The final week of August can only mean one thing — LA Kings training camp is just a few weeks away. With nearly 30% roster turnover from last season, that also has left the potential for plenty of new jersey numbers.
As reported back in June, rookie forward Alex Turcotte will be getting his long-awaited switch from No. 38 to 15. That was his preferred number in college and with the Reign.
Should see a new contract extension announced this week and a new number come training camp in September. pic.twitter.com/VrqRWqtN9D
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) June 11, 2024
Joining Turcotte in the AHL-to-NHL roster graduation process this season will be Sammy Fagemo, and he too will have a new number in Los Angeles. Fagemo has worn No. 11 with the Ontario Reign for the past four seasons and throughout most of his career in Europe prior to the Kings selecting him 50th overall at the 2019 NHL Draft. With Anze Kopitar in line to be the final player who will ever wear No. 11 in franchise history, Fagemo needed to find something new to go with. From what we’re hearing, he’s planning on wearing No. 19 this season; it’s the same number his father, Linus, wore while playing back home in Sweden.
We also previously noted that forward Alex Laferriere plans on moving to No. 14 for the 2024-25 season.
A little back story there — and this will be a common theme throughout the article — is that Laferriere wore No. 18 at Harvard, something not available in Los Angeles because it hangs in the rafters honoring longtime captain Dave Taylor. Prior to his college days, while in the USHL, Laferriere wore No. 14 for the Des Moines Buccaneers. Hence the move to 14.
There’s a trickle-down effect on things, as well. With Laferriere taking No. 14, that also now blocks incoming rookie Akil Thomas from taking that number (which he had been wearing in AHL Ontario the past few seasons). Thomas’ junior number was 44 with OHL Niagra, and that’s currently being worn by Mikey Anderson in LA. What’s next then? Thomas could simply keep the No. 41 he made his NHL debut in last season, that is the invert of his usual No. 14. Not so fast, though. From what we hear, Thomas has something else in the works. Yet, we may have to wait until a little closer to training camp to reveal exactly what’s cooking.
For those who like speculation, we don’t see Thomas working out a deal with Anderson for 44. During his days at Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and in the USHL prior to that, Anderson wore No. 24. With Phil Danault having ownership of that in LA, there likely wouldn’t be much incentive for Anderson to give up his number to Thomas.
So, what could Thomas be working on? How about a switch to No. 88? It’s double his 44 and was last worn by Jarome Iginla.
How about a Willie O’Ree tie-in? He wore No. 25 in Boston at one point. It’s a number currently available with the Kings and honoring a man of such esteemed stature feels like a very Thomas-like thing to do.
We’ll have to wait and see.
Update: Thomas will wear No. 26 this season.
For now, back to the other news items…
From what we’re hearing, goalie David Rittich is opting to hold firm. He had worn No. 33 exclusively throughout his NHL career. However, that wasn’t available when he arrived in Los Angeles, so he went with No. 31. Even with Viktor Arvidsson now gone, Rittich won’t be sliding into No. 33.
Fret not; several other Kings players will take to the ice with new numbers!
On Day 2 of the NHL Draft in June, Kings GM Rob Blake swung a deal with the Lightning to acquire forward Tanner Jeannot. He wore No. 84 during his time with Tampa Bay and Nashville before that. Obviously, that number is already spoken for by defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. So, now what? He’ll go with No. 10, just like he wore when playing junior hockey for the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.
Another trade a few days earlier saw the Kings acquire defenseman Kyle Burroughs from the Sharks. While he is more likely a tweener for LA this year, meaning he’ll split time between the NHL and AHL, his number situation has plenty of context. After breaking into the NHL wearing No. 88 with the Avalanche in 2021, he later ended up with No. 44 in Vancouver, which became just No. 4 in San Jose — the same number he wore as captain of the WHL’s Regina Pats. Cleary, the latter isn’t available in Los Angeles, though — so he’s moving to No. 7 this season. Why? Good question, and we’ll need to get that answered once camp opens.
Two other newcomers were added to the Kings roster plans via free agency in early July and their jersey number selections have rather straight forward narratives.
Forward Warren Foegele is up first, and he’ll be wearing No. 37 in LA.
He’s a rare player who actually played college hockey and OHL junior hockey. During those early days, Foegele was wearing No. 3 — not a very typical number for a forward. That became No. 37 when he made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes in 2018. Although he eventually switched to No. 13 in Carolina, that was taken by Jesse Puljujarvi when he landed in Edmonton. So, he turned back to 37 for the past three seasons. It’s available in LA right now, and Foegele’s taking it.
Historically speaking, No. 37 has only been worn by 12 players over the entirety of the Kings 50+ years as an NHL franchise.
Bob Kudelski was the first, back in 1989. Patrice Tardif wore it briefly in 1996, after coming over from St. Louis in the Wayne Gretzky trade. Kip Brennan is likely one of the more infamous players to wear it in LA, that was from 2002-2004. After that largely came a series of players that only the most diehard Kings fans likely remember, including: Denis Grebeshkov, Gabe Gauthier, Jean-Sébastien Aubin, and Jeff Zatkoff.
The other UFA signing this summer was defenseman Joel Edmundson. Long coveted by the Kings, the 6-foot-5 rearguard will happily be returning to No. 6 when he puts on his first Kings jersey next month. That’s the number he’s worn throughout the majority of his career, including in St. Louis (where he debuted and eventually won a Stanley Cup), Carolina, and Washington. Last season, he could not wear No. 6 with Toronto because that number was previously retired by the Maple Leafs to honor Ace Bailey.
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Answering Five LA Kings Roster Questions, plus Updated Salary Cap Outlook
Jeannot photo by Marc Smith
Foegele photo by Phil Ellsworth
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Dang!
You had my hopes up when you said Akil Thomas might go with #88.
A cool number, and consideerd very lucky in Chinese culture.
But to settle for #26?
Dullsville.