Kings bring back Kuemper in trade, sign free agents Foegele, Edmundson

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, which starts Oct. 4. Today, the Los Angeles Kings:

2023-24 season: 44-27-11, third in Pacific Division; lost in Western Conference First Round

Key arrivals

Darcy Kuemper, G: Kuemper is back for a second stint with the Kings after being acquired in a trade from the Washington Capitals on June 19 for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. The 34-year-old is set to split the workload in net with David Rittich after he set NHL career worsts in goals-against average (3.31) and save percentage (.890) in 33 games last season. … Warren Foegele, F: Foegele, who set NHL career highs in goals (20), assists (21) and points (41) in 82 games for the Edmonton Oilers last season, was brought in to bring tenacity in a middle-six role. The 28-year-old signed a three-year contract on July 1. … Joel Edmundson, D: The 31-year-old, who won a Stanley Cup championship with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, will be asked to balance out offensively minded youngsters Brandt Clarke or Jordan Spence on the third pair. Edmundson signed a four-year contract on July 1. … Tanner Jeannot, F: The 27-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 29 for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Jeannot had 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists) in 81 games in 2021-22, but he hasn’t topped 18 points in the past two seasons. … Kyle Burroughs, D: The 29-year-old was acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on June 27 for forward Carl Grundstrom. Burroughs likely slots in as the extra defenseman capable of handling a larger role in case of injury or performance issues.

Key departures

Pierre-Luc Dubois, C: Dubois had 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 82 regular-season games with the Kings last season but was playing on the fourth line in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 26-year-old was traded to the Capitals for Kuemper one year after the Kings acquired him from the Winnipeg Jets for forwards Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Los Angeles subsequently signed him to an eight-year, $68 million contract ($8.5 million average annual value). … Matt Roy, D: Roy led the Kings in short-handed time on ice per game (2:51) and had 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 81 games last season. The 29-year-old signed a six-year contract with the Capitals on July 1. … Viktor Arvidsson, F: The 31-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Oilers on July 1 after getting 123 points (52 goals, 71 assists) in 161 regular-season games over three seasons with the Kings. He was limited to 18 games last season because of a back and lower-body injury. … Cam Talbot, G: The 37-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings on July 1. He went 27-20-6 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 54 games during his one season with the Kings.

On the cusp

Brandt Clarke, D: The No. 8 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft has shown in small sample sizes that he is capable of driving offense, and he should challenge Spence for time running the second power-play unit. The 21-year-old had six points (two goals, four assists) in 16 games last season. … Alex Turcotte, C: The No. 5 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft had his development stunted because of multiple injuries, but Turcotte did have four points (one goal, three assists) in 20 games last season. The 23-year-old could get the chance to establish himself in the NHL in a bottom-six role. … Akil Thomas, F: He showed some offensive pop with four points (three goals, one assist) in seven games after making his NHL debut on April 1 against the Jets. The Kings will likely give the 24-year-old, a second-round pick (No. 51) in the 2018 NHL Draft, a chance to carry that production through over a full season as a wing in the bottom-six.

What they still need

After signing restricted free agent forward Quinton Byfield to a five-year, $31.25 million contract on Monday, the roster looks to be essentially set. Now it becomes a matter of how Jim Hiller, who was named head coach on May 22 after taking over on an interim basis on Feb. 2, integrates the new systems and personnel. The Kings are expected to move away from former coach Todd McLellan’s 1-3-1 alignment, a stodgy but secure system that helped them finish third in the League in goals allowed (210), so finding a balance between generating more offense without sacrificing too much on defense will be crucial. Byfield will also be one to watch in the new system. He could move back to center following Dubois' departure after playing mostly on the wing next to Kopitar last season, when he broke through with a career-high 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) in 80 games.

They said it

“I think the duo with [Kuemper] and David (Rittich) can help stabilize that position here for a few years, which continues our growth with (Erik) Portillo in the American (Hockey) League. We saw some good things out of him this year, but we also project two, three years down the road, and so I think that helps solve an issue here for us.” -- general manager Rob Blake

Fantasy focus

Kuemper has bounce-back potential joining the Kings, who had the fourth-best team save percentage (.909) in the NHL last season with Talbot and Rittich behind a skater group that had the League’s fourth-best shot attempts percentage (53.7). Kuemper showcased his high fantasy ceiling in 2021-22, when he had an NHL career-high 37 wins for the Colorado Avalanche and helped them win a Stanley Cup championship. That was one of Kuemper’s three career NHL seasons with five shutouts, making him worth targeting outside the top 150 overall in standard leagues. -- Pete Jensen

Projected lineup

Alex Laferriere -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore -- Phillip Danault -- Warren Foegele

Kevin Fiala -- Quinton Byfield -- Akil Thomas

Tanner Jeannot -- Alex Turcotte -- Trevor Lewis

Mikey Anderson -- Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov -- Jordan Spence

Joel Edmundson -- Brandt Clarke

Darcy Kuemper

David Rittich