In recent memory, the Los Angeles Kings have struggled to produce high-end goal scorers in house.
They went through a long stretch where a few 30-goal seasons from Anze Kopitar and a long Tyler Toffoli 30-goal season were the only high-end goal scoring seasons from Kings drafted and/or developed players.
Two players have since broken that trend. Adrian Kempe, being a 40 and 30-goal scorer, combined with Trevor Moore, who broke through for 30 goals, is an excellent testament to the organization’s ability to produce that type of scoring ability.
However, for an organization that has struggled to cultivate natural goal scorers through the draft, the Kings really have mishandled two potential gems.
Arthur Kaliyev is in no man’s land. He has always shown flashes of high-end goal scoring upside, he’s the most natural goal scorer LA has drafted since Toffoli. Consistently being relegated to the fourth line for most of his NHL career despite producing in the top six during limited time has hampered his offensive production.
Since the Kaliyev dilemma has seemingly reached a boiling point, the question is, where will supplementary depth scoring come from?
The Kings have elected to get tougher, grittier, and more physical. That doesn’t fill the net. While Kaliyev remains an unknown enigma for the next season, another option has been relegated to the AHL for multiple seasons.
Samuel Fagemo looked to be a potential steal in 2019, even as a second-year draft eligible. He followed the draft up with an incredibly impressive WJC, where he led the tournament in scoring.
Since then, Fagemo has torched the AHL. He’s scored 103 goals in 201 games in the AHL, which recently included 43 goals in 50 games last season.
He’s proven he can beat NHL goalies, as he’s scored in his limited time in the NHL. There’s nothing left to prove in the AHL. He’s been a dominant force there, which the Ontario Reign hasn’t seen since Martin Frk, a senior player with a plethora of NHL experience.
The need for Fagemo prompts the script over the fact that a player he modeled his game over, Viktor Arvidsson, has departed for the rival Edmonton Oilers. Arvidsson was a near lock for 20-30-50 when healthy.
Arvidsson is a massive loss for a team that has traditionally struggled to produce offense. Kaliyev and Fagemo are the two natural players who have an innate and natural ability to fill the net.
The Kings have failed to implement Kaliyev and his days seem to be numbered in LA. The same has really gone through for Fagemo himself, who has gotten waived, claimed, and then reclaimed, which looks to be another bizarre sequence of events for this franchise.
Both players were drafted for a purpose, knowing their deficiencies. Yet those deficiencies are amplified in the bottom six, roles in which these players still need to be given the ability to showcase and develop into the potential top six players they could be.
The Kings went out and got Tanner Jeannot and Warren Foegele. Two established NHL players. They have repeated the same step that led them to exactly zero playoff round victories, and that is blocking their drafted talent.
There are options in Kaliyev and Fagemo to add more goals to the lineup, but will the organization open up the opportunity to properly implement the right talent?
