In sports, changes in personnel impact every aspect of the team, both on and off the ice. The Los Angeles Kings are dealing with that in real time right now.
Friday night’s trade of center and alternate captain Phillip Danault to the Montreal Canadiens leaves a void on the team in both leadership and style of play. The Kings will be turning to a range of players to step up and fill Danault’s roles.
In terms of the on-ice elements, the Kings are looking to forwards Warren Foegele and Alex Turcotte to take on more responsibility. Turcotte has spent most of the season as Los Angeles’ fourth-line center, but practiced on the third line today with Foegele on his wing.
“They’re similar,” head coach Jim Hiller said of the duo. “I think there’s a lot of energy between the two of them. I think the feet move on both of them, they’re tenacious. So you always want at least one tenacious guy on the line because, we always say, somebody’s got to do the work. With those guys, you’ve got two of them, and so they can cause some havoc offensively, hopefully on the forechecks, not so much carrying pucks and making plays, just loosening up pucks.”
Foegele joined the Kings as a free agent in 2024, while the Kings drafted Turcotte fifth overall in 2019. Since then, he has gradually taken on more responsibility, playing his first full NHL season in 2024-25 with 25 points in 68 games. The Danault trade gives him his biggest chance yet.
“Losing Phil, he was a good teammate, a great player, a really good friend to me. So we’re definitely going to miss him,” Foegele said. “But regarding Turks, it’s a great opportunity for him. And I think he’s been waiting for a long time for an opportunity and just happy that he’s going to get that chance now.”
On the leadership side, forward Adrian Kempe and defenseman Mikey Anderson will serve as new alternate captains.
“[They’ve] earned their stripes, have established themselves as really high-caliber players within the league, and have shown leadership the whole time through,” Hiller said of Kempe and Anderson. “So, you know, we kind of get two for one there, but those guys are both capable.”
Both are homegrown players who held that role when Drew Doughty was injured last season, giving them experience to prepare themselves for their current situation. However, the ways that they demonstrate leadership are entirely different.
“I do think they’re natural leaders,” captain Anze Kopitar said. “Mikey a little bit more vocal, Juice a little bit more on the quiet side. I guess kind of like me — I’m not the most vocal guy and most chatty guy, but [I] lead by example. And he’s been doing that on the ice, scoring big goals for us and being on the ice in every situation. So that’s the way he goes about his business. And I’m sure he’s going to continue doing that.”
After a weekend with no games following a week-long road trip, the Kings will test out all these new elements tomorrow night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.