The Kings have signed defensemen Scott Perunovich and Erik Gustafsson to one-year contracts. More moves are expected to be made as these two signings aren’t good enough to improve the defense.
Last season, the Kings had a top 10 defense with 2.9 goals allowed per game. The success on defense was in large part due to the two-way forwards and the first two defensive lines.
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The success on defense was in large part due to the two-way forwards and the first two defensive lines. The depth was not up to the defensive standards that the Kings needed to be a complete defense.
Los Angeles saw struggles from Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin on the third line in 2026. A big flaw of both of these players is that they brought very little physicality.
Ceci dished out 37 hits and had 166 hits taken, while Dumooulin had 36 hits and 137 hits taken. Both players received 100 more hits than they gave, which is a major problem for defensemen.
Physicality is required for depth defensemen, so that they bring energy and keep the opponent’s offense in check. The Kings lacked that physical force last season and the new signings don’t necessarily fix that problem.
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Perunovich is only on a two-way contract as he likely won’t even spend a lot of time with the Kings. Even if Perunovich were on the Kings roster, the physicality would still be a major question for him.
From his brief stint with the St. Louis Blues, Perunovich had only 30 hits in 2024, a season-high for his career. Since then, Perunoich found himself out of the league last season. So it would be hard for Perunovich to come into the NHL and become the physical enforcer he never was.
On the other hand, Gustafsson was once a physical presence back in his days with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, time has past and Gustafsson struggled with the Detroit Red Wings back in 2025. He only dished out 28 hits and had 112 hits taken, which is part of the reason he was moved down to the AHL last season.
Neither Perunovich nor Gustafsson brought physicality in their last NHL stints, which is why both players spent 2026 in the AHL. The Kings will not fix their lack of physicality from either player, which is why another solution is required.
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If the Kings want to improve the depth of the defense, Los Angeles need to stay on the free agency market. The Kings need more physical defensemen on the third and fourth line, which was not solved by signing Perunovich and Gustafsson.
