience, could increase their dual 64-point totals. Kyle Connor, 2015 first round pick and former University of Michigan star, is another name to watch. After making the club out of camp and totaling two goals and three assists in 20 games, the 20-year-old Connor may be ready for extended NHL play. He’s not going to light it up just yet, but he would contribute and learn. Playing alongside Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and a hopefully healthy Bryan Little (1.04, .90, and .80 points-per-game respectively) in addition to Ehlers and Laine could help.

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