LAK AT 37: CULTURE CHANGE

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles Kings started Calendar Year 2025 on a roll.

They are firmly entrenched in the top three teams in the Pacific Division and made Crypto.com Arena a difficult place for the opposition to play and more importantly, to win. They are a top five defensive team and sit just outside the top ten in penalty killing after a slow start. Their offense will not overpower opponents and the powerplay must improve over the final 45 games to establish them is as a serious post season threat, but despite improvements needed their placement as top five points percentage team as we approach the halfway mark of the 2024-25 regular-season is something unforeseen.

Give credit where credit is due. To lose Drew Doughty in the preseason’s first game while transitioning their defensive scheme from the (despised) 1-3-1 to a more traditional 1-2-2 and without an elite goaltender, they could have been satisfied with a standing in the top half of defensive standings.

Asking Vlad Gavrikov to switch sides to prop up Mikey Anderson in Doughty’s absence has worked better than anyone expected. The much-maligned Joel Edmundson signing has been a bonanza, his stability opposite Brandt Clarke has given the youngster more confidence in his first full year.

Anze Kopitar hasn’t turned the clock back – he would have to have regression in his game to do so – he’s stopped time and sits just outside the top 25 scorers in the NHL. Adrian Kempe has returned to the 35+ goal scorer of two seasons ago, while Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield have formed chemistry over the past few weeks to become a dynamic offensive duo.

Los Angeles’ first half puts them in position to make the post season for the fourth consecutive season, no easy feat in the parity-filled NHL but it’s no longer good enough just to get in the tournament, they must start winning after Game 82.

So, what could make this season different?

Given the state of the Pacific with three strong teams (Vegas, Edmonton and Los Angeles) and a fourth with a talented roster (Vancouver), there is a distinct possibility of a fourth consecutive opening round matchup against the Oilers. Assuming a post-season berth will be secured in April, whomever the opponent, they will face a different Los Angeles Kings team than the one that has failed to emerge from the first-round in three consecutive seasons.

The difference is far more than just the significant off-season roster changes made by General Manager Rob Blake that has produced success. There is a culture change that is led by Coach Jim Hiller, who could be in the conversation for the Jack Adams Award if the 37 game results extend to a full 82 games.

There is no question that Hiller’s approach is very different than his predecessor, now-Red Wings head man Todd McLellan. The 11 forwards/7 defenseman deployment, the occasional use of five forwards on the powerplay and the aforementioned move away from the 1-3-1 defensive scheme. But more than the x’s and o’s, the culture has changed and in subtle ways.

McLellan was hired to establish structure and despite his inability to achieve success once he got Los Angeles back to the post season, he succeeded in building structure that was needed. But what ultimately led to his dismissal was his resistance to change, when the Kings went on the bad run of results that led to his firing, his belief sticking to what he had established and not to change course was the critical factor.

The success of his team certainly helps but the climate around this team has much less tension with Hiller at the helm. He’s allowed cameras in the locker room to document post-game victory speeches, something that rarely happened with McLellan and never with Darryl Sutter. The new tradition of the player of the game wearing an F1 helmet is novel and shows that you can do your job and have fun at the same time.

You can debate the weight of those subtleties impacting the team’s performance on the ice but there’s more than just victory celebrations. The Kings were bullied by the Oilers in last season’s five-game first-round elimination, but my guess is that if these meet again next Spring, regardless of the outcome, this team will not be bullied. When Hiller was installed as full-time coach in May, he stated that the identity of his team would be one that was a responsible defensive team, one that would check for its chances and build off that foundation. Establishing identity can be a challenge, all 32 teams commit to it as they leave Training Camp but only a handful establish the style and characteristics envisioned by the coaching staff. In speaking to Kings players during this strong run of play, the consensus is that this group of players are focused on being the team Hiller envisioned, with laser focus on the defensive commitment needed to place them in the top five defensively.

It was pointed out to me that the additions made by Blake included several players from Western Canada – Darcy Kuemper, Joel Edmundson, Tanner Jeannot and Kyle Burroughs – have introduced a work ethic and camaraderie into room that hasn’t been seen since the championship days. Even Burroughs – who some would like to see his limited playing time given to the returning Arthur Kaliyev or another forward – has become a glue guy who plays a much-diminished role than his past seasons in San Jose, but multiple players have stressed how an important locker room influence he’s become in a short time.

Again, winning cures many ills and turns frowns upside down and as a result there is a feel-good attitude when you step inside the Kings room after practices. The mood is lighter, there’s less tension in the air. The chatter is more upbeat, the players are happy to chirp each other publicly – whether it’s about Mikey Anderson because accused of questionable tactics to win the team golf tournament by multiple teammates or chirping Clarke about the lack of success of the Canadian World Juniors team – this team feels and looks as connected off the ice as they do on the ice. This is not disparaging those who have made significant contributions and have left but this team has a bit more self-assurance and snarl this season.

In no way am I comparing this team to Los Angeles’ title winners but those teams had a Western Canadian contingent (Jarret Stoll, Willie Mitchell and Dwight King) in the room during the resilient 2014 Stanley Cup run to provide leadership and character both on-the-ice and in the room.  For those that discount the on-ice value of off-ice/intangibles to team success, I’ll point to the strife presently in the room of two very talented teams, the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks when considering the weight.

So, as the Kings start 2025 in search of their first Pacific Division title, there’s plenty for their fans to like as well as expecting even more from a team that has more to give.

With Doughty taking his first steps on the practice ice in El Segundo this week, the Los Angeles Kings appear to be set up for a solid second half.