2020–21 Los Angeles Kings season explained

The 2020–21 Los Angeles Kings season was the 54th season (53rd season of play) for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967.^[1] On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment, the Kings played this season in the West Division and only played games against the other teams in their new division during the regular season.

On May 7, 2021, the Kings were eliminated from playoff contention after a 3–2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche,^[2] failing to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

Standings

Divisional standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.^[3]

2020–21 game log
January: 3–3–2 (Home: 1–1–2 ; Road: 2–2–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 January 14 4–3 Los Angeles OT 0 0–0–1 1 [4] 2 January 16 Minnesota 4–3 Los Angeles OT Quick 0 0–0–2 2 [5] 3 January 19 3–2 Los Angeles 0 0–1–2 2 [6] 4 January 21 Colorado 2–4 Los Angeles Quick 0 1–1–2 4 [7] 5 January 23 Los Angeles 2–4 Petersen 0 1–2–2 4 [8] 6 January 24 Los Angeles 6–3 St. Louis Quick 0 2–2–2 6 [9] 7 January 26 Los Angeles 2–1 Minnesota Petersen 0 3–2–2 8 [10] 8 January 28 Los Angeles 3–5 Minnesota Quick 0 3–3–2 8 [11]
February: 6–4–2 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 4–3–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 9 February 2 3–1 Los Angeles 0 3–4–2 8 [12] 10 February 5 Los Angeles 2–5 0 3–5–2 8 [13] 11 February 7 Los Angeles 3–4 Vegas Petersen 0 3–6–2 8 [14] 12 February 9 4–3 Los Angeles SO Petersen 0 3–6–3 9 [15] 13 February 11 San Jose 2–6 Los Angeles Petersen 0 4–6–3 11 [16] — February 13 – Los Angeles Postponed due to COVID-19.[17] Rescheduled for April 23.[18] 14 February 16 Minnesota 0–4 Los Angeles Quick 0 5–6–3 13 [19] 15 February 18 Los Angeles 3–2 SO Quick 2,281 6–6–3 15 [20] 16 February 20 Los Angeles 4–2 Arizona Petersen 3,187 7–6–3 17 [21] 17 February 22 Los Angeles 3–0 Quick — 8–6–3 19 [22] 18 February 24 Los Angeles 2–1 St. Louis Petersen — 9–6–3 21 [23] 19 February 26 Los Angeles 1–3 Minnesota Quick 0 9–7–3 21 [24] 20 February 27 Los Angeles 3–4 Minnesota OT Petersen 0 9–7–4 22 [25]
March: 5–7–2 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–5–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 21 March 3 3–2 Los Angeles 0 9–8–4 22 [26] 22 March 5 3–2 Los Angeles OT 0 9–8–5 23 [27] 23 March 6 St. Louis 3–4 Los Angeles OT Quick 0 10–8–5 25 [28] 24 March 8 Los Angeles 5–6 OT Petersen 0 10–8–6 26 [29] 25 March 10 Los Angeles 5–1 Anaheim 0 11–8–6 28 [30] 26 March 12 Los Angeles 0–2 Petersen 0 11–9–6 28 [31] 27 March 14 Los Angeles 1–4 Colorado Petersen 0 11–10–6 28 [32] — March 15 St. Louis – Los Angeles Postponed due to the March 2021 North American blizzard.[33] Rescheduled for May 10.[34] 28 March 17 St. Louis 1–4 Los Angeles Petersen 0 12–10–6 30 [35] 29 March 19 4–2 Los Angeles Quick 0 12–11–6 30 [36] 30 March 21 Vegas 1–3 Los Angeles Petersen 0 13–11–6 32 [37] 31 March 22 Los Angeles 1–2 Quick 0 13–12–6 32 [38] 32 March 24 Los Angeles 2–4 San Jose Petersen 0 13–13–6 32 [39] 33 March 29 Los Angeles 1–4 Vegas Quick 3,950 13–14–6 32 [40] 34 March 31 Los Angeles 4–2 Vegas Petersen 3,950 14–14–6 34 [41]
April: 5–9–0 (Home: 3–8–0 ; Road: 2–1–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 35 April 2 3–0 Los Angeles 0 14–15–6 34 [42] 36 April 3 San Jose 3–2 Los Angeles 0 14–16–6 34 [43] 37 April 5 5–2 Los Angeles Petersen 0 14–17–6 34 [44] 38 April 7 Arizona 3–4 Los Angeles Quick 0 15–17–6 36 [45] 39 April 9 Los Angeles 2–5 San Jose Petersen 0 15–18–6 36 [46] 40 April 10 Los Angeles 4–2 San Jose Quick 0 16–18–6 38 [47] 41 April 12 4–2 Los Angeles Petersen 0 16–19–6 38 [48] 42 April 14 Vegas 6–2 Los Angeles Quick 0 16–20–6 38 [49] — April 16 Los Angeles – Postponed due to COVID-19.[50] Rescheduled for May 12.[51] — April 18 Los Angeles – Colorado Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 13. 43 April 20 1–4 Los Angeles Petersen 1,431 17–20–6 40 [52] 44 April 23 4–2 Los Angeles Petersen 1,091 17–21–6 40 [53] 45 April 24 Arizona 4–0 Los Angeles Petersen 1,497 17–22–6 40 [54] 46 April 26 Anaheim 1–4 Los Angeles Quick 1,373 18–22–6 42 [55] 47 April 28 Anaheim 3–2 Los Angeles Petersen 1,763 18–23–6 42 [56] 48 April 30 Los Angeles 2–1 Anaheim Quick 1,717 19–23–6 44 [57]
May: 2–5–1 (Home: 0–2–1 ; Road: 2–3–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 49 May 1 Los Angeles 2–6 1,717 19–24–6 44 [58] 50 May 3 Los Angeles 3–2 4,983 20–24–6 46 [59] 51 May 5 Los Angeles 4–2 Arizona Petersen 6,964 21–24–6 48 [60] 52 May 7 3–2 Los Angeles Petersen 2,115 21–25–6 48 [61] 53 May 8 Colorado 3–2 Los Angeles Petersen 2,482 21–26–6 48 [62] 54 May 10 2–1 Los Angeles OT Petersen 2,154 21–26–7 49 [63] 55 May 12 Los Angeles 0–6 Colorado Petersen 4,042 21–27–7 49 [64] 56 May 13 Los Angeles 1–5 Colorado 4,045 21–28–7 49 [65]
Legend:

