Welcome back to Puck Drop: NHL Preview 2013-14, where our hockey department gives you a detailed look at each team from around the NHL leading to the start of this hockey season. Check back often as new teams are added to our Puck Drop page. Today we take a look at the 2013-14 Los Angeles Kings.

Last Season:

Hopes were high for the 2013 edition of the Kings, and justifiably so after dominating their way to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup victory the previous spring. While some thought the extended break due to the lockout would help the team avoid the legendary Cup hangover, the Kings started off slowly nonetheless.

By February 10th, their record was a poor 3-5-2, but they turned things around bigtime, losing only three of their next 14. The team was better than .500 the rest of the way and finished with a 27-16-5 record, good enough for second in the old Pacific division.

They cast aside St. Louis in the first round, thanks in large part to the play of Conn Smythe winning goaltender Jonathan Quick, who allowed only ten goals during the six game series. During the second round, Quick was again brilliant, allowing more than two goals once during a tight seven game series against San Jose, in which each team won at home.

However the King’s dominance at home failed them against the Blackhawks, who we all know would go on to win the Stanley Cup, as the eventual champs rather easily knocked of the former champs in five games.

Though a Western Conference final appearance is nothing to sneer at, the Kings were still disappointed that they weren’t able to become the first team to win back to back Cups since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98. There were however some individual highlights of note.

Anze Kopitar again proved himself a force to be reckoned with after 42 points in 47 games, and Jeff Carter was brilliant, leading the team in playoff scoring after notching 26 goals during the regular season. Young defenseman Slava Voynov emerged as a legitimate threat from the point (and perhaps for a future Norris trophy) with a brilliant regular season that he followed up by scoring 13 points in 18 post-season games.

And lastly is Quick, who had a worse than mediocre regular season, but had an absolutely brilliant playoffs that may have had him in Conn Smythe contention again, had the Kings made the Finals.

Offseason:

The Kings probably had the smallest roster turnover of any team in the NHL, though that’s not a bad thing for a club of this elite caliber. They did however solve their back-up goalie issue, as Jonathan Bernier, who has the pedigree of a starting goalie, was sent to Toronto for netminder Ben Scrivens and forward Matt Fratin. Other new faces of note are Daniel Carcillo, brought in for toughness and nothing else, along with Jeff Schultz, who will provide some depth on defense.

They were however very busy retaining their own free agents. They signed captain Dustin Brown to a huge, 8 year $47 million contract that will keep him as a cornerstone of the team until after his 35th birthday. They also managed to resign some key, younger free agents in the form of Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez, Trevor Lewis and Kyle Clifford.

Overall though, it was a very, very quiet off-season for the club, as they feel (rightly so) that they are still Stanley Cup contenders.

Story Lines To Watch:

Can the Kings come out on top in the new Pacific division? For all their success in recent years, the Kings have never won the Pacific since it’s inception prior to the 1993-94 season. While players will tell you that winning a division doesn’t mean much more than home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, this year they might have something to prove. Surely they’ll want to come out on top of their old California division foes, while adding Vancouver and even Edmonton (I won’t mention Calgary) makes it that much tougher.

Not that it’ll worry the Kings though, who won the Cup as an eight seed in 2012. Still, proving their the best in the regular season is one of the few things this current group of Kings has yet to accomplish.

Can Willie Mitchell and Jarret Stoll make an impact coming back from serious injuries? Stoll, who has a concussion history, mysteriously suffered a seizure during the offseason, but says he’s good to go for training camp. Stoll is a key faceoff man and the prototypical third liner who made huge contributions during their championship season.

and make an impact coming back from serious injuries? Stoll, who has a concussion history, mysteriously suffered a seizure during the offseason, but says he’s good to go for training camp. Stoll is a key faceoff man and the prototypical third liner who made huge contributions during their championship season. Mitchell has undergone two knee surgeries since December of last year and many felt as though it could be possible he would miss part of all of the upcoming season, though he appears ready for training camp as well. Mitchell is one of the game’s premier stay-at-home type defenseman and was also instrumental in the Cup victory. While both may need smaller roles due to their injury history and their advancing age, both play critical depth positions that the Kings will need if they want to get back on top again.

Which Jonathan Quick will we see? He was brilliant for the entirety of 2011-12, then just awful during the 2013 regular season, then amazing again once the post-season started. It really was the tale of two goalies. While the Kings seem likely destined for at least a playoff spot even it Quick isn’t at his best, there is evidence of a lack of focus and consistency. Maybe Quick was still reeling from his Conn Smythe and fat new contract. If “Playoff Quick” could show up during the regular season this year and cement his status as one of the best goalies in the world, I’m sure everyone around the organization will breathe a little easier about their $58 million investment.

Players To Watch:

Whatever you do, DO NOT take your eyes off of Anze Kopitar while he’s on the ice. Even while playing in a huge market such as Los Angeles, Kopitar doesn’t get nearly enough credit as one of the most brilliant forwards in the game. Still only 26 years old and in the midst of his prime, Kopitar can fly and has an incredible shot while maintaining a level of toughness and two-way ability. He’s going to have another big year.

After the purgatory that was the Columbus Blue Jackets (pre-Bobrovsky era), Jeff Carter seems to have found new life in LA. The 28-year-old’s aforementioned 26 goals was good for fourth in the NHL last season, and there’s a very real possibility he could flirt with the 50 goal mark this coming season.

And finally, I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned him yet, watch out for defenseman Drew Doughty. The franchise cornerstone had a bit of an uneventful season (particularly in the playoffs) last year by his lofty standards. I fully expect Doughty to be a monster in 2013-14 and challenge for the Norris Trophy by season’s end.

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