KINGS COULD STAND FIRM THIS SEASON

LOS ANGELES, CA — I haven’t had the opportunity to see the Los Angeles Kings in person too often in the first quarter of the season, but after catching their 4-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday from Crypto.com Arena, they are an impressive group to watch.

This Kings squad is deep. They can roll all four lines, their defensive corps is strong, and their getting quality goaltending – probably the biggest question mark for them going into the season – from both Cam Talbot and Pheonix Copley, who was in net Saturday.

Some of the most impressive qualities of this group starts with the obvious: their centre depth. With Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and either Trevor Lewis or Blake Lizotte (currently injured) down the middle, they can go up against any team at that position. And Dubois, playing on the third line, has fully embraced his role. He understands his responsibilities will increase as his contract is played out, but if he and the team want to win – and win now – having him at 3C gives them the best chance.

Los Angeles’ young talent has also emerged, led by Quinton Byfield, who is almost a point-per-game player. But aside from Q, Alex Laferriere continues to impress on the club’s third line, Arthur Kaliyev is providing some extra scoring punch, though he’s bouncing around the lineup right now, Carl Grundstrom, on a 30-goal pace, is embracing a power forward role, and Jordan Spence has held his own on the team’s blueline.

And while we are on the topic of the blueline, the most surprising/impressive piece has to be Andreas Englund.

Englund, who signed a two-year, $2 million contract on July 1, has not only been a physical presence by way of dropping his mitts at any given opportunity, but his defensive game has been just as strong as his 6-foor-4 frame.

“He didn’t come to camp to make our team when he came to camp, he was on our team in our mind,” Kings Head Coach Todd McLellan said on Monday. “We had a pretty good idea what we were getting. Not sure if anybody else knew that but we had a good idea.”

Adding Englund’s punishing presence to the lineup has instilled a different level of confidence among his teammates and that has helped them secure a 13-3-3 record through their first 19 games of the season.

Assuming the Kings remain a top-three team in the Pacific Division, they could be poised to add ahead of the trade deadline. But looking at this roster, I’m honestly not sure if GM Rob Blake wants to disrupt the chemistry that’s being built.

If anything, perhaps you look for a veteran goaltender if either Talbot or Copley falter down the stretch, but given how well their team performs overall, even that may be a stretch.

We are more than three months away from the deadline and injuries can always pop up. To McLellan’s own admission, the schedule has also been in the Kings’ favour in the early going of the season.

“Last season, we were begging for days off,” he said. “This year, we are begging for games... (but) we will pay for this.”

We’ll see how the team responds to a tighter schedule as the weeks progress, but it’s not often you see a team with so few holes on their roster. The way L.A.’s playing, they might just hang tight and run with the group they’ve got.

C’EST BEAU?

The Montreal Canadiens continue to have contract discussions with goalie Sam Montembeault’s camp on a contract extension. I’m told the lines of communication are open and good, but there is still work to be done.

Montembeault, 27, is in the final year of his current contract and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Habs want to avoid that.

It is unclear how far along these negotiations are and how much work is still needed, but it seems like a deal is on the horizon.

There has been speculation that having Montembeault inked beyond this season makes him a more appealing trade asset, but the Canadiens would prefer to hold on to him and could be more inclined to move Jake Allen if the right deal presented itself.

Allen, 33, has one more year left on his contract after this season, comes with a $3.85 million salary cap hit and owns a seven-team no-trade list.

HERE AND THERE

• Dean Evason is under contract through the 2024-25 season, while Jay Woodcroft is under contract through the 2025-26 campaign. Both will generate interest from other teams considering a change behind their bench.

• If any Kings fans are curious, contract extension talks with Quinton Byfield have not started yet.

• The NHL has been involved in talks with other sports drinks companies to replace BioSteel, who filed for bankruptcy and were sold earlier this month to Windsor-based entrepreneur Dan Crosby, who owns DC Holdings Ltd., which operates multiple businesses including sports nutrition company Canadian Protein. While it is possible BioSteel remains on as the NHL’s official sports drink, it is equally possible the NHL rips up its contract and brings on a new sponsor. Body Armor, which hits the Canadian market in January, is among the brands in talks. BioSteel was paying the NHL around $13.5 million USD per year.

• Speaking to a former NHLer who underwent hip resurfacing surgery post-career: “I can’t imagine ever coming back and playing after that.” So far, the likes of Ed Jovanovski, Ryan Kesler and Nicklas Backstrom and all tried and failed. It’s the biggest concern for teams trying to sign Patrick Kane, who is expected to jump on with a club this week.