Daryl, from a player's perspective, which you've spent time on that side of it, would you rather have the time in between to marinate but also fix perhaps what ails you, or would you rather just be back at it consistently?

I thought, you know, when I looked at the schedule initially, I thought that it was going to be favorable for the Kings because they had a new coaching staff, they were going to implement some new systems, and they had some new players coming in.

So I thought the extra playing time, I mean practice time, would benefit the Kings.

But I also thought that it was going to be a difficult schedule.

When I looked at the schedule, you've got Colorado.

San Jose is not an easy building to go win in.

You've got Vegas, you've got Edmonton, and you've got Florida.

Who do you think is going to be more important on this road trip as far as bringing this team together? Do you think it's going to be this new coach, Peter Laviolette, or Drew Dowdy, perhaps, 19th season wearing that captaincy? Because I feel like there's going to be a moment on this road trip where this team's going to realize this is who we are.

But what's the expectations? Have you seen anything different in Byfield now that he kind of knows he's the number one guy at center

anyway? I think he definitely comes to camp feeling good about himself.

And I think, you know, last night that was a little bit of an example taking on a little bit of a leadership role.

We don't expect to see Byfield doing that.

You know, he can't afford to be sitting in the box for 17 minutes in a game.

And, you know, I don't expect him to be doing that all the time.

But I think it was a good message that, you know, again, you've got a new coaching staff, you're auditioning, and you want to show everybody how you're bought in.

Drew? Do you think anything is going to change? How will the culture possibly change with Drew as the main leader over Kopitar?

But what's the expectations? Have you seen anything different in Byfield now that he kind of knows he's the number one guy at center

anyway? I think he definitely comes to camp feeling good about himself.

and I think last night that was a little bit of an example, taking on a little bit of a leadership role.

We don't expect to see Byfield doing that.

He can't afford to be sitting in the box for 17 minutes in a game, and I don't expect him to be doing that all the time, but I think it was a good message that, again, you've got a new coaching staff, you're auditioning, and you want to show everybody how you're bought in.

You want to take on a leadership role, and that was a good step by him.

No harm, no foul.

Do you think anything is going to change? How will the culture possibly change with Drew as the main leader over Kopitar?

Okay, Daryl?

Yeah, you know, I think last year was a very disappointing season for Cody, and he'll be the first to admit it, so, uh, he definitely underachieved.

I expect him to rebound and bounce back with a real solid year this year.

Is he gonna go out and score 50 points? No, that's not Cody Ceci, but I expect him to be a lot more, uh, noticeable in the lineup, a lot more dependable, reliable.

I think the coaching staff will get more out of him, uh, than, uh, than what, uh, he, uh, produced last year, uh, both offensively and defensively.

So, uh, saying that, I'm probably gonna g- you know, g- give him a, uh, you know, a C- type of thing.

Um, I don't think that, uh, you know, he, he, uh ...

Uh, what about you, Daryl?

Daryl, who do you see, like, as his wingers to start the season in LA if you had to guess?

Well, I think, you know, y- y- you nailed it when you say with Kopitar leaving, uh, it's definitely a new chapter in the Kings', uh, in the Kings' book.

Uh, without Kopitar being the captain, without being here for the last 20 years where he's led the team pretty much in every category, uh, a lot of players have to step up.

You know, when you look at the teams that won the Cup, there's only one guy remaining, that being Drew Doughty, and, uh, he's on the last year of his contract, so an opportunity.

I think the timing of bringing in a new coach was really good.

I thought DJ Smith did a great job last year getting the team into the playoffs, but I think with the changes that are going around, I think, uh, bringing in a new coach, uh, i- is a good time for it, and it's a time for a guy like Byfield who, you know, may have been in the, in the shadows of Kopitar over the last few years.

Hopefully, he's been learning, and now with the opportunity that he's gonna get, he's gonna be the first go-to guy, the first option for, you know, Peter Laviolette.

What do you make of that?

Daryl, who do you see, like, as his wingers to start the season in LA, if you had to guess?

Well, I think, you know, y- y- you nailed it when you say with Kopitar leaving, there's definitely a new chapter in the Kings', uh, in the Kings' book.

Uh, without Kopitar being the captain, without being here for the last 20 years, where he's led the team pretty much in every category, uh, a lot of players have to step up.

You know, when you look at the teams that won the Cup, there's only one guy remaining, that being Drew Doughty, and, uh, he's on the last year of his contract, so an opportunity.

I think the timing of bringing in a new coach was really good.

I thought DJ Smith did a great job last year getting the team into the playoffs.

But I think with the changes that are going around, I think, uh, bringing in a new coach, uh, i- is a good time for it.

What do you make of that?

Mm-hmm.

Uh, you know, the Kings, you might say, a lot of people say they're a little bit on the older side.

Well, they bring in a couple of veteran guys that fill, fit in with this mix.

Scott Lawton, they're very familiar with what he brings to the table, and I think for the audition that he had last year at the end of the year, that's what encouraged the Kings to pursue him and bring him back after they explored other options in the off-season.

Um, you know, whether it be through trade or things like that, there just wasn't a lot out there, and, uh, I think you have to applaud the Kings for putting the per- personnel in the holes that they had empty, and to be able to put together a roster that they did while still maintaining a lot of flexibility.

Lawton brings the leadership.

He conducts himself as a true professional.

Any continuity's gotta be helpful, right?

Daryl?

There seems to be a common theme between these two stories and mine, I think, actually, that we can probably explore afterward, which is that it's building in the background without your knowledge.

And why is there kind of like this lack of self-awareness or this inability to see what's going on underneath the surface until the point that it kind of the dam starts to break? For me, I don't think there was a particular moment.

It was it was actually I always talk about physiotherapy.

One of the reasons I love my work isn't just because of the people that I get to help.

It's because physiotherapy kind of saved saved me in a way came from quite a toxic childhood into an even more toxic environment in the military.

And after leaving the military, I started to realize that all my coping strategies from kind of abuse as a child that were helpful in the military were not helpful outside.

active service coming from Afghanistan don't have the benefit of that and they could be really quite traumatised by that and they get the help that they might need

But Brian Dumoulin, a lot more versatile than I anticipated.

Yeah, I think, you know, getting around the ice, the ability to be able to play the left and the right side, you know, he can kill penalties with the length that he has.

He can hold the line, deflect things to the outside, again, utilizing his experience.

And I think, you know, it was a tough pairing, especially at the beginning with both he and CC.

You know, I know there were times that they were looking at that, you know, they might not start, you know, start together.

It might be Dumoulin along with Clark or something like that.

And, you know, that just never came about.

Um, how did you feel about Drew Doughty's season?

Is Drew Doughty gonna be the captain next season, do you think? And do you think Brant Clark is ready to be the number one defenseman?

Well, I mean, with regards to the captaincy, uh, you know, that's something up to, you know, management, uh, also coaching staff, you know, when they put the coaching staff together.

Um, you know, you're also in a situation that, you know, of course, if, if any, if anybody in the situation that the Kings after you, you know, you, you have a guy like Kopitar who's wearing your, worn your, uh, C for the last number of years.

If there's a guy in stage of his career and on a team, Drew Doughty would be that guy to be able to do that.

Um, I would not be surprised if the Kings elected to not name a captain right at the beginning of the year as well, um, because those are tough skates to be able to fill.

Uh, you know, both on the ice and off the ice, he, uh, was such a phenomenal leader.

I think they have a number of guys that, uh, including Drew, uh, you know, throw Mikey Anderson's name in the hat.

Um, do you have any thoughts on the type of coach that would fit best for the Kings? Is there maybe something that the Kings are lacking that, um, a, a coach would need to address taking over this team?