Jon Rosen posted the Kings training camp groups at Lakingsinsider. With the caveat that there’s plenty of time between now and the beginning of the regular season for things to change, here’s how the lines appear to be shaping up, based on the groups:
Forwards
Gaborik-Kopitar-Brown
Pearson-Carter-Toffoli
King-Richards-Williams
Clifford-Stoll-Lewis
These lines have the JFTC seal of approval. It’s good to see the Kings continuing to trust the young forwards. That’s a great mix of high-end scoring ability and two-way talent in the top six.
The only change is Mike Richards replacing Stoll on the third line. We previously wrote that, if the Kings insisted on keeping Richards around, a King-Richards-Williams line made sense. Richards’ play in LA has not merited a spot in the top six. But presumably the Kings don’t see Richards as a long-term 4C (if they did, they wouldn’t have committed themselves to the remaining $29 million on his contract). Moving him to the third line is a good compromise. Richards will have a chance to reestablish his value by skating with some good play drivers, without hurting the team too much if he continues to struggle.
Defensemen
Muzzin-Doughty
Regehr-Voynov
Martinez-Greene
Not many surprises here. JFTC hopes that youngster Brayden McNabb will take over Robyn Regehr’s job on the second pairing at some point this season. McNabb wasn’t even in the same group as Voynov and Regehr, so it would appear that hasn’t happened yet. The Kings should give McNabb every opportunity; while no one knows how good McNabb is, it’s very clear that Regehr is a very poor fit on the second pairing. Even if McNabb is not a special player, he could still provide a sizable upgrade.
In other news, Drew Doughty did not skate due to an upper-body injury. That’s a bit concerning because of his history of shoulder problems, but the injury doesn’t appear to be serious. Jarret Stoll and Jonathan Quick seem to be recovering well from their offseason surgeries.