I will be rating each team on three different areas which of course are goalies, defensemen and forward. The ratings are from 1 to 10. The rating consists of his personal ability and his importance to the team. This means that a player who scores way more points might get the same rating as someone who does not. There are two categories that i will rate: Every position as whole and then every single player. I will also put in the lines that i think/hope they will play next season. Then last i will give a grade to the whole team.
Los Angeles Kings
Goalies
Jonathan Quick: Quick had a really good season with the Kings. He put up a career high season in SV%. He is 25 years old and already a top goalie. Kings have a solid goalie for nearly two decades. Rating: 9
Jonathan Bernier: Bernier is a tough challenger for Quick. He is a couple of years younger and played really well this year. He was the eleventh overall pick in 06 draft which is really high for a goalie. Rating: 8
Kings have one top goalie and one who promises to be even better. One day LA will be too small for both of them, before that they have two really good goalies. Overall rating: 9
Defensemen
Rob Scuderi: Scuderi is a good defensive d-man. He does not get much points, but he usually has a positive +/- ratio and low penalty minutes. Rating: 8
Willie Mitchell: Much like Scuderi, Mitchell is good in defensive aspects and is really good when paired with Doughty or Johnson who are more offensive minded defenders. Rating: 8
Alec Martinez: Martinez was a bottom pair defender and without any changes to the defensive core he will probably be one still. Rating: 7
Jack Johnson: After Doughty Johnson is the most important defender in the team. He plays well in both ends of the ice and is a huge asset on the power play. Rating: 9
Matt Greene: Big defender who excels in physical game. Greene is also a relatively known fighter and due to that fact he has high penalty minutes. Useful in other roles than fighter as well. Rating: 8
Davis Drewiske: Drewiske has the unfortunate role of being the seventh defensman in the roster. He is not bad and will hopefully find his place in the opening night roster one day. Rating: 7
Drew Doughty: One of the best defenders in the entire sport. His output decreased by 19 points from last season, but he is still among the top 30 scoring d-men. He forms one of the best power play pairs with Jack Johnson. Rating: 10
Kings have one of the best defenses in the entire league. They allowed 198 goals which is 6th least in the league. With offensive assets like Doughty and Johnson the defense can also seriously aid the offense. Overall Defense Rating: 9
Forwards
Justin Williams: Williams is really good and with Richards and Penner or Gagne on the other wing he should be able to amass a really nice amount of points. Rating: 8
Kevin Westgarth: Westgarth is another fighter with the Kings squad. He plays very little minutes and mainly when someone has tackled fellow teammate in a punishable way. Rating: 7
Jarret Stoll: Stoll has been steady contributor, but with Richards acquisition will probably eat his ice time. Stoll will probably get wingers who are not as good as the ones he has played so far. Still he has an amazing slap shot and he is a good player for the power play. Rating: 8
Brad Richardson: Richardson has been a solid bottom-6 forward. He does not get too much ice and he was thirteenth in average ice time in LA forwards. He is a decent player and i have learned to like his style of play. Rating: 7
Mike Richards: Ex-flyers captain will bring points somewhere between 60-80 with him to LA. He can provide leadership and really good playing ability, but if the rumors about his partying are true, LA is not probably the best place for him. Sensational hockey player nonetheless. Rating: 9
Dustin Penner: Big left winger should bring a solid power forward presence to second line. He did not start that well, but hopefully Richards can aid him back to the route of scoring points. Rating: 8
Scott Parse: Parse only played in five games, but still managed to grab four points. He missed the start of the season and had time to play in only five games before undergoing a hip surgery. Rating: 7
Trevor Lewis: Lewis had his first nearly full season in the NHL going from 6 games to 72 this season. He grabbed 3 goals and 10 assists as a bottom line forward. Rating: 7
Anze Kopitar: He is the franchise forward in LA. He is a very talented young man. Sometimes people forget that he is only 23 years old. He can lead the Kings first line for a decade if he says healthy. Rating: 10
Simon Gagne: Gagne has been a godlike scorer during his time in Philly, but he did not get the best out of himself in Tampa. Perhaps a reunion with former team mate Mike Richards will get him back on track... Has the potential to score nearly 50 goals and since he is "only" 31 he still has some years left. Rating: 9
Colin Fraser: Fraser will bring a bottom line presence to the team. He does not excel in any aspect, but neither is he bad at any. Rating: 7
Kyle Clifford: Big left winger is still young and will have to settle for a bottom line role. He has potential waiting to be unfold, but it is still some years away. Rating: 7
Dustin Brown: The captain of Kings. He might stay in the shadow of Anze Kopitar or Drew Doughty, but he is an exemplary captain. He does not give up, he checks more than anyone in the team and he is good in both scoring and assisting. Rating: 10
Kings really added some really nice players to their forward lines. Richards and Gagne are world class players and can wipe out any team single-handed. They have two really good lines and still their two bottom lines have some really good players with some future potential. Rating: 9
Lines
Penner-Kopitar-Brown
Gagne-Richards-Williams
Clifford-Stoll-Parse
Richardson-Fraser-Lewis
Doughty-Mitchell
Johnson-Scuderi
Greene-Martinez
Quick
As a whole Los Angeles has a team that has credible chances for success. They are a real contender for the first time in years, this time they have a team that should make it beyond the first playoff round. Overall rating: 9
Key factors:
+Two world class lines
+Two good goalies
+Solid players from first to last
-Expectations are high and so is the pressure
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