NHL: Minnesota Wild at Los Angeles Kings — 3 players Los Angeles Kings must let go of in 2024 offseason feat. Pierre-Luc Dubois

3 players Los Angeles Kings must let go of in 2024 offseason feat. Pierre-Luc Dubois

Modified May 02, 2024 15:18 GMT

The Los Angeles Kings qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third straight season but lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the opening round for the third year in a row.

Despite finishing as the third seed in the Pacific Division, the Kings fired coach Todd McLellan halfway through the campaign and gave the reigns to Jim Hiller.

Although president Luc Robitaille and general manager Rob Blake must prioritize reorganizing the coaching staff, some personnel changes are required to keep the roster contending in 2024-25.

Three players Los Angeles Kings must let go of in 2024 offseason

#3 Trevor Lewis

Trevor Lewis was a Kings' first-round draft pick in 2006. The 37-year-old won Stanley Cups with the franchise in 2012 and 2014, departing in 2014 to play in Winnipeg and Calgary.

As a free agent in 2023, the Kings reunited with Lewis, who played all 82 games and collected 16 points, with no points in the postseason.

Although it was sentimental that Los Angeles brought Lewis back to the organization, at the tail end of his career, Blake would be wise not to bring the bottom-six center back in 2024.

Instead, Blake should fill Lewis' role with a younger kid ready for their shot in the NHL or acquire another veteran player at a younger age to take draws and check opponents' top lines.

#2 Cam Talbot (G)

Cam Talbot may have been an All-Star in 2023-24, but at 36, he's not the long-term solution in goal for the Kings, who want to win the Stanley Cup before Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty retire.

Talbot immediately became the starter when Pheonix Copley missed the entire season with an injury. In a tale of two seasons, he was brilliant in stretches but didn't steal enough games to help the Kings become a better team in the standings.

Talbot was 14-13-5 before the All-Star Game and 13-7-1 after losing the crease to David Rittich in the playoffs. As a pending free agent with Copley on the mend, Los Angeles must not bring back Talbot and focus on finding an elite netminder, like Linus Ullmark, to build from the back end.

#1 Pierre-Luc Dubois (LW)

In 2023, Los Angeles and Winnipeg Jets gave the NHL a blockbuster trade, exchanging Pierre-Luc Dubois for Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round draft pick.

Even though the Jets finished with a better record, both teams bowed out of the Stabley Cup playoffs in five games, with neither Vilardi nor Dubois having an impact in their respective series.

However, Dubois was disappointing in his first season in Los Angeles, scoring a career-low 40 points in 82 games, including 16 goals and a minus-nine rating.

Considering that he's got seven years left on the contract that pays him $8.5 million annually, his 10.18% cap hit hamstrings the organization's ability to build itself into a contender with a second-line center who doesn't get the job done.

Although it has only been one season, Los Angeles got fleeced in this deal and must find a way to rectify it in 2024 by finding a trade partner for Dubois before the move costs someone other than a coach their job.