The hiring of Peter Laviolette signals a pretty clear shift in direction for the Los Angeles Kings. Laviolette brings an aggressive, up-tempo style of coaching that demands his teams constantly play on their toes and dictate the pace.
Now that general manager Ken Holland has hired his new head coach, he will be tasked with finding some players who could fit Laviolette's system.
Shane Wright
First up, Shane Wright. There isn’t any prior connection here between player and coach, but Wright is still an interesting name for Los Angeles. The Seattle Kraken center has already had a tough start to his NHL career, but the potential is there. He’s 22; he thinks the game at a high level, and his skating is good enough to picture him in a quicker system.
The production dipped a bit last season, but in the right system, where he is used properly, that could change. For the Kings, Wright would be a good 2C option who plays behind Quinton Byfield, who could turn out to be a lethal one-two punch down the middle.
Michael Kesselring
Next up, Michael Kesselring would likely be viewed as a reclamation project. The Buffalo Sabres defenseman dealt with injuries this past season and never really got into a steady rhythm. But at just 26 years old, he has the potential to bounce back and return to his previous form.
For a Kings team trying to add pace and some size on the back end. An additional benefit for the Kings would be that his asking price likely wouldn't be overly high. Kesselring is a restricted free agent, so there is a good chance the trade that would bring him to LA would be a sign-and-trade.
The Kings already have a very solid roster, which makes the hiring of Laviolette intriguing. As they enter their post-Anze Kopitar era, things are going to be different. For Laviolette, he also gets to reunite with Artemi Panarin, who had a 120 points season under his former bench boss.