Transactions

The Kings have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Free agents

Note: This does not include players who have re-signed with their previous team as an unrestricted free agent or as a restricted free agent.

Date	Player	New team	Previous team	Ref
October 9, 2020		Los Angeles Kings	Colorado Avalanche	[66]
October 9, 2020		Los Angeles Kings	Nashville Predators
October 10, 2020		Washington Capitals	Los Angeles Kings	[67]
October 12, 2020		Carolina Hurricanes	Los Angeles Kings	[68]
October 16, 2020		Carolina Hurricanes	Los Angeles Kings	[69]
January 13, 2021		Winnipeg Jets	Los Angeles Kings	[70]

Trades

• Retained Salary Transaction: Each team is allowed up to three contracts on their payroll where they have retained salary in a trade (i.e. the player no longer plays with Team A due to a trade to Team B, but Team A still retains some salary). Only up to 50% of a player's contract can be kept, and only up to 15% of a team's salary cap can be taken up by retained salary. A contract can only be involved in one of these trades twice.

Hover over-retained salary or conditional transactions for more information.

October

October 7, 2020	To Los Angeles Kings Lias Andersson	To New York Rangers VGK 2nd-round pick in 2020	[71]
October 7, 2020	To Los Angeles Kings EDM 2nd-round pick in 2020 (#45 overall)	To Detroit Red Wings VAN 2nd-round pick in 2020 (#51 overall) 4th-round pick in 2020 (#97 overall)	[72]
October 7, 2020	To Los Angeles Kings MTL 5th-round pick in 2020 (#140 overall)	To Carolina Hurricanes 6th-round pick in 2020 (#159 overall) 7th-round pick in 2021	[73]

March

March 27, 2021	To Los Angeles Kings Brendan Lemieux	To New York Rangers 4th-round pick in 2021	[74]
March 29, 2021	To Los Angeles Kings Christian Wolanin	To Ottawa Senators Michael Amadio	[75]

