For the last 23 years (13 with The Hockey News) DobberHockey has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 24th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what we take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone

Anze Kopitar, Andrei Kuzmenko

Incoming

Mats Zuccarello, Erik Haula, Corey Perry, Erik Gustafsson, Scott Perunovich

Impact of Changes

Kopitar retiring frees up a lot of minutes at even strength, on the power play, and with the empty net. He also led regular Kings forwards in face-offs and face-off win percentage, which is where Haula factors in. Like Kopitar, Haula is a left-handed centre who is usually very good at the dot (outside of the 2025-26 campaign). He and Scott Laughton should pick up some FOWs with Kopitar now retired.

This almost certainly means a full-season top line and top power play role for Quinton Byfield. He became the team's top centre in the second half of last season – at least by ice time – but that is now cemented. Back in 2022, Dobber analyzed breakout thresholds, finding that players standing 6'3" or taller needed more than 200 games for their breakouts to arrive, typically needing upwards of 400 games. Including postseason action, Byfield is now at 362 NHL games played. Now that he is firmly the Kings' top centre, he seems poised for his first career 60-point season, and the Dobber Fantasy Guide has projected him for 63 points in 82 games.

As long as he maintains his level of play from recent seasons, the addition of Zuccarello is an important one. Los Angeles struggled to score at 5-on-5 last season, finishing 25^th in the league, and they are 28^th by goals per minute on the power play over the last two years. Zuccarello is still a great playmaker and should help elevate the scoring of his line mates at any strength. He has missed 20% of regular season games over the last three years, so staying healthy is an issue, but when he's on the ice, he can boost the fantasy values of guys like Byfield.

The signings of both Erik Gustafsson and Scott Perunovich are under the radar but could hold a lot of importance. Neither will have much fantasy value outside of a hot streak or two, but both are typically very good puck-moving defencemen, which is something the Kings blue line desperately needs. Both are left-handed shots and so are Joel Edmundson and Brian Dumoulin. If either Gustafsson or Perunovich can replace Edmundson or Dumoulin, it would be a boost to the team's offensive ability.

Ready for Full Time: Samuel Helenius

The Kings are loaded with veterans, and their prospect pool is thin, so don't expect much impact from the up-and-comers. In fact, their top prospects might be goalies, and that doesn't include Erik Portillo.

Helenius looks like the only player ready for a full-time role and even he's played 103 regular season games over the last two years. He and Alex Turcotte are likely battling for a fourth-line role, but both are left-handed centres like Byfield, Haula, and Laughton. Turcotte has the offensive skill to move up the depth chart, and maybe even on the wing, but he has now played in parts of five NHL seasons and has yet to make his mark on the team. Helenius is the defensive option, so it's a question of which player the team will trust more. Given the Kings' history, the slight edge goes to Helenius.

Fantasy Outlook

Only the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and Calgary Flames scored fewer goals than the Kings last season. A great defensive effort is why they got to the postseason, but great defence doesn't win fantasy leagues.

With Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala, and Mats Zuccarello, the Kings have a top 4 winger group that can compete offensively with nearly anyone. The Dobber Fantasy Guide has those four wingers projected for 94, 76, 59, and 57 points, respectively. Last year, the team had just one player reach 50 points (Kempe, 73) so having four wingers produce at least 55 points means an expectation of a much-improved offensive attack under new Head Coach Peter Laviolette.

If Byfield is locked as the team's top centre, the big question down the middle is Alex Laferriere. From Christmas onward, Laferriere took 328 face-offs in 46 games, third on the team behind Kopitar and Byfield. Every other Kings centre on the roster is left-handed, so the right-handed Laferriere offers something the rest do not. It is possible that Haula and Laughton are the second- and third-line centres, but at the least Laferriere seems ready to take some face-offs on his strong side, and that gives him another dimension to his fantasy value. That also applies to the power play because no one else on the roster can take the draw on the right side. His projection in the Fantasy Guide is basically identical to last year's production, but as a physical, skilled right-handed pivot, he is the kind of player a coach finds meaningful ice time for.

The big question for the Kings is on the blue line. The additions of Gustafsson and Perunovich give them puck-moving depth, but the defence group from last season remains intact. At 23 years old with 195 total NHL games played, the time is now for Brandt Clarke to take the next step in his fantasy value evolution. He reached the 40-point mark last season, and the team seems primed to improve offensively. If he can keep a firm hold on a top PP role – and that's a big question mark – he can be a 50-point blue liner with 2.0 shots and 2.0 blocks per game. He needs that PP time to do it, though, and this franchise has not been shy of using a 5-forward power-play setup. That was with a different coach, but Clarke's PP role is not a sure thing.

From 2022-2025, Darcy Kuemper produced a .917 save percentage at 5-on-5. In 2025-26, that was a .910. That is a small decline, not a crash, and points us to his save percentage on the penalty kill, which was considerably lower than is usual for him. A rebound in that area should give Kuemper a better season, but Anton Forsberg had a strong campaign and could steal some starts. Kuemper is still the top guy in net, but do not expect more than 50 starts from him, and if the team is good defensively with an improved offence, both he and Forsberg will have fantasy value whenever they start.

Fantasy Grade: B+ (last year was B)

Check out the rest of the Dobber team previews here.

Additional stats from Frozen Tools or Evolving Hockey.