30 Teams In 30 Days-Los Angeles Kings

Last year’s champs were denied a repeat by the juggernaut known as Chicago. The Kings established that last season’s title was no fluke and they have the team put together to stay in the hunt for years to come. Let’s take a look back at the 2013 Kings.

Team Name: Los Angeles Kings

Record: 27-16-5, 2nd in Pacific, Lost 4-1 to Chicago in Western Conference Finals

Player of the Season: Jeff Carter scored 26 goals and looked to regain the form of years gone by. Carter finished fourth in the league in goals only behind Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares. That’s some pretty damn good company to be with.

Breakout of the Season: Defenseman Slava Voynov posted a career-best 25 points in his second season with the Kings and added a couple more power play points than last season. He kept going in the playoffs with a 6-7–13 line in 18 playoff games with four game-winning goals and a+9 rating. For his efforts the Kings wisely locked him up with a 6-year, $25 million deal.

Disappointment of the Season: Dustin Penner posted a career-worst two goals. Penner’s 14 points were his worst output since the 2005-2006 season with Anaheim. You don’t rely on Penner to put up a boatload of points but this was just miserable. The season before he went 7-10–17 with a -7 rating. Compare it to his 2010-2011 campaign where he put up 23-22–45 between Edmonton and the Kings and nine points on special teams. Penner needs to find his old form quickly otherwise his days of being little more than a fantasy footnote are numbered.

Team Analysis: They were a top-10 team all the way around on offense, defense (7th), the power play and penalty kill. Anze Kopitar put together a solid season with a team-best 42 point effort and 16 assists on the power play. Justin Williams looked pretty solid with 11-22–33 and a +15 rating. This was a good team that was a legitimate contender.

2013-2014 Story Lines: The Kings will add Matt Frattin and Ben Scrivens to their roster after picking them up in a trade with Toronto. Johnathan Bernier was sent to the Maple Leafs and has the chance to escape from Johnathan Quick’s shadow and contest for a starting job. LA also picked up a second-round pick from Toronto in the trade that will be in the 2014 or 2015 draft. The team doesn’t really have any pressing needs going forward and should be a solid option in fantasy hockey.

2013-2014 Fantasy Guys to Have: Carter, Kopitar, Voynov, Richards, Williams, Johnathan Quick, Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty, 

Guys On the Fringe: Frattin, Scrivens, Jake Muzzin (team-best +16 rating),