HOW THE CALGARY FLAMES STACK UP AGAINST THEIR PACIFIC DIVISION RIVALS: THE LOS ANGELES KINGS

Division rivals play a huge part in determining the success of an NHL team. Throughout the rest of the off-season, we’ll look at how the Calgary Flames stack up against each of their division rivals heading into the 2024-25 season, continuing with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Kings had tons of success during the 2010’s winning two Stanley Cups. Most times, teams take a decent amount of time to rebuild their way back to being a competitive team but for LA it wasn’t quite like that. The Kings rebuilt or “retooled” fairly quickly and before you knew it, they were back to making the playoffs consistently.

Current state

If there is one thing Flames and Kings fans can unite together on, it would be their hate for the Edmonton Oilers.

The Kings are coming off a season that ended in another first-round exit to the Oilers. LA has made the playoffs for the last three years, and Edmonton has sent them home in round one every time.

Improvement for the Kings and being able to get past that first round has been a struggle, and with the moves they made during the off-season and their current roster, the odds are that this season will hold the same expectations.

2023-24 season series

The Flames played the Kings four times last season and proved to be able to compete with them going 2-2-0.

Game 1: 5-3 loss on Dec. 23

Game 2: 4-2 win on Feb. 27

Game 3: 4-2 win on Mar. 30

Game 4: 4-1 loss on Apr. 11

Key additions

The Flames’ key additions can be seen in the first Pacific Division preview

The Kings’ roster has changed a fair bit with a couple of high-profile players leaving and an interesting group of players chosen to replace them. Viktor Arvidsson is now an Edmonton Oiler and both Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matt Roy are members of the Washington Capitals. Based on Daily Faceoff’s projected lineup for the Kings, a key element throughout their roster is the amount of young talent they have decided to give a shot. Former eighth overall pick Brandt Clarke and former fifth overall pick Alex Turcotte look to finally get their opportunity to start the season in the NHL, along with Akil Thomas, Jordan Spence, Alex Laferriere, and Quinton Byfield. It’s an interesting group the Kings have decided to run with this season and one that could be full of surprises.

  • Acquired forward Tanner Jeannot from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2024 fourth-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder)
  • Signed forward Warren Foegele to a three-year deal worth $10.5 million
  • Signed forward Joel Edmundson to a four-year deal worth 15.4 million
  • Acquired defenceman Kyle Burroughs from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Carl Grundstrom
  • Acquired goaltender Darcy Kuemper from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois

Positional advantage

Forwards: Kings

While the Kings lack that true superstar, they have loads of offensive talent up and down their lineup. LA has three deep lines that the Flames are no match for. The Flames also lack a superstar but the difference is that they dont have the forward depth either. Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau would be the only comparables to LA’s Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala, and Quinton Byfield.

Defencemen: Kings

The Kings are a fringe playoff team, so it’s to no one’s surprise that they have the better, stronger, more experienced roster. Four out of their six defencemen have had consistent roles in the NHL for quite some time and the two that haven’t (Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence) are young skilled defencemen who are expected to be impactful. You could argue that Mackenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson are the two best defencemen on either team but after that, there is a massive drop-off. Once again the Kings’ depth prevails.

Goaltending: Kings

Let’s just start off by saying that by no means is the Kings’ goaltending good. Darcy Kuemper struggled last season and is now expected to come into LA and be good enough to propel the Kings back to the playoffs. That being said, he is a Stanley Cup Champion and has more experience than Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar combined. Flames fans know all about Kings backup David Rittich. Rittich’s workload will determine how reliable he can be and if his role is solely to support Kuemper, he fits perfectly into that role. Wolf is going to be good, and after this season we will get a better sense as to how well he has gotten accustomed to the NHL, but right now the Flames’ tandem is just too inexperienced.

2024-25 season series

The Flames will play Los Angeles three times next season, one less time than they played last season:

  • Nov. 11 at Scotiabank Saddledome
  • Jan. 8 at Crypto.com Arena
  • Jan. 11 at Scotiabank Saddledome

2024-25 prediction

The Kings sneak into the playoffs in a wildcard spot and Byfield takes a step forward finishing with over 65 points.

Want more articles like this? Follow Flamesnation on MSN to see more of our exclusive NHL content.

More must-reads:

2024-09-14T16:27:48Z dg43tfdfdgfd