LA Kings Stanley Cup Odds Take Serious Hit After John Stevens’ Firing
- On Sunday, the Los Angeles Kings fired head coach John Stevens
- Stevens was in just his second season as Kings’ head coach; they were off to a 4-8-1 start
- LA’s Stanley Cup odds on October 1st were +2800, but have now fallen to +5400
When you have a pedigree of recent success like the Los Angeles Kings, there’s no time for slow starts.
And if there is a slow start? There will be casualties. The Kings’ slow start cost John Stevens his job.
At least Todd McLellan is breathing a little easier.
Now LA needs to find out if they can climb out of the hole they’ve dug themselves into. Or this will become a lost season for the two-time Stanley Cup champions.
2019 Stanley Cup Average Odds for Pacific Division Teams
Playoff Pedigree Can’t Save Kings’ Stanley Cup Odds
Since the 2009-10 season, the LA Kings have been a model franchise in the NHL.
In those nine seasons, the Kings have missed the playoffs just twice. From 2011-14, they played in three Conference finals, and won two Stanley Cups.
LA Kings Record and Statistics
| Season | W-L-OT | Points | Goals For | Goals Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 4-8-1 | 9 | 28 | 45 | Last in Western Conference |
| 2017-18 | 45-29-8 | 98 | 239 | 203 | Lost 1st round |
| 2016-17 | 39-35-8 | 86 | 201 | 205 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2015-16 | 48-28-6 | 102 | 225 | 195 | Lost 1st round |
| 2014-15 | 40-27-15 | 95 | 220 | 205 | Missed Playoffs |
Despite missing the playoffs in two of the last four seasons, the Kings had the fourth-best Stanley Cup odds in the Pacific Division. This year is playing out more like those non-playoff years than the glory days though.
Now LA is in a hole. They’re tied for last in the league with just nine points. While they have played just 13 of 82 games, their Stanley Cup odds have taken a serious hit. At the start of the season they were +2800. Now they’re +5400.
Can the LA Kings Turn their Season Around?
Statistically the Kings are miles behind the rest of the NHL when it comes to offense. LA has the worst goal-differential at -17. While they haven’t done a great job of keeping the puck out of their own net, that’s not their biggest problem.
The Kings flat-out struggle to score. LA is the only team in the NHL with fewer than 30 goals.
The Kings flat-out struggle to score. LA is the only team in the NHL with fewer than 30 goals. The Kings are also averaging a league-worst 2.15 goals-for per game.
#LAKings didn't waste much time making a coaching change. To be honest, their offense is goal challenged. As the late, great Larry Felser would have said "their coach was charisma challenged." A correlation? #JohnStevens.
— Zig Fracassi (@ZigFracassi) November 4, 2018
Slow Starts Dooming LA
The Kings are also dead-last when it comes to goals scored in the first period. They’ve scored an NHL-worst six.
There are just eight teams in the league who have allowed more than their 14 goals-against in the opening frame. Their goal differential is the worst though at minus-eight.
Overall, only 13 players have scored a goal this year for LA. Of those 13, eight of them have two or fewer. Their leading scorers (Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Ilya Kovalchuk) have four goals each.
That’s the worst output of leading scorers on any of the 31 teams aside from Anaheim.
Can Willie Desjardins Turn the Kings Around?
This will be a massive test for the former Canucks bench boss. For one, he’s without his all-world starting goalie. Jonathan Quick has played just four games this season, losing all four. Those struggles can likely be attributed to a torn meniscus.
@AnaheimDucks Gibson/Miller and young Comtois have been excellent, but yielding 37.1 Shots per game.@LAKings still have Quick,Doughty,Kopitar, but team Goal Scoring remains a challenge.
Both teams could use some pieces.@NHL @NHLNetwork ??— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) October 25, 2018
Quick had surgery to fix the problem, but there’s no word on his return.
Desjardins also hasn’t had much success of his own at the NHL level. He spent three years in Vancouver, missing the playoffs in the last two. And that was with a much-more talented roster.
The Kings fired John Stevens because they're old and decrepit: https://t.co/wfl7HBFqtJ pic.twitter.com/JjQR9v962h
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) November 5, 2018
Don’t Bet on the LA Kings Returning to Stanley Cup Glory
In what has become a young man’s game, there’s another thing standing in Desjardin’s way.
LA Kings 2018-19 Player Statistics
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilya Kovalchuk, LW | 13 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 35 years |
| Drew Doughty, D | 13 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 28 years |
| Jeff Carter, C | 13 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 33 years |
| Alex Iafallo, LW | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 24 years |
| Tyler Toffoli, RW | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 26 years |
| Anze Kopitar, C | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 31 years |
| Dustin Brown, RW | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 34 years |
He has one of the oldest teams in the league. The LA Kings have the oldest forward group and the fourth-oldest collection of defensemen. Combine that with the loss of their starting goalie, and it’ll be a tough combination to overcome in the long run.
The LA Kings have the oldest forward group and the fourth-oldest collection of defensemen.
If you’re laying money in the Pacific Division, the Kings aren’t where you want to look.
The Sharks will sort it out, and it looks like a playoff year for the Oilers. But it may be a while before the Kings wear the crown again.
Bryan has spent the last decade working in the sports industry. From the sidelines in the OHL and Rugby League to behind the scenes at TSN, Bryan has a wealth of experience with a soft spot for props and parlays.
