Kings hope new leadership, new resolve restore winning ways

LOS ANGELES — New leadership, new ideas and new resolve. That's how the Los Angeles Kings believe they can restore their winning ways after missing the playoffs in two of the last three seasons.

Head coach John Stevens and general manager Rob Blake were hired to replace Darryl Sutter and Dean Lombardi, the two men who led the franchise to its first Stanley Cup title in 2012 and a second in 2014, in hopes of squeezing another championship run from an aging core.

There are plenty of familiar names from those teams, including captain Anze Kopitar, defenceman Drew Doughty, centre Jeff Carter and goalie Jonathan Quick. But the financial commitment to those stars and a win-now attitude has left the organization with limited options to address its sputtering offence, with the signing of 35-year-old Mike Cammalleri counting as the Kings' big splash in free agency.

Instead, the Kings decided to get creative to fix an attack that was tied for 24th in scoring and produced just 2.43 goals per game by hiring Pierre Turgeon to serve as offensive co-ordinator, a first-of-its-kind delineation in the NHL. Turgeon certainly understands offence as the most productive player not in the Hall of Fame with 515 goals and 1,327 points in his 19-year career, and there have been reasons for optimism in the preseason.

The Kings have averaged three goals per game in the three preseason contests featuring their marquee players, including the first two NHL games ever played in China. While Sutter's defensive-minded teams tended to do well in puck-possession analytics, Stevens is placing a greater emphasis on turning that control into scoring opportunities.

"I think guys just play with a little more freedom in their game," centre Nick Shore said. "I think you've seen that in the first couple preseason games, but I think if you look at our team, it's kind of just an effort from everybody to help put the puck in the net and do certain things like that."

Getting veterans like Kopitar to find their familiar form would also help. Kopitar scored 12 goals last season, a career-low excluding the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Kopitar has been working on a line with Cammalleri and Dustin Brown, and all three should benefit from the arrangement.

"You see there's a little bit of offensive chemistry where they know where each other are," Stevens said.

Here are more things to know about the Kings:

THAT 70's SHOW: Taking the idea of a one-line team to the extreme, Carter, Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli combined for 72 of the Kings' 199 goals last season. Setting aside rookie Jonny Brodzinski's brief stint in the NHL as the season wound down, the trio of Carter, Pearson and Toffoli were the only Kings forwards with a positive plus-minus rating. Pearson will look to build on a career-high 24 goals, while Carter and Toffoli will be featured on the power play as the Kings use four forwards on the first unit.

MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: With the Grammys taking place at Madison Square Garden in 2018, the Kings won't have to hit the road for several weeks in late January. However, it will only be a one-year reprieve, as the award show will be back at Staples Center in 2019 to start a new four-year contract.

HURTING GABORIK: A catalyst of the Kings' 2014 Stanley Cup title run, Marian Gaborik underwent surgery in April to address a chronic issue in his left knee. Gaborik was back on the ice for training camp, but still hasn't been fully cleared. The Kings would gladly take whatever they can get from Gaborik as he has been limited to 110 games over the last two seasons. The 35-year-old still has four years left on his contract, carrying a cap hit of $4.875 million in each season.

MIND ON NET: The Kings signed Darcy Kuemper to a one-year contract to serve as Quick's backup, but they might have found his eventual successor this off-season in former Notre Dame standout Cal Petersen. Originally drafted in the fifth round by the Buffalo Sabres in 2013, Petersen signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Kings in July. The first goalie in Fighting Irish history to serve as a team captain, Petersen went 23-12-5 with a 2.22 goals against average as a junior and helped Notre Dame reach the Frozen Four. Petersen got his first taste of NHL action in a 4-2 preseason loss to the Anaheim Ducks, stopping 13 of 15 shots.

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Dan Greenspan, The Associated Press