There is a big decision about who will be the Kings starting goaltender for the 2027 season. The choice should result in Los Angeles picking Anton Forsberg over Darcy Kuemper.
Last season, there was a discussion on who should be the starter between Forsberg and Kuemper for the playoffs. Eventually, the Kings rolled with Forsberg since he was playing better in the regular season.
Forsberg recorded a .910 save percentage and only allowed 2.57 goals per game. In comparison, Kuemper had a .891 save percentage and gave up 2.78 goals per game.
In the playoffs, Forsberg racked up a .909 save percentage and surrendered 2.7 goals per game. While Forsberg’s numbers took a dip, he was playing against the Colorado Avalanche, who were the highest scoring offense last season.
Even with the slight decline Forsberg had in the postseason, his playoff numbers were still better than Kuemper’s regular season. Therefore, it would make sense for the Kings to pick up the better goaltender and that was Forsberg.
On the contrary, it is possible that the Kings would want to start the year off with Kuemper. Despite the underwhelming 2026 season, Kuemper actually started the year off pretty strong.
Through the months of November and December, Kuemper had over .920 save percentage in both months. However, an upper body injury to Kuemper against the Dallas Stars on December 15th shifted the elite play.
Kuemper was ruled out the next two weeks and struggled with injuries for the rest of the season. After the injury in December, Kuemper never recorded a .900 save percentage for any month from January to April.
Although Kuemper should be ruled healthy to start the season, it still wouldn’t make sense to start him over Forsberg. Kuemper would be the best option when healthy towards the end of the season, not at the beginning.
Since Kuemper was putting in elite production when completely healthy, it makes more sense to have that type of performance for the playoffs. Then, the Kings could ride with the younger Forsberg and let him control the net in the regular season.
If there was a scenario where Forsberg is not playing well, then a rested Kuemper could take his place. So a decision about who starts the season isn’t the final choice for Los Angeles the rest of the way.
As of right now, Forsberg is the better goaltender for the Kings since he was the best option from last year. This gives Los Angeles the likely decision to ride with Forsberg at the beginning of the 2027 season.
