The Los Angeles Kings suffered the same exact fate in 2025 as they did in the three seasons prior. Los Angeles performed well in the regular season, and made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, they were eliminated once again by the Edmonton Oilers. Entering NHL Free Agency, avoiding another first-round exit was the top priority.
The Kings, to some extent, turned to the Oilers to solve their issues. Los Angeles hired former Edmonton general manager Ken Holland as their new front office decision maker. And Holland was motivated to get to work once the market opened on July 1.
The Kings were one of the most active teams in NHL Free Agency this year. They signed the likes of Corey Perry, Cody Ceci, and Brian Dumoulin on the open market. Some of these signings were not met with any sort of praise. However, they make the Kings a much deeper team than they were.
In saying this, there is one Los Angeles signing that stands out more than the rest. This player will never grab headlines for his play on the ice. And yet, he may be one of the more important signings this team made. Heavy.com is naming former Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia as the team’s best signing in NHL Free Agency.
Joel Armia is an Elite Penalty Killer
Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesJoel Armia could be one of the best under-the-radar signings for the Los Angeles Kings.
Armia was an in-demand player once the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline came around. One major reason for the heightened interest is his penalty killing skill. The new Kings forward has played at least 185 minutes on the penalty kill in each of the last two seasons. He ranks in the top-10 in the NHL for shorthanded time on ice among forwards, according to MoneyPuck.
Armia’s ability to kill penalties is among the best in the league. However, he can also strike at the other end of the ice. He has 17 shorthanded goals in his career, with five of them coming in the last two seasons. No matter where he is on the penalty kill, Armia is making an impact.
The Kings had one of the league’s best penalty killing units in the NHL last season. Armia was not a necessity. However, he strengthens an already strong area of the ice. And his game is tailor made to help Los Angeles once the Stanley Cup Playoffs come around.
Kings Happy to Add Depth Among Forwards
Los Angeles wanted to make itself deeper at all levels of the ice. This especially rang true when it came to its forwards. They needed more bodies who could contribute, and Holland believes his signings put the Kings in a good position when it comes to depth.
“You’re going to need more than 13 forwards and six defensemen over 82 games, so we feel like we’ve got 14, 15 forwards……the goal heading into this period of time, this free agency, was to try to make the team deeper, a little bit bigger, a little bit better, but it was a really good team last year and you try to build on that, and we believe we’ve done that,” the Kings general manager said, via team reporter Zach Dooley.
Los Angeles has its sights set on going on a deep postseason run in 2026. After NHL Free Agency, they like their chances of achieving their goals. Armia and the other signings will make their Kings debuts on October 7th against the Colorado Avalanche.
Former 1st-Round Pick Named Kings’ Best Free Agent Signing