Report: Kings’ Quinton Byfield played through two torn obliques

Now that teams have begun to drop out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the annual tradition of finding out what horrific injuries players had been playing through is upon us.

On Wednesday, it was reported that Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield suffered a torn oblique on his right side just after the NHL’s Olympic break in February. Once that injury eventually healed, he suffered another torn oblique, this time on his left side, that he played through for the remainder of the season and the Kings’ first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche.

Despite dealing with his oblique injuries, Byfield played some of the best hockey of his career in the latter portion of the regular season, putting up 11 goals and five assists for 16 points in Los Angeles’ last 16 regular season games. His postseason performance, along with his entire team’s performance, wasn’t as hoped, as he had no goals and two assists while averaging just under 22 minutes of ice time in the four-game sweep Los Angeles suffered at the hands of Colorado.

Overall, the Newmarket, Ontario native had 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points in 79 games played, which represented a slight drop-off in production from his previous two seasons, in which he tallied 55 points and 54 points, respectively.

Initially selected second overall by the Kings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Byfield has established himself as a solid second-line center, but not the franchise-leading star Los Angeles had likely hoped for given his draft status. At just 23 years old, he still has the opportunity to elevate into becoming the top-line center the Kings desperately need, especially with franchise legend Anze Kopitar entering into retirement. If he does, his current five-year, $31.25 million contract, of which he has now completed two seasons, will look like a steal.