NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman ended the 2019-2020 season for the Kings on Tuesday when he announced that the NHL would begin the Playoffs with the Top-24 teams in the league upon immediate return. For the second season in a row, the Kings failed to produce an NHL postseason berth. While their pursuit of Lord Stanley’s Cup may be off the table, the Kings still have a chance to bolster their rebuilding efforts.
A 9.5 percent chance, to be exact.
The Kings haven’t been in a position to take a top-3 overall draft pick since 2008. With the second overall pick in the ’08 draft, Los Angeles selected a defender from London, Ontario. That young defender was Drew Doughty. Doughty has proven to be a staple on the ice for the Kings, winning the Norris Trophy in the ’15-’16 season for his defense.
Even with the fourth-worst record in the league, the Kings have an opportunity to move up 3 spots with the new (albeit complex) draft system designed for this year.
NHL Draft Lottery Explanation:
X Æ A-12
— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) May 26, 2020
The odds for the top three picks are as follows:
2020 NHL Draft Lottery odds.
Phase 1 of draft will be on 06/26. pic.twitter.com/9bWmvRTEfl
— Everything Hockey (@EHClothing) May 26, 2020
The front office for the Kings took advantage of the trade deadline to add to the team’s draft arsenal and unload some cap space. The team started February by trading F Kyle Clifford and G Jack Campbell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for F Trevor Moore, a 2020 third-round pick (courtesy of the Columbus Blue Jackets), and a conditional 2021 third-round pick. Next, they traded RW Tyler Toffoli to the Vancouver Canucks for F Tim Schaller, C Tyler Madden, and a 2020 second-round pick. Finally, they received second-round picks in each of the 2020 and 2021 drafts from the Golden Knights after sending D Alec Martinez to Las Vegas.
After deconstructing the roster this past season, the Kings will focus on drafting a roster to complement their veteran players. According to Jon Rosen, the Kings will have 15 picks in the first four rounds of the next two drafts to find the pieces needed to restore the kind of hockey greatness Los Angeles was known for early on in the last decade.
