The Kings will begin their first training camp under coach Jim Hiller Thursday at the Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo, with three practices.
Hiller became the Kings interim coach on Feb. 2 following the firing of Todd McLellan after a 3-8-6 stretch that dropped their record to 23-15-10. In the 34 regular-season games Hiller led the team, the Kings went 21-12-1, giving them the 10th best points percentage in the league during that span.
The Kings’ season ended with a four games to one loss to the Edmonton Oilers in a first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
The Kings dropped the interim from Hiller’s title May 22.
The Kings have divided the 68 players on their roster into three groups. Thursday’s practices will begin at 10 a.m. with Group A, followed at 10:50 a.m. with a scrimmage between players in Group A and Group B. The Group B practice will begin at 12:15 p.m. and Group C at 1 p.m.
The Kings will begin preseason play Monday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Hockey Club, which the NHL considers a new franchise, with players from the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes’ franchise is inactive, with a right to reactivate if owner Alex Meruelo has fully constructed a new, state-of-the-art facility appropriate for an NHL team within five years.
Due to ongoing renovations at Crypto.com Arena, the Kings will not play preseason games there. However, they will play two preseason games in Southern California, both against the Anaheim Ducks, Sept. 30 at the Toyota Center in Ontario, the home of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and Sept. 30 at Honda Center.
The Kings will open the regular season Oct. 10 at Buffalo and play their home opener Oct. 24 against the San Jose Sharks following a seven-game road trip.
The Kings’ offseason acquisitions include goaltender Darcy Kuemper, obtained from the Washington Capitals on June 19 in exchange for center Pierre-Luc Dubois. Kuemper had a 10-1-3 record and 2.10 goals against average in 19 games for the Kings in the 2017-18 season before a midseason trade to Arizona.