April

April 11, 2021

To Los Angeles Kings Conditional draft picks

To Pittsburgh Penguins Jeff Carter

[76]

Draft picks

See also: List of Los Angeles Kings draft picks. Below are the Los Angeles Kings' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held October 6–7, 2020 virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Round		Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	2	Quinton Byfield	C		Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
2	35	Helge Grans	D		Malmö Redhawks (SHL)
2	51	Brock Faber	D		U.S. NTDP (USHL)
3	66	Kasper Sinomtaival	RW	Finland	Tappara (Liiga)
3	83	Alex Laferriere	RW	United States	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
4	112	Joho Markkanen	G	Finland	Kettera (Mestis)
5	128	Matin Chrormiak	RW	Slovakia	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
7	190	Aatu Jamsen	RW	Finland	Lahti Pelicans U20 (Jr. A)

Notes and References

1. Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. 2013. Diamond Sports Data, Inc.. 69. 978-1-894801-26-3.
2. Web site: Rantantan scores 30th, Avalanche defeat kings without injured MacKinnon . NHL.com . May 8, 2021 . May 8, 2021.
3. Web site: 2020-21 NHL schedule announced . NHL.com . December 24, 2020 . December 23, 2020.
4. Web site: Minnesota Wild - Los Angeles Kings - January 14th, 2021. NHL.com.
5. Web site: Minnesota Wild - Los Angeles Kings - January 16th, 2021. NHL.com.
6. Web site: Colorado Avalanche - Los Angeles Kings - January 19th, 2021. NHL.com.
7. Web site: Colorado Avalanche - Los Angeles Kings - January 21st, 2021. NHL.com.
8. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - St. Louis Blues - January 23rd, 2021. NHL.com.
9. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - St. Louis Blues - January 24th, 2021. NHL.com.
10. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Minnesota Wild - January 26th, 2021. NHL.com.
11. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Minnesota Wild - January 28th, 2021. NHL.com.
12. Web site: Anaheim Ducks - Los Angeles Kings - February 2nd, 2021. NHL.com.
13. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Vegas Golden Knights - February 5th, 2021. NHL.com.
14. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Vegas Golden Knights - February 7th, 2021. NHL.com.
15. Web site: San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings - February 9th, 2021. NHL.com.
16. Web site: San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings - February 11th, 2021. NHL.com.
17. Web site: NHL postpones additional Devils, Sabres, Wild games due to COVID-19 . NHL.com . February 8, 2021 . February 8, 2021.
18. Web site: NHL announces updates to regular-season schedule . NHL.com . February 17, 2021 . February 16, 2021.
19. Web site: Minnesota Wild - Los Angeles Kings - February 16th, 2021. NHL.com.
20. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Arizona Coyotes - February 18th, 2021. NHL.com.
21. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Arizona Coyotes - February 20th, 2021. NHL.com.
22. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - St. Louis Blues - February 22nd, 2021. NHL.com.
23. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - St. Louis Blues - February 24th, 2021. NHL.com.
24. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Minnesota Wild - February 26th, 2021. NHL.com.
25. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Minnesota Wild - February 27th, 2021. NHL.com.
26. Web site: Arizona Coyotes - Los Angeles Kings - March 3rd, 2021. NHL.com.
27. Web site: St. Louis Blues - Los Angeles Kings - March 5th, 2021. NHL.com.
28. Web site: St. Louis Blues - Los Angeles Kings - March 6th, 2021. NHL.com.
29. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Anaheim Ducks - March 8th, 2021. NHL.com.
30. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Anaheim Ducks - March 10th, 2021. NHL.com.
31. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Colorado Avalanche - March 12th, 2021. NHL.com.
32. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Colorado Avalanche - March 14th, 2021. NHL.com.
33. Web site: Blues game at Kings postponed because of snowstorm. NHL.com. March 15, 2021. March 15, 2021.
34. Web site: NHL announces updates to 2020-21 regular-season schedule . NHL.com . March 28, 2021 . March 28, 2021.
35. Web site: St. Louis Blues - Los Angeles Kings - March 17th, 2021. NHL.com.
36. Web site: Vegas Golden Knights - Los Angeles Kings - March 19th, 2021. NHL.com.
37. Web site: Vegas Golden Knights - Los Angeles Kings - March 21st, 2021. NHL.com.
38. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks - March 22nd, 2021. NHL.com.
39. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks - March 24th, 2021. NHL.com.
40. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Vegas Golden Knights - March 29th, 2021. NHL.com.
41. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Vegas Golden Knights - March 31st, 2021. NHL.com.
42. Web site: San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings - April 2nd, 2021. NHL.com.
43. Web site: San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings - April 3rd, 2021. NHL.com.
44. Web site: Arizona Coyotes - Los Angeles Kings - April 5th, 2021. NHL.com.
45. Web site: Arizona Coyotes - Los Angeles Kings - April 7th, 2021. NHL.com.
46. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks - April 9th, 2021. NHL.com.
47. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks - April 10th, 2021. NHL.com.
48. Web site: Vegas Golden Knights - Los Angeles Kings - April 12th, 2021. NHL.com.
49. Web site: Vegas Golden Knights - Los Angeles Kings - April 14th, 2021. NHL.com.
50. Web site: Avalanche have three games postponed due to COVID-19 protocol . NHL.com . April 16, 2021 . April 16, 2021.
51. Web site: NHL extends West Division schedule to May 13 . NHL.com . April 21, 2021 . April 21, 2021.
52. Web site: Anaheim Ducks - Los Angeles Kings - April 20th, 2021. NHL.com.
53. Web site: Minnesota Wild - Los Angeles Kings - April 23rd, 2021. NHL.com.
54. Web site: Arizona Coyotes - Los Angeles Kings - April 24th, 2021. NHL.com.
55. Web site: Anaheim Ducks - Los Angeles Kings - April 26th, 2021. NHL.com.
56. Web site: Anaheim Ducks - Los Angeles Kings - April 28th, 2021. NHL.com.
57. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Anaheim Ducks - April 30th, 2021. NHL.com.
58. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Anaheim Ducks - May 1st, 2021. NHL.com.
59. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Arizona Coyotes - May 3rd, 2021. NHL.com.
60. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Arizona Coyotes - May 5th, 2021. NHL.com.
61. Web site: Colorado Avalanche - Los Angeles Kings - May 7th, 2021. NHL.com.
62. Web site: Colorado Avalanche - Los Angeles Kings - May 8th, 2021. NHL.com.
63. Web site: St. Louis Blues - Los Angeles Kings - May 10th, 2021. NHL.com.
64. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Colorado Avalanche - May 12th, 2021. NHL.com.
65. Web site: Los Angeles Kings - Colorado Avalanche - May 13th, 2021. NHL.com.
66. Web site: LA Kings Sign Defenseman Mark Alt and Goaltender Troy Grosenick . Los Angeles Kings . October 10, 2020.
67. Web site: Capitals Sign Defenseman Paul LaDue . Washington Capitals . October 10, 2020.
68. Web site: Canes Agree to Terms with Joakim Ryan . Carolina Hurricanes . October 12, 2020.
69. Web site: Canes Sign Bracco, Gust and Rempal to One-Year Deals . Carolina Hurricanes . October 16, 2020.
70. Web site: Jets sign Trevor Lewis to a one-year contract. January 13, 2021. March 24, 2022. Winnipeg Jets.
71. Web site: Andersson traded to Kings by Rangers for second-round pick . Rosen . Dan . nhl.com . October 7, 2020.
72. Web site: Red Wings trade pick 45 to the LA Kings for picks 51 and 97. . @JasonGregor . October 7, 2020.
73. Web site: The #Canes have made their first trade of the day. They send pick 140 to Los Angeles in exchange for pick 159 and the Kings' 7th-rounder in 2021. . @MSmithCanes . October 7, 2020.
74. Web site: Lemieux traded to Kings by Rangers for fourth-round pick in 2021 draft . nhl.com . March 27, 2021.
75. Web site: LA Kings Acquire Christian Wolanin in Exchange for Michael Amadio . nhl.com . March 29, 2021.
76. Web site: Penguins acquire Jeff Carter from Kings for conditional draft picks . nhl.com . April 11, 2021.