In recent memory, the Los Angeles Kings have struggled to produce high-level scorers at home.
They went through a long stretch where a few 30-goal seasons from Anze Kopitar and a long 30-goal season from Tyler Toffoli were the only high-scoring seasons from players drafted and/or developed by the Kings.
Two players have since broken that trend. Adrian Kempe, who has scored 40 and 30 goals, along with Trevor Moore, who has scored 30 goals, are prime examples of the organization’s ability to produce that type of scoring ability.
However, for an organization that has struggled to cultivate natural scorers through the draft, the Kings have really wasted two potential gems.
Arthur Kaliyev is in no man’s land. He’s always shown flashes of high-level scoring ability, and is the most natural goal scorer LA has drafted since Toffoli. Being consistently relegated to the fourth line for most of his NHL career despite producing in the top six for a limited time has hampered his offensive output.
Now that Kaliyev’s dilemma appears to have come to a head, the question is: where will the additional scoring depth come from?
The Kings have opted to be tougher, grittier and more physical. That doesn’t fill the net. While Kaliyev remains an unknown enigma for next season, another option has been relegated to the AHL for several seasons.
Samuel Fagemo looked like a potential steal in 2019, even as a draft-eligible sophomore. Following the draft, he had an incredibly impressive WJC, where he led the tournament in scoring.
Since then, Fagemo has taken the AHL by storm. He has scored 103 goals in 201 AHL games, which most recently included 43 goals in 50 games last season.
He has proven he can beat NHL goaltenders, having scored in his limited time in the NHL. There is nothing more to prove in the AHL. He has been a dominant force there, something the Ontario Reign have not seen since Martin Frk, a veteran player with a wealth of NHL experience.
Fagemo’s need is driven by the fact that a player he relied on for his game, Viktor Arvidsson, has left for the rival Edmonton Oilers. Arvidsson was almost certain to have a 20-30-50 record when healthy.
Arvidsson is a huge 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 appear to be numbered in Los Angeles. The same has happened to Fagemo himself, who was waived, claimed and then brought back, which seems to be another strange sequence of events for this franchise.
Both players were selected with a purpose, knowing their shortcomings. However, those shortcomings are amplified in the bottom six spots, roles where these players still need to have the ability to showcase themselves and develop in order to become the potential top six players they could be.
The Kings went after Tanner Jeannot and Warren Foegele, two established NHL players. They repeated the same move that led them to not get a win in the playoffs, and that is blocking the talent they have recruited.
There are options in Kaliyev and Fagemo to add more goals to the lineup, but will the organization open the door to properly deploy the right talent?