Kings' Byfield Approaching the Throne

An almost 23 years old, Quinton Byfield is expected to take a massive step in his overall game. Byfield had an excellent season prior, collecting 55 points in his first full season in the NHL. After a misfortunate illness and injury, Byfield started to showcase his potential as a wing flanking longtime captain Anze Kopitar, as well as speedy sniper Adrian Kempe.

The trio performed exceptionally well at even strength, with a 54.49% CF and a 53.98% HDCF. It wasn't just the big two that caused this, as Kopitar and Kempe weren't as strong without the young center at the wing. Away from those two, Byfield posted a 58.03% CF and a staggering 68.18 HDCF%. Those numbers are likely due to lesser competition faced away from Kopitar and Kempe.

With these numbers, the hope is that Byfield can take over the void left by Pierre-Luc Dubois. Last year's major offseason acquisition largely played 3C, sometimes 2C minutes and was misled and misused in his only year with the LA Kings after signing the biggest contract of his career.

Dubois could never 'dominate' matchups as a depth center and was never the impact player he was brought in to be. Dubois was also never able to create chemistry with dynamic winger Kevin Fiala. The foreshadowing and potential union of Byfield and Fiala has already provoked intriguing thoughts.

The move for Dubois was another blunder that impacted the way Byfield should be used at center. The moves for 'ready now' talent at center have not pushed the needle towards a Stanley Cup; it, in fact, has not moved them past the first round.

The mirage of creating center depth has blocked Byfield more than one season.

As excellent as Danault has been, he's more or less blocked the pathway for Byfield to move up the center roster depth chart. Danault's above-expected play has essentially blocked Byfield as the near future 2C in LA. He's essentially lived up to his contract value, for now, as he's put up 62 goals, 90 assists, and 152 points in 239 games while suiting up in LA.

No one would have expected the 27 goals in his first year or the 20 power-play points he posted in season two. Danault has just been too good of an insurance policy for Byfield as he inches closer to a full-time center role, but also not good enough for this Kings team to move over the hump of the first round, 'aka' the Edmonton Oilers.

The number one role, however, may have a much wider opening for Byfield to potentially take over sooner rather than later. Danault is locked in until 2026-27, but Kopitar is likely in the final two seasons of his career.

It is a monumental task to supplant and take over an NHL number one center slot. The spot becomes even harder to take over when a future Hall of Famer in Kopitar has been holding it down for almost two decades. This is specifically what he was drafted for. He won't be taking over this season or even perhaps the next.

A productive season as the 2C/3C with Danault in flux would be a massive step for Byfield and the fate of the franchise. The numbers reflect that Byfield thrives off of lesser competition, and with Kopitar still beating Father Time for the last few seasons, it is still very likely that he faces the top competition yet again.

As Byfield mentioned in his end-of-season availability, the desire for more is there, "I feel like I've always taken strides each year, so next year I definitely want to take even more of a step, elevate my game, be a factor each night. It's a long season, but most nights I want to be a guy that you can count on for defensive plays and offense," Being that X factor and potential 1C will be dictated by the trials and tribulations of the two seasons to come.

The clock is ticking on Kopitar and Danault as a stopgap 2C that should not be relied on to play 1C if Kopitar retires in two seasons and Byfield is not ready for the throne.