The King’s Gambit in Chess is: White sacrifices a pawn to get counterplay and an advantage in development. Black may or may not accept the pawn sacrifice, and this changes the character of the game.
Where is the sacrifice happening for the Los Angeles Kings? Where is the advantage of development towards the eventual succession?
The Kings have had a tremendous amount of longevity with the careers of Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar. They have both been the top positional players at both forward and defense. They have brought cups to the organization, a winning culture. They were the cornerstone pieces that stayed behind after years of shedding their former glory.
The seven-hole albatross game against the Sabres highlighted what can be regarded as one of the most critical aspects of a potential spiral. Doughty and Kopitar are still relied upon to provide top minutes against the fiercest competition.
These players had what could be seen as the worst possible games of their careers, highlighted by Kopitar's first-ever minus-six career game.
Doughty is 34 years old. Kopitar is 36 years old. They both continue to play night in and night out against the best the league offers. As exhausting as it is to see these two stalwart cornerstones go through this, knowing the franchise navigates these waters, failing to alleviate trending performances, is just as exhausting.
Phillip Danault was brought in to buckle down the second-line center spot to foster Quinton Byfield, the heir apparent to Kopitar, into a third-line role as he would work his way up the lineup. The plan didn't work out, and Byfield has had most of his success playing wing on the top line. Top-line minutes are excellent for Byfield's overall development, but he needs to take draws. He needs to match up against top-tier centerman to learn the opposition. If this wasn't already apparent, Danault is still holding down the 2C.
This isn't to say that Danault isn't the exact type of center the Kings need. He is excellent in all areas of the 200-foot realm of hockey. He does lack game-breaking ability, much as the rest of the roster. Danault is a Stanley Cup-winning 3C on any roster, but possibly not a 2C.
The Kings then added Pierre-Luc Dubois, a center who has played the 1C before and is still not at the prime of his career. His ceiling looks to be more of a productive 2C and would trend less as a low-end 1C. He was thrust into a bottom-six center role with less skilled pivots flanking him on the wings.
Within the center position, there's hope. There's a sizable movement toward the top center position being reigned in. Dubois and Byfield could eventually split 1C duties, with good ol' reliable Phil Danault taking tough matchups as their 3C acting with 2C duties.
On defense, the case for lowering Drew Doughty's minutes is far more precarious. The Kings have four defensemen in their top four, all defense-first-type players. Drew Doughty has had clutch goals this year but is no longer a free-wheeling, beat-you-at-the-top-of-the-point type of defenseman.
The most offensively inclined defenseman on the roster is Jordan Spence. He's averaging just under 15 minutes TOI a game and has 16 assists to his name, which is the entirety of his point total. The 22-year-old is yet to record a goal this season.
The most offensive potential rests in the hands of future cornerstone Brandt Clarke, who, with all respect to Spence, has a much higher ceiling in the NHL. The freshly turned 21-year-old AHL All-Star has been with the Kings for a couple of weeks now, sitting in the press box for most games.
Those are the two options. Matt Roy can play against top competition. Roy can't, however, play out of his skin by providing that .6+ ppg that top-level offensive defenders consistently hit year after year. There is a significant drop-off in players with offensive capability and veteran seasoning after Doughty on the blue line.
Jim Hiller is in a predicament because it would be unwise to play your next generation into these roles in a tooth-and-nail fight as they barely grip a wildcard. As expected, an NHL coach will go with their established talent down the stretch.
Should Kopitar be playing the minutes he's been playing? Absolutely not. Should Doughty remain among the top NHL leaders for TOI at this stage of his career? Absolutely not. Will they continue to be played top minutes to salvage this season? It looks to be the case.
Calamity looms unless the lineup is utilized better to take the load off of their aging franchise cornerstones.
A huge test is up for Hiller and company vs New Jersey. Stay tuned.