The first step to our mock draft is to establish the list of players that will be available for the Las Vegas franchise to draft. To do this, we decided to have a blogger from each team represent their own franchise and select the players that will be protected from the Mock Expansion Draft available player pool. To see the rules which were followed to protect players, hit this link.

Next up, we have the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings are being represented by Jesse Cohen from All The Kings Men Podcast on LAKings.com.

Protected Players

Analysis from All The Kings Men Podcast:

Despite missing the playoffs in the 2014-2015 season, there is no reason to believe the Kings are anything other than perennial Stanley Cup contenders. With players like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty in or approaching their peak and a supporting cast made up of young, versatile and experienced role players it seems unreasonable to be overly concerned with sacrificing some of the present to protect an uncertain future.

Jonathan Quick will be and should be the Kings goalie until his legs fall off. Let the revolving door of backups continue.

The Kings defense isn’t as strong as it was in either of the Cup years but it’s younger and continuing to evolve. Jake Muzzin and the rest of the Kings young-ish defensive corps compliment the play of Drew Doughty who should have a banner in the rafters and a statue on Figueroa Street when his career is done. Matt Greene will remain as Alternate Captain, locker room cut up and veteran presence.

Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown embody everything the current incarnation of the Los Angeles Kings is built on and around. While both of their contracts moving forward present challenges to expose either of them is to risk losing a crucial piece of the winning identity Lombardi has tried so hard to perfect. Carter and Gaborik provide depth that most teams can’t come close to matching while Pearson and Toffoli represent the present and the future of the organization. Milan Lucic has proven an invaluable ability to step onto the team and contribute immediately. Dwight King and Trevor Lewis are some of the most versatile and hardest working of the Kings role players and have each come up huge in crucial moments while helping the team win the Stanley Cup twice.

When you have a team with as much recent success as the Los Angeles Kings every player up and down the roster represents a fond memory or a big goal. While most teams should be protecting players with an eye towards their future, the Kings should be focused on one thing and one thing only. Winning the Stanley Cup again.

The entire list of unprotected players that will be available for Team Lane and Team Pothier to select from can be found here.

To see more team explanations just like this one, check out The Sin Bin Mock Expansion Draft Landing Page.

Special thanks again to Jesse Cohen from All The Kings Men Podcast on LAKings.com. Be sure to follow @KingsMenPodcast on Twitter, and heck, throw us (@SinBinVegas) a follow too while you’re at it.