EL SEGUNDO, CA – As a top defensive team in the National Hockey League, the Los Angeles Kings’ most significant question mark going into the offseason is the future of Vladislav Gavrikov, who was their number one last season, covering for the injury to Drew Doughty, while often playing his offside. Gavrikov could easily command the same value as Jakob Chychrun ($9.0) in Washington on the open market. From early looks, the Kings might not be willing to match.

Another question mark lies beneath the surface of Gavrikov’s suspense for these Kings: the future of Alex Laferriere.

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The Chatham, New Jersey native is coming off his best season in the league (albeit only two seasons), with a solid showing of 19g, 23a for 42 points in 77gp as a +22. Most players dip in their sophomore season, but not Laferriere as Head Coach Jim Hiller pointed out to start the season last year:

“As a young player, a college player, there’s a usually — if you just think historically — there’s a good push and then there’s a fade, and then you don’t really get much at the end from them. The times that Laff faded at different points last year, he just dipped, and then he was able to get himself back. … And then in the first round of the playoffs, if you look back at the physicality, I think he might have led the NHL in hits. Not that that’s the be-all, end-all. But for a young player to have that kind of gas at the end of the year, it shows the type of player that he wants to be and what he’s willing to do. And we need those types of guys on our team.”

– Hiller on Laferriere, credit @ Mayors Manor

With only four powerplay points despite getting a long look at the first unit powerplay to start the season, Laferriere did most of his damage at even strength. His ice time increased by more than three minutes from the previous season (13:13 to 16:32) and even saw it jump further in this year’s six-game postseason defeat to the Oilers (18:15 avg).

Laferriere was particularly good with future 1C Quinton Byfield. At 515:52 together during the regular season (via NST), they held a 56.5% and 56.07% Corsi and Fenwick, respectively, 29-17 goals for vs. against, 263-183 scoring chances for vs. against, and 103-67 high danger chances for vs. against.

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Add Kevin Fiala into that mix now (348:04 together), and the numbers are refined towards an elite trio, 20-6 goals for vs. against and 180 scoring chances for vs. 122 against.

The line was outshot in playoffs (37-35) but still managed to outchance (35-30) and outscore the Oilers (4-3) when fielded. As a line, that was still one of the better Kings forward trios in the playoffs despite not tilting heavily in the Kings’ favor at even strength. When parted from Byfield, Laferriere’s Coris and Fenwick cratered, and the Kings were out-high danger chanced (4-2) while he was on the ice.

As one of the better even-strength forwards on the roster and with an elevated trajectory at only 23 years old, it begs the question: Is Laferriere a slam dunk resigning?

How many complementary middle-six forwards are out there in the league? I will tell you there’s a gluttony of forwards that fit that billet. Every team wants a player like this to eventually become a Brandon Hagel. Still, they are more or less going to land toward being an Alex Iafallo.

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I have some doubts regarding Laferriere’s ceiling. Still, it’s hard to deny a player of a higher calling when he was a goal-shy from 20 in his sophomore season. He will never consistently beat goalies from mid-range, but he has a knack for finding the net in and around the crease. This certainly gives some hope because this comes from a Kings’ drafted player showing shades of Dustin Brown without laying the body on anything while breathing.

That’s just it: the Kings have cultivated one of their own. The last decade has been a sour period of showcasing their fresh produce from the draft. They haven’t landed on many of their high-end picks towards becoming legitimate stars, except for Adrian Kempe (2014 draftee), Gabriel Vilardi (2017, now a Winnipeg Jet), and a Quinton Byfield (2020), who looks to be on the cusp. The Kings have landed players below their thresholds or have moved on from the team entirely, or sometimes both (Jared Anderson-Dolan, Rasmus Kupari, Tobias Bjornfot).

There should be more impetus to keep homegrown players with higher upsides who have produced well, such as Laferriere. However, this doesn’t necessarily patch the hole of not having that much-needed star upside that the Kings desperately need.

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Also, if the Kings are rumored to not re-sign Gavrikov, they are leaving a poor trail of players walking for no value returned (Matt Roy, I see you). I don’t see a world in which Ken Holland lets Laferriere go for zero value returned. I also don’t see a world in which Andre Lee or Jeff Malott keep roster spots over Laferriere.

There is some truth to the fact that the Kings have become a factory for middling/bottom six forwards who either underperform or have become well-done steaks, being stifled and roster-blocked by moves from a past administration. They are likely to have struck out on Akil Thomas, and playing with that same fire is the fifth overall pick in 2019, Alex Turcotte.

That brings us back to a prospect who has shown promise. Even though Laferriere’s game-breaking ability and his special team’s ability don’t stand out, he deserves a contract for his ability to produce at even strength. Give Laferriere a bridge deal, a $2.5-3.0 Million AAV contract for two seasons, and maybe he can improve upon his sophomore season. At worst, the Kings will have an inexpensive, high-end middle-six forward under team control.

In an era of fizzled-out prospects and middling forwards, Laferriere stands as a rising prospect coming from a pool that has been weathered for worse.