LA Kings Set 2026-27 Opening Night Roster.
The Los Angeles Kings have finalized their active roster for the start of the 2026-27 NHL season, carrying 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders.
Forwards
The Kings will open the season with Joel Armia, Quinton Byfield, Erik Haula, Samuel Helenius, Adrian Kempe, Alex Laferriere, Scott Laughton, Andre Lee, Trevor Moore, Artemi Panarin, Corey Perry, Alex Turcotte and Mats Zuccarello.
Defensemen
Los Angeles' blue line consists of Mikey Anderson, Cody Ceci, Brandt Clarke, Drew Doughty, Brian Dumoulin, Joel Edmundson and Erik Gustafsson.
Goaltenders
Anton Forsberg and Darcy Kuemper will handle the goaltending duties to begin the season.
As part of the roster moves, defenseman Kirill Kirsanov was loaned to the Ontario Reign, the Kings' AHL affiliate. Forward Kevin Fiala remains on injured reserve. The roster includes 19 players who appeared in at least one game for Los Angeles last season. Among them is veteran defenseman Drew Doughty, who is preparing for his 19th NHL season. Doughty enters the season with 1,279 career games played for the Kings. He is 17 games away from matching Dustin Brown's franchise mark of 1,296 games and 21 games from becoming the 22nd defenseman in NHL history to appear in 1,300 career games. Doughty has also won two Stanley Cups with Los Angeles and owns the franchise record for goals by a defenseman with 165. Adrian Kempe returns after leading the Kings in several major offensive categories last season. He finished with 36 goals, 37 assists and 73 points while also recording team highs in game-winning goals, shots on goal, overtime goals, shootout goals, multi-goal games and multi-point games. His seven-game road scoring streak from Oct. 11-28, 2025, was the longest of his career. Brandt Clarke also returns after producing career-best numbers across several categories during the 2025-26 season. The defenseman appeared in all 82 games and posted eight goals, 32 assists and 40 points. He also led Kings defensemen in goals, assists, points, power-play points and game-winning goals. Clarke signed a five-year contract extension with Los Angeles in June that runs through the 2030-31 season.
Artemi Panarin will enter his first full season with the Kings after joining the club in a February trade with the New York Rangers. Panarin made his Los Angeles debut against Vegas on Feb. 25 and recorded two assists. Over his first 26 games with the Kings through the end of the regular season, he totaled 27 points on nine goals and 18 assists, matching Kempe for the team's highest point total during that span. Los Angeles also added several experienced players during the offseason. Forwards Mats Zuccarello and Erik Haula, along with defenseman Erik Gustafsson, are entering their first seasons with the Kings. The three newcomers bring a combined 237 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience. The Kings will open the regular season Wednesday, Sept. 30, against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT. Los Angeles will then travel to face the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 3 before returning home for its Oct. 6 matchup against the Florida Panthers at Crypto.com Arena.