And that won’t be the only difference from last season because Laviolette, the winningest American-born coach in NHL history, has inherited an aging team in transition, one he and his new staff have immediately tried to put their stamp on.
“The coaching changes brought a lot of excitement,” goaltender Darcy Kuemper said. “It’s new drills, new systems, so it kind of makes everyone turn on their brain and challenge themselves, which is fun for guys at this level.”
Not all of the changes are positive, however.
Kings coach Peter Laviolette stands in the team’s locker room at their practice facility in El Segundo in June.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
For the first time in 20 years, the Kings are starting a season without Anze Kopitar, the franchise leader in games, assists and points and a two-time Stanley Cup champion. That has left a big hole on the ice and in the locker room, where Kopitar’s leadership was invaluable.
Also gone are wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jeff Malott, who left as free agents, and center Trevor Lewis, who retired. High-scoring winger Kevin Fiala, meanwhile, will miss the first couple of months, at least, after experiencing a setback in his return from a gruesome leg injury sustained at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
That could hurt Laviolette’s effort to transform the Kings from the defense-first system they’ve been for years into a quicker, more aggressive offensive-style team. The Kings, whose scoring has declined in each of the last four seasons, had just 225 goals in 2025-26, fourth-fewest in the NHL, while the power play converted fewer than 18% of its chances, fifth-lowest in the league.
Two of the key pieces in turning that around will be forwards Adrian Kempe, who led the team in scoring the last three seasons, and Artemi Panarin, who had his best offensive season under Laviolette with the New York Rangers, scoring 49 goals and 120 points in 2023-24. The Kings are also counting on young forwards Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere, both 24, to take the next step in their development.
For Laferriere, change has been the main constant in his time in Los Angeles.
Kings right wing Alex Laferriere shoots in front of Philadelphia right wing Travis Konecny on March 19.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
“This is going to be my fourth year with my fourth different coach,” said Laferriere, who had career highs in goals (21), points (44) and average TOI (18:18) last season. “It kind of reminds me a little bit of my rookie year. It kind of gives me that fresh slate, just trying to prove myself and try to gain the coach’s belief.”
In the dressing room, the Kings have given Kopitar’s crown to defenseman Drew Doughty, who will take over as captain in his 19th NHL season. At 36, he’s the third-oldest player on one of the NHL’s oldest teams and the last holdover from the 2014 Stanley Cup team.
“I’m not changing anything about myself when it comes to leadership,” he said. “I’ve been a leader on this team for a long, long time and been the loudest voice in the locker room and the guy that people come up to.
“One thing I will change: I always had Kopi as kind of the even-keel guy, where my emotions kind of go up and down. I’m going to be more aware of that and try to keep more of an even-keel.”
Whether a new coach, a new system and a new leader will be enough to get the Kings to the playoffs for a sixth straight season remains to be seen.
Laviolette, a Stanley Cup winner with Carolina two decades ago, has missed the postseason just three times when he’s been behind the bench the whole season. But the makeover he faces with the Kings is shaping up as one of the most challenging of his career, and most of the preseason prognostications have the Kings failing to make the cut.
If Fiala comes back early and healthy and if the team adapts quickly to the change in style, those predictions may prove overly dire. If not, the transition to the Laviolette Era could be more difficult than expected.
When the 52nd season premieres on Saturday at the usual time, usual place, “Saturday Night Live,” with host Jalen Brunson (of the champion Knicks) and musical guests Katseye, will again make history as the longest-running sketch comedy and variety show on television.
But week to week — multiplatform 50th-anniversary celebrations aside — the entertainment institution that is “SNL” does not dwell much on its history, focusing instead on trying to earn laughs sketch by sketch, moment by moment. Even when alumni like Tina Fey or Will Ferrell show up, it’s usually in the service of something topical, like a political cold open for a very recent event or happening. “SNL” lives in the now, and that can be a blessing and a curse, like when you feel like you’ve seen the same cold open lampooning President Trump 15 times already. James Austin Johnson is a brilliant impressionist, but read the room, guys.
“SNL” is the rare show for which quality is beside the point. As creator Lorne Michaels has said to cast members like Tina Fey, “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.”
That focus on effort over polish has, surprisingly, helped it survive. For every online hater who tediously comments that “SNL” hasn’t been good since the Dana Carvey era or earlier, there are enough of us stalwarts who will every week obsess about the future of “Weekend Update,” rate the monologue (sometimes harshly) and wait breathlessly at the start of every new sketch, hoping we’re about to watch an all-timer.
For those in that camp — who never give up hope that a great sketch is just a commercial break away — here’s what you can expect from the new season.
The first four episodes
Season 52 will kick off with Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson as the first guest host.
(Rosalind O’Connor / NBC)
New “SNL” episodes usually arrive in batches of three and then the show takes a break for a few weeks. For Season 52, not only was the first trio of hosts and musical guests announced but also the lineup for a Halloween episode.
In addition to Brunson, who might bring along famous friends like Mariska Hargitay or Taylor Swift, actor Dakota Johnson will host, with rock group Turnstile as the musical guest on Oct. 3. On Oct. 10, “SNL” will roll the dice a third time with comedian Shane Gillis, who did not fare too well the last twotimes he hosted. He’ll be joined by musical guest Rosalía.
The Halloween episode will be hosted by newly minted horror queen Inde Navarrette from the hit film “Obsession,” joined by musical guest Gracie Abrams.
Cast changes and new faces
Over the summer, cast member Chloe Fineman — who had a knack for impressions of celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Melania Trump — departed the show after seven seasons. It won’t be long before we see her onscreen again: She’s been cast in Netflix’s upcoming Harlan Coben adaptation, “Myron Bolitar.” Also departing was writer Martin Herlihy, the second member of the Please Don’t Destroy video trio to exit, leaving only Ben Marshall, who’s listed as a featured player. Last season, Herlihy did a few self-hosted video segments that tended to run late in the show.
Bowen Yang departed midway through Season 51, while Chloe Fineman announced her departure in July.(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)(Michael Loccisano / Getty Images)
Bowen Yang extended his run on “SNL” as his star was quickly rising in projects like “Wicked” and the “Las Culturistas Culture Awards,” but left midway through Season 51. Unlike previous transitions between seasons, no one was cut from the show, and those who left stepped away on their own.
Saidah Belo-Osagie, left, and Grace Reiter are the newest “Saturday Night Live” cast members.(Mike Klubeck)(Jill Petracek)
Reiter has already had a supporting role in Tim Robinson’s “The Chair Company” on HBO, and she stars in “Minimum Wage,” which started as a web series and is coming to Netflix in October for a 28–episode run. She was also the star of the very funny “The Hunger Games (But Better),” a low-budget re-creation of the series made over four days by a group of friends.
“SNL” tends to thrive in the run-up to national elections, and with the midterms upon us, the show has its pick of hot-button topics on the campaign trail, from the Iran war to gas prices to the backlash against data centers and AI billionaires.
Johnson’s impression of Trump is likely to be at the center of a lot of these sketches, but the show does well when he serves as a ringleader for characters like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost), Vice President JD Vance (Jeremy Culhane) and FBI Director Kash Patel (celebrity guest Aziz Ansari).
Jeremy Culhane as JD Vance, left, and James Austin Johnson as President Trump in a cold-open sketch.
(Lloyd Bishop / NBC)
Last season, Ashley Padilla emerged as a breakout star, carrying a heavy load of women’s roles after the departures of Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner. Even when she was giggling with Ryan Gosling because of a writers’ prank, Padilla was hilarious. She’s finally been upgraded to a repertory player and is likely to continue to play the lead in sketches featuring her grounded, emotionally shaky characters, some of whom have terrible haircuts.
Of the new featured players added last season, the two most likely to keep scoring are Culhane — who already has two great “Weekend Update” characters: Mr. On Blast and a masterful Tucker Carlson impression — and Veronika Slowikowska, who proved versatile whether she was portraying a “Guy’s girl” or a dryer with Sabrina Carpenter. Expect them both to be in more sketches this season.
Tommy Brennan, left, Jane Wickline and Ashley Padilla during the “Mom Confession” sketch featured in Season 51.
(Will Heath / NBC)
Marshall, the Please Don’t Destroy writer who joined the cast, has been fine as a utility player and straight man in sketches, but it’s hard to remember anything he was in last season apart from his role as Ron in “Heated Wizardry.”
Tommy Brennan and Kam Patterson both seem like they need to make their mark in sketches and do more than just perform as themselves in “Weekend Update” segments. Unless one or both of them is being groomed as a future “Update” co-host, time’s running out.
As for cast member Jane Wickline, who’s been described as “polarizing” but was also upgraded to repertory, we’re rooting for her. She brings musical talent, which the show needs plenty of, and her awkward vibes frequently add a different and unexpected dimension. An out-on-a-limb prediction: She’s going to have a great season.
What about Lorne?
Every discussion about the state of “SNL” must include a mention of how much longer the show’s steward, who is 81, will remain at the helm. This ongoing Lorne Watch, with predictions of his retirement and potential successors, began around Season 40 and continues. Many thought he’d exit at the end of Season 50, neatly capping an epic TV run.
That did not happen.
Creator Lorne Michaels has been at the helm of “Saturday Night Live” for much of its run.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
So now the talk has shifted to what happens if Michaels’ run is interrupted because, you know, something happens to him?
The names suggested (and bet on) as potential replacements, should anything happen, continue to include producers like Steve Higgins; former cast members like Fey and Seth Meyers, who’ve stayed close to Michaels’ orbit; as well as Conan O’Brien and John Mulaney, all of whom seem like good comedic shepherds who could lead the show into its next era. Michaels himself has said publicly that Fey could “easily” do it. But, they all have their own careers and may not want the all-consuming grind that running “SNL” entails. It may take multiple people.
One outlier pick would be Kenan Thompson, the longest-running “SNL” cast member, starting his 24th season on the show this week. For sheer longevity, having been around for nearly half of “SNL’s” run, and because he’s probably not leaving anytime soon, Thompson might be the pick that makes the most sense.
Be careful what you wish for when you’re wishing for a new offensive coordinator.
Chargers fans were so over Greg Roman. Anything would be better than his run-heavy scheme stunting quarterback Justin Herbert’s anticipated ascension. Anyone would be preferable to the man holding the reins while the Chargers scored just three points in last season’s wild-card loss to the New England Patriots, after which Roman was fired.
Somehow, after just two games, the Chargers’ offense under McDaniel has Bolts fans wishing anyone else was running the show. Roman included.
Because Roman wouldn’t have overcomplicated a third-and-inches play-call. He wouldn’t have had the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Herbert line up in shotgun and call for motion.
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The Chargers lost to the Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 on Sunday, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier for them moving forward.
And the subsequent snap wouldn’t have hit receiver Tre’ Harris before it got to Herbert. And instead of losing five yards and having Herbert, in a rare show of emotion, slapping the turf in frustration, the Chargers probably would have gotten a fresh set of downs.
So far, McDaniel’s brief Chargers’ tenure hasn’t just been a disappointment. It has, through two games, been a disaster. Because the Chargers really needed these first two wins against opponents who both won only three games last season.
Instead, the Chargers’ offense looked as disjointed and discombobulated in Sunday’s 26-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders as it did the previous week in their 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
It was an unwanted second helping of “humble pie,” as McDaniel described the Chargers’ Week 1 defeat. And it was nasty.
Now the Chargers’ schedule is about to come at them fast, with their next games against the Buffalo Bills, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and then the Rams, the preseason Super Bowl favorites.
After consecutive 11-win seasons under Jim Harbaugh — who’d never lost to the Raiders and never previously lost two consecutive games to start a season — the Chargers might blink and find themselves 0-7.
What’s worse than frustratingly quick postseason exits? Not making the playoffs at all.
And the Chargers are going to need to engineer a quick turnaround if they’re going to be among the 15% of teams that start a season 0-2 and still reach postseason play.
Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel walks on the sideline before a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 20.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
To do that, they’ll need to score more points. They’ll need to stop shooting themselves in the proverbial feet and take some better shots downfield. Stop dropping the ball — figuratively, literally. They fumbled six times Sunday!
And stop thinking so much. Sundays are for reacting, and any amount of thinking is overthinking.
Maybe it’s personnel? The fact that, outside of Ladd McConkey, the Chargers are short on receivers who can reliably create separation.
Maybe it’s just a matter of time that the Chargers don’t have much of, cramming to learn McDaniel’s methods, to dial in the timing and coordination.
Or maybe, for McDaniel, it’s as simple as simplifying what he’s trying to do with this Chargers offense.
When he was hired in January, the prevailing thought was that the cerebral partnership between McDaniel and Herbert would prove a perfect match.
Even though McDaniel was dismissed after the Dolphins missed the playoffs two consecutive seasons, the coach — who’d developed a reputation as a talented offensive mind under Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers — was a hot commodity on the coaching market.
McDaniel reportedly drew interest from the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bills and Raiders. But he opted to come to L.A. to work with Herbert as the All-Pro QB’s fifth offensive coordinator in seven seasons (following three offensive coordinators in his four years at Oregon).
Starting over again, in these two games with McDaniel, Herbert has thrown for a modest 401 yards, just two touchdowns and three interceptions — though one of them bounced off David Njoku’s hands Sunday.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert watches a pass attempt fall incomplete after he is hit by Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce during the fourth quarter Sunday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
There have also been protection problems, fumbles, a missed field goal, and lots of penalties — including four on star left tackle Joe Alt, who was called for a hold that resulted in a safety on an anything-that-can-go-wrong-will-go-wrong Sunday.
“I’m not looking in any one direction,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “I’m looking at it all.”
On TV, Herbert appeared to be looking off into space on the sideline as McDaniel sat chattering beside him, the game mercifully winding down.
Asked what McDaniel’s message was to the offense, Herbert said: “I haven’t been able to speak with him after.”
There’s a lot to talk about, but be careful what you ask.
If Matthew Fine, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound senior running back and lacrosse star for Loyola High, needs a walk-up song, he can go back to 1969 when Frank Sinatra’s hit “My Way” came on the radio with the lyrics, “I did it my way.”
Fine, who lives in Manhattan Beach, declined to be interviewed last week before the Cubs’ game against the public school he lives five minutes from, Mira Costa. He didn’t want to give friends he grew up with any bulletin board material. Then he went out and rushed for 105 yards in a 14-7 Loyola victory.
It was fun for him to catch up with neighborhood kids he used to play with starting at age 5.
“I traded jerseys and traded photos,” he said. “It was nice talking to them.”
Asked if he walked home from the game, Fine said, “I actually considered it.”
Fine, with his speed and strength from lacrosse training, could be the comeback player of the year in football. He quit football after his sophomore year to focus on lacrosse. Loyola has one of the best lacrosse programs in the state, winning last season’s Southern Section championship. He’s earned a lacrosse scholarship to Utah.
Football coach Drew Casani had lobbied Fine to return to football before his junior year with no success. Last school year, after the lacrosse season ended, Casani sent him a text inviting him to return.
“I’m in,” Fine responded.
“I love football,” Fine said. “There was a lot of uncertainty. My junior year is where you get recruited for lacrosse. After sitting out a year and watching all the guys playing football, I got really jealous and wanted to jump back in.”
He rejoined the team this year starting at the bottom of the depth chart. Now he’s had back-to-back games rushing for more than 100 yards. This will be his first and only year playing on varsity.
“I’m doing this for fun,” he said. “I love football. I’ve been doing it longer than any other sport.”
Whenever the season ends, it will be Fine’s final football game.
“I don’t think I’ll have any regrets,” he said. “I’ll just be sad. I don’t want to think about that.”
Incredibly, as much as people believe football gets players in the best shape of their life, Fine once flunked his conditioning test for lacrosse after playing football.
“It’s a different type of conditioning,” he explained.
Casani is thrilled that Fine’s one year off from football has had little effect.
“He picked up seemingly where he left off,” Casani said. “ He’s fast, has vision and is hard to tackle.“
Don’t ask his father, Mickey, what Fine might do next or any day.
“My son does things his own way,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t understand it.”
With a 4.0 grade-point average and terrific lacrosse talent as an attacker, Fine has a bright future. For those who play intramural flag football on Utah’s campus, Fine could be the ringer to deliver a championship next year.
Sam Farmer makes his picks and score predictions for Week 1 of the 2026 season, with the Rams winning in Australia and the Chargers beating the Cardinals.
