In their attempt to overcome the first round and advance in the competition, the Los Angeles Kings have made a series of strategic signings, highlighting the incorporation of former Hart Trophy winner, Corey Perry.
Perry signed a one-year contract worth $2.5 million. In addition, the Kings added Joel Armia (two years, $2.5 million AAV), defenseman Cody Ceci (two years, $4.5 million AAV), defenseman Brian Dumoulin ($4 million AAV) and goaltender Anton Forsberg (two years, $2.25 million).
After being eliminated in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers for the fourth consecutive postseason, changes occurred in the Kings’ management, with the departure of general manager Rob Blake.
Subsequently, they hired Ken Holland, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a builder after forging a dynasty with the Detroit Red Wings, leading them to win three Stanley Cups, five Western Conference titles, three Presidents’ Trophies, and 10 Central Division titles.
Holland was out for the 2024-25 season after his contract with the Oilers was not renewed. In Holland’s last season as general manager of the Oilers, the team reached the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games.
By hiring Holland, the Kings hoped he would strengthen the roster and help the franchise get past the first round for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
At the end of June, it was rumored that the Kings were linked to virtually every top-line unrestricted free agent forward, with the belief that they could still have the remaining cap space to re-sign UFA defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
Many of those forwards had already re-signed or were transferred elsewhere, and Gavrikov chose to sign with the New York Rangers.
This led Holland and his management staff to add en masse, signing Perry, who played most of his career with the Anaheim Ducks, and Armia to reinforce a group of bottom-line forwards with the intention that both could fit into a middle-line role.
Perry, who turned 40 in May, scored 19 goals and 30 points to help the Oilers reach a new Cup final, where they lost to the Panthers. Perry scored 10 goals and set a record for most postseason goals for a player in his season at 39 years old, a mark previously held by Jean Beliveau.
Armia gives the Kings another veteran who has reached double figures six times in his career, including last season, when he had 11 goals and 29 points for the Montreal Canadiens.
Ceci, who was also in Edmonton during Holland’s tenure, began last season with the San Jose Sharks before being traded to the Dallas Stars and helping them reach a third consecutive conference final. He finished with four goals and 24 points in 85 games, averaging 21:12 minutes of ice time.
Dumoulin, who won two titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, also started the year with the Ducks before being traded to the New Jersey Devils. He finished the season with three goals and 22 points in 80 games, while Forsberg won 11 games with a .901 save percentage as Linus Ullmark’s backup with the Ottawa Senators.
Ceci and Dumoulin join a group of six players that already included Mikey Anderson, the 2016 Norris Trophy winner, Drew Doughty, Brandt Clarke and Joel Edmundson, while Forsberg will work in tandem with Darcy Kuemper, who won the Stanley Cup in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche.
