Jeff Carter’s Indefinite Absence Creates Window for Promising Kings
- Updated: October 20, 2017
After leaving Wednesday’s game with a lower-body injury, it was announced the next day that Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter would be sidelined indefinitely. Kings GM Rob Blake made the announcement on Thursday as Carter will require surgery to repair a cut to his left leg. The injury came during the Kings’ Wednesday-night win against the Montreal Canadiens where he was checked into the boards by defenseman Jeff Petry. Despite the injury, Los Angeles won 5-1.
So, what will this mean to the Kings moving forward?
Obviously, no one knows for certain but had this been last season or the previous one, there might be more of a justifiable cause to panic. Not so much this season, though, with all due respect to the 32-year-old.
Last season, Carter led the Kings in goals and points with 32 and 66, respectively. Yet, while those numbers were impressive, it left some worried about Kings production from elsewhere. After all, Tanner Pearson was the only other King last season to reach the 20-goal plateau and, in addition to Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, were among the only four to register 40 points. Long story short, and while this is a slight exaggeration, it felt as though that those not named Carter just couldn’t get the job done offensively last season. But, this is a new season and a new philosophy — one that isn’t as heavily reliant on No. 77.
This season, the Kings are off to an auspicious start as their 5-0-1 record thus far is the best in franchise history to kick off a campaign. With a new coach (sort of) in John Stevens, it’s a new lease on life, if you will. So far, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown lead the way with four goals apiece — the two players involved in the team’s captaincy storyline in 2016.
While his 36 points were his highest total since 2011-12, there has been something nonetheless off about Dustin Brown‘s game. However, his fast start this season certainly wouldn’t indicate that. As for Kopitar, while his 52 points last season was respectable, it was the lowest point production of his career along with 12 goals — excluding the lockout-shortened 2013 season in both categories.
Additionally, Adrian Kempe is making his mark in the City of Angels as he is coming off his first-career hat-trick on Wednesday and Mike Cammalleri added to the mix with his first two goals of the season. And in goal, well, let’s just say that Jonathan Quick is looking like he took a time machine back to 2012.
There shouldn’t be much room, if any, for panic when it comes to Jeff Carter‘s absence. Does that mean he won’t be missed? Of course not. It does, however, mean that with a new page turned comes a new attitude and a refurbished sense of excitement when watching the Kings.
While defense and goaltending remain key, there has been more of a creative window thus far for the silver-and-black. From more fluid skating and more accurate passing to defenseman getting into the offensive rush, the Kings don’t look as if they need to rely on one player to hit the twine — and that’s something very refreshing to see after their not-so-pleasant post-2014 epilogue.
Now, while the Kings have exploded right out of the gate, let us not get too ahead of ourselves. After all, the new season is just over two weeks old while plenty of hockey left to be played. The Kings will have their struggles — just like the struggling teams will have their surges — but one thing is certain: that the Los Angeles Kings are putting the term “performance-by-committee” into more action, and it is producing results.
It’s stating the obvious that Kings fans are upset by the news of Jeff Carter injury, but this is a time for opportunity and also a time for camaraderie. With the aforementioned veterans Doughty, Kopitar, and Brown, the Kings will be counted to help create a healthy atmosphere with so much of the new talent from Alex Iafallo and Oscar Fantenberg to Justin Auger, who made his NHL debut on Wednesday. The Kings even signed veteran Brooks Laich to a one-year deal on Thursday and, while he may not put up the same offensive numbers as Carter, will add experience and key depth.
Jeff Carter will be missed, there are no two ways about it, but there are plenty of reasons to be confident that the new-look (sort of) Los Angeles Kings will continue to thrive despite the star forward’s absence. Don’t expect them to go undefeated but do look for the Kings to use Carter’s injury as a blessing in disguise, to add another dimension to their identity.
So far, so good. Let’s continue to say that.
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time
Related Posts
One Comment
About Ryan Cowley
Ed
October 20, 2017 at 5:07 pm
Let’s not get too crazy over Kempe. He’s looked a bit lost in the NHL. He’s young and will get bigger, stronger and smarter but the jury is still out. The Kings are very deep on D, we may see a deal for another center before the year is out.