Kings Rumors

Kings Recall Samuel Helenius, Jacob Moverare

November 18, 2024 at 12:51 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

Nov. 18: It was indeed a paper transaction. Helenius and Moverare are back up with the NHL club today, per a team announcement.

Nov. 17: The Kings loaned center Samuel Helenius and defenseman Jacob Moverare to AHL Ontario on Sunday, the team announced. With four days until their next game, it could be a paper transaction to get them playing time and, in Moverare’s case, delay the expiration of his temporary waiver exemption.

Los Angeles recalled Helenius, 22 next week, last weekend, shortly after Alex Turcotte exited the lineup with an upper-body injury. Turcotte returned to action Saturday against the Red Wings, but Helenius remained in the lineup for his fourth straight appearance while Akil Thomas sat in the press box.

Helenius has spent his first look in the NHL centering the Kings’ fourth line. He’s averaged 10:22 per game, won 13 of his 26 draws, and recorded his first two NHL points – both assists. He has a +1 rating, four shots on goal, 7 PIMs, and put his 6’6″, 201-lb frame to work by averaging 17.37 hits per 60 minutes, second on the team only to Tanner Jeannot.

It’s hard not to be optimistic based on the 2021 second-round pick’s initial showing. The son of former NHL enforcer Sami Helenius hasn’t flashed intriguing point totals at the AHL level, with only 37 in 150 games for Ontario over the past four seasons. But the fundamentals are there for Helenius to continue growing into a potential fourth-line fixture at the game’s highest level, although he’ll need to improve on his possession play. The Kings controlled only 42.9% of shot attempts with Helenius on the ice at even strength despite giving him rather advantageous offensive usage.

Meanwhile, all signs point to the 26-year-old Moverare coming back up before Wednesday’s game if Caleb Jones isn’t yet ready to come off IR with his undisclosed injury. The 2016 fourth-round pick made his season debut on Saturday, posting a +1 rating, two hits, four blocks, and a 60.6 CF% in 14:50 of ice time. He was just recalled on Friday, so only two days and one game have been shaved off from his temporary 30-day, 10-game exemption after clearing waivers during preseason.

Kings Activate Alex Turcotte, Assign Andre Lee To AHL

November 16, 2024 at 1:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

The Kings have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game today against Detroit. The team announced that they’ve activated forward Alex Turcotte off injured reserve. To make room for him on the roster, winger Andre Lee was assigned to AHL Ontario.

Turcotte was placed on IR a week ago today after sustaining an upper-body injury early in the month. The 23-year-old is in his first full NHL season and has held his own in a limited role. Turcotte has played in 13 games so far this season, picking up a goal and four assists while averaging just under 12 minutes a night in their bottom six. For his career, he’s up to 45 appearances at the top level, tallying two goals and seven helpers.

As for Lee, he was an early-season recall and had been up with Los Angeles since then, spanning more than five weeks in total. Along the way, he played a regular role in the lineup, collecting two assists and 32 hits in 15 games in 9:26 of playing time per game. Those games were the 24-year-old’s first taste of NHL action. Lee had eight goals and five assists in 38 games with the Reign last season, resulting in a one-year, two-way contract worth the league minimum of $775K with the Kings and $100K in the minors.

Notably, Lee’s assignment means that Samuel Helenius will remain with Los Angeles for now, at least. He was brought up when Turcotte landed on injured reserve and it would have made sense for him to be the one who lost his spot with Turcotte returning. Helenius has an assist, nine hits, and a 60% faceoff success rate in his first three games, earning himself a longer look in the process.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Los Angeles Kings

November 16, 2024 at 12:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Kings.

Los Angeles Kings

Current Cap Hit: $90,180,114 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Brandt Clarke (two years, $863K)
F Alex Laferriere (one year, $875K)

Potential Bonuses
Clarke: $850K

Laferriere had a solid rookie season last year while spending a lot of time in the bottom six. This year, he’s playing a little higher in the lineup and has responded by being one of their leading point-getters. If that holds, his bridge deal (a long-term pact would be surprising) should run past $3MM per season at a minimum, potentially higher if he stays at his current pace.

After spending most of last season in the minors, Clarke is now a regular and an important part of the back end in Los Angeles. He’s already putting up solid offensive numbers and that should continue which will only push his next contract higher. A bridge agreement could be trending toward starting with a four if this holds while a longer-term pact could climb closer to $7MM. Bonus-wise, Clarke has four ‘A’ bonuses in his deal at $212.5K apiece and at his current pace, he could have a shot at all four of them (assists, points, ATOI, and blocks).

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Andreas Englund ($1MM, UFA)
D Vladislav Gavrikov ($5.875MM, UFA)
F Tanner Jeannot ($2.65MM, UFA)
D Caleb Jones ($775K, UFA)
F Arthur Kaliyev ($825K, RFA)
F Andre Lee ($775K, RFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($800K, UFA)
G David Rittich ($1MM, UFA)

Jeannot was acquired from Tampa Bay over the offseason with the hope a change of scenery could re-spark his offensive game. That hasn’t happened early on as he has spent some time on the fourth line. At this point, there’s a possibility that he’s heading for a pay cut; while his 24-goal, 41-point season was only a few years ago, that looks like the outlier and teams might not want to pay up for that. Kaliyev wanted a trade over the summer but one never materialized so he settled for a low-cost one-year deal and then was injured in training camp. If there isn’t a trade to be found once he returns, Kaliyev could be a non-tender candidate in the summer where he’d likely have to settle for another low-cost deal in this range.

Lewis has been on a one-year deal around this price tag for five straight years now and remains a capable fourth liner. If he wants to keep playing (he turns 38 in January), he should be able to continue that streak. Lee is holding his own on the fourth line in his first taste of NHL action. It’s likely that his next contract should be around the minimum but he could have a shot at a one-way agreement.

Gavrikov took an interesting approach in free agency two years ago, electing to sign an early extension to remain with Los Angeles but opting for a short-term agreement to allow him to hit the open market in a more favorable environment. His offensive production hasn’t returned to the peak level he had in Columbus which will limit his upside to a point. That said, he could make a case to land this much or slightly more on a long-term agreement, if not even a max-term one. With several blueliners from this class already off the market, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gavrikov wait this out a little longer to see if a dwindling market could help up his asking price.

Englund played a regular role on the third pairing last season but playing time has been harder to come by this time around. He’s someone who might best fit in a seventh role so while another one-way contract could come his way, it might have to come in slightly lower than this one. Jones spent time in the minors last season, leading to a two-way deal this time around. With very limited playing time so far, he doesn’t seem to be trending toward beating that by much next summer.

Rittich did rather well after being recalled early last season but opted to take this deal in May over testing the open market. He hasn’t fared as well early on this year, however. Even so, he’s likely still in the higher-end third-string option or lower-end backup tier which should get him another deal in this range.

Signed Through 2025-26

D Kyle Burroughs ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Adrian Kempe ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Anze Kopitar ($7MM, UFA)
D Jordan Spence ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Akil Thomas ($775K, RFA)

This is the first season of Kopitar’s cheaper deal after making $10MM per season on the last agreement. It’s supposed to reflect what should be a smaller role but that hasn’t been the case early in 2024-25 as he’s still an all-situations top-line center. Now 37, there’s some risk in terms of his age but the early returns on this contract demonstrate this could wind up as a team-friendly agreement. Another deal, if there is one, will likely reflect the expected lighter workload as well at that time.

Kempe turned the corner offensively in 2021-22 and hasn’t looked back since then, becoming a legitimate top-line threat. While his days of playing center are numbered which won’t help his case on the open market, he’s still positioning himself for a new deal that starts with a seven or possibly even an eight on a long-term pact. Thomas, meanwhile, is still getting his feet wet at the NHL level. He has some runway to develop and if all goes well, he should push past $1MM at least next time out.

Spence is playing on his bridge deal, one that’s slightly back-loaded and carries a $1.7MM qualifying offer. With Clarke taking on a bigger role offensively, that’s going to cut into Spence’s numbers potentially but as a right-shot player with some offensive upside, doubling the qualifying offer could still be possible. As for Burroughs, he’s in a similar situation as Englund, someone who may be best served in a reserve role. Accordingly, a small cut might be needed here as well.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Phillip Danault ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Drew Doughty ($11MM, UFA)
F Warren Foegele ($3.5MM, UFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($5.25MM, UFA)
F Alex Turcotte ($775K, RFA)

Danault has shown a bit more offensively since coming to the Kings and has played with more consistency on that front, making him a quality second-line option for them thus far. If he can stay around the 50-point range, he could beat this price tag by a bit in 2027 but if his production slows, his next deal could look a fair bit like this one.

Foegele picked the right time for a career year last season as that helped him land this contract in free agency. If he can stay around 20 goals consistently, they’ll do alright with this one while he’d be in line for a small raise. That said, 20 goals is the outlier at this point of his career (though he’s off to a good start this season on that front). Turcotte took a rare three-year deal at the minimum, guaranteeing himself a one-way salary in the last two seasons. That gives him and the Kings plenty of time to see if he’s just a late-bloomer or a lottery selection likely to be viewed in the bust category. At the moment, when healthy, he’s primarily in a bottom-six role. If that kept up over the course of the deal, he could plausibly command a seven-figure salary next time out.

When healthy, Doughty is still a legitimate all-situations number one defenseman. Price-wise, the deal holds up a little better now compared to when it was first signed as a record-breaker. Having said that, this is still on the high side, especially for a player with a lot of hard minutes under his belt and now two significant injuries in recent years. That swings the valuation of this deal back into negative territory (although his current injury has given them short-term LTIR flexibility if nothing else). Doughty will be entering his age-38 year on his next contract. Like Kopitar, there’s a very good chance the price tag at that time will be lowered by a few million per season to reflect his age and the possibility for a sharper decline at that time.

Kuemper was brought in as their new starter while shedding the Pierre-Luc Dubois contract that didn’t go well in its first year. Factoring in what they paid to get Dubois, the sequence of trades isn’t the prettiest but he gives them some stability between the pipes they haven’t had lately. He’ll be 37 when his next contract starts so this price tag might be as high as it gets.

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

D Michael Anderson ($4.125MM through 2030-31)
F Quinton Byfield ($6.25MM through 2028-29)
D Joel Edmundson ($3.85MM through 2027-28)
F Kevin Fiala ($7.875MM through 2028-29)
F Trevor Moore ($4.2MM through 2027-28)

While who they traded to get Fiala (Brock Faber and a first-round pick) will loom large to a point, Fiala has largely been as advertised in Los Angeles, surpassing the 70-point mark in each of his first two years. That’s top-line production at a pretty fair price from a valuation standpoint; it’s neither team-friendly nor player-friendly. If he stays in that territory production-wise, a small raise could come his way next time around, albeit on a shorter-term deal.

The Kings surprisingly opted for this deal with Byfield over the summer, one that only gave them one extra year of club control. While it kept the price tag lower than it might have been otherwise, it also walks him to unrestricted free agency at 26 in his prime. If Byfield emerges as a consistent top liner by then, he will be well-positioned to earn several million more per season on a max-term agreement. Moore had a breakout year in 2023-24, reaching 31 goals and 57 assists, making the first year of this deal a team-friendly one. Even if he goes back into the 40-point range where he was previously (or played at that pace), they’ll have at least a fair-market contract. He could be on track for a raise of a million or so on another medium-term deal in 2028.

Anderson is one of the more underrated defensemen in the NHL. He’s not a big point producer but is a strong defender and can log heavy minutes. He’s currently second on the Kings in ATOI and while that will go to third when Doughty returns, having a second or third blueliner making this money is good value. The fact it’s their longest contract on the books at that price point makes it even better. Edmundson, on the other hand, is a much riskier contract. When healthy, he’s a second-pairing player and the money for that role is fine. But with a long, extensive track record of injuries, it’s unrealistic for them to project he’ll stay in the lineup for most of this contract. That could come back to hurt them down the road.

Buyouts

None

Salary Cap Recapture

F Mike Richards ($700K in 2024-25, $600K from 2025-26 through 2028-29)

Retained Salary Transactions

D Ivan Provorov ($2.025MM in 2024-25)

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Anderson
Worst Value: Doughty

Looking Ahead

Once Doughty returns, the Kings can get back below the $88MM mark without much difficulty though it will result in them needing to shorten their roster to get there. But even with that, they’re going to have a hard time accruing cap space; whatever they do bank will probably be needed for injury-related recalls as the season goes on. In essence, they’ll be a money-in, money-out team for any in-season transactions.

With a little over $70MM in commitments for 2025-26, GM Rob Blake should have some wiggle room even though Gavrikov will need a fairly substantial commitment and Laferriere will get a nice raise as well. However, they can either add a few depth options to add more balance to the lineup or take a good chunk of the remaining money to try to add an impact player and then continue to round out the group with minimum-salaried players. Either way, some flexibility is coming.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Recall Erik Portillo, Jacob Moverare

November 15, 2024 at 12:57 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 3 Comments

The Kings announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Erik Portillo and defenseman Jacob Moverare from AHL Ontario, with the former coming under emergency conditions. Defender Caleb Jones and Darcy Kuemper were placed on injured reserve in corresponding transactions to open roster space.

It’s the first NHL recall for the 24-year-old Portillo. Selected in the third round of the Sabres in the 2019 draft, the Sweden native was a star at the University of Michigan, where he compiled a .918 SV% in 87 games from the 2020-21 to 2022-23 seasons and won two Big 10 conference championships.

With Buffalo already having Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the goaltending pipeline, though, there wasn’t a real spot for Portillo in the Sabres organization when he was ready to turn pro. Near the end of his final season at Michigan, Buffalo dealt him to the Kings for a 2023 third-rounder that became defenseman Gavin McCarthy.

After Portillo’s season ended in late April 2023, he signed his entry-level contract with Los Angeles and reported to Ontario. That’s where he’s played all 44 games of his professional career, compiling a 2.56 GAA, .915 SV%, two shutouts, and a 27-13-3 record over the past two seasons. He also posted a 2.16 GAA, .916 SV%, one shutout, and a 5-3-0 record in eight Calder Cup Playoff games for Ontario earlier this year.

The Kings could also have opted to give veteran Pheonix Copley a summons while Kuemper is on the shelf. They’ve already done so this year, recalling him for a week in October while Kuemper was dealing with a lower-body injury. However, he surrendered two goals on 12 shots in his lone appearance, relieving David Rittich in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs back on Oct. 16. As such, they’ll give the younger Portillo a chance at some action as Rittich’s backup for the time being.

Moverare, 26, is in the first season of a two-year, one-way extension worth $1.55MM, which he signed back in March. The 2016 fourth-round pick lost a training camp battle for a roster spot to Jones, who inked a two-way deal in free agency over the summer. He cleared waivers at the beginning of October and headed to Ontario, where he has two assists and a team-leading +8 rating in 11 games.

In 45 NHL games over the past three seasons, the 6’3″ Moverare has shown he’s capable of being a no-fuss option in third-pairing minutes. He only has a goal and two assists to his name and has seen limited minutes, averaging 13:08 per game, but has a +2 rating and has controlled 51.5% of shot attempts when deployed at even strength.

As for Jones and Kuemper, it’s unclear when exactly they’ll be back in the lineup. They were both left Los Angeles’ last game, a 4-2 loss to the Avalanche on Wednesday, with injuries. The IR stint means they’ll miss at least seven days, meaning they won’t play Saturday against the Red Wings but are eligible to return on Wednesday next week against the Sabres.

Jones, 27, has spent most of this season in the press box. His appearance against Colorado was his first since Oct. 29 against the Sharks and ended a streak of seven straight healthy scratches. He’s averaged 12:49 per game when in the lineup and has a -2 rating through five games with four blocks and nine hits. He’s crushed his limited minutes against easy competition, though, posting a career-best 65.3% shot-attempt share at even strength.

For the 34-year-old Kuemper, it’s the second time he’s hit the shelf this season. That’s to be expected given his lengthy injury history, but the Saskatchewan native has been decent when healthy in his second stint with the Kings. Acquired from the Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois over the summer, the 2022 Stanley Cup champion has a 4-2-3 record, .899 SV%, 2.65 GAA, one shutout, and a -0.3 GSAA in 10 starts.

Kings Recall Samuel Helenius, Place Alex Turcotte On IR

November 9, 2024 at 12:11 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Kings have made a pair of roster moves leading up to their game tonight against Columbus. The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Samuel Helenius from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis; to make room on the roster, forward Alex Turcotte was placed