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Despite their reputation as a physical defensive team, and the fact that they do have a tendency to go hungry in the goal scoring department over longer-than-preferred stretches, the Los Angeles Kings do boast one of the better offensive cores in the league. It’s their secondary offense that remains suspect heading into 2013-14.
The Kings have some youth coming up through the ranks that will make an impact at various points throughout the year. But as far as the players they have on the current roster, it remains to be seen if some of the forwards they employ will help out on offense, or are primarily a source of physicality.
At least one player has shown strides toward improving in that respect this preseason, with that player being Dwight King. When the Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2011-12, King looked like a player that was on his way to breaking out in 2013. That didn’t happen, as he managed only 10 points in 47 games during the regular season.
King isn’t a player that’s going to put up 50 or 60 points, but him being a guy that can notch 15-20 goals in a season shouldn’t be that much of a stretch. The type of impact that Bryan Bickell had in Chicago last year isn’t too far off from what King could bring to the mix for Los Angeles, if he can rebound.
When on his game, King is the type of player capable of playing up with the rest of the Kings’ skill players, as we saw this preseason. He’s tough on the puck and a big body down around the net and in the corners. Even if he didn’t come up with the greatest of years in 2013, the skill set is there.
If what we’ve seen in the preseason is any indication, King should be in line for a very good year for the Kings. Not only should he rebound, it could reach the point where the 2013-14 season serves as a breakout year for King, as he heads into restricted free agency next summer.
