TheHockeyNews recently released their annual top-50 players list and this year featured zero Los Angeles Kings players.
None of the Kings’ stars were able to crack the top 50.
Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe all likely would have been honorable mentions had it been a part of the article.
Of course, any article like this should be taken with a grain of salt and isn’t definitive, but it does give us a sense of where the people view the Kings and their players.
In this instance, I think THN got it right too, not in all of their picks for the top 50, but I’m not having any Kings on the list.
The Kings’ lack of elite talent is a problem I’ve talked about a lot and in the last few seasons and this article from THN reflects that.
You need elite talent to win in the NHL and the Kings lack it.
It’s difficult to win without any top 10-20 players, but winning without any top 50 players is almost impossible.
As always, the Kings’ future relies on the shoulders of Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke.
They’re the two young players with a real shot at cracking this list in the future.
Depending on how next season goes, Byfield could even be on this list one year from now.
Having players on this list doesn’t directly lead to success and ultimately doesn’t matter, but true cup contenders always have players who are universally accepted as top 50 in the league.
Unless Byfield and Clarke have monster seasons and get to that level, contention is unlikely again for the Kings.
Source Agencies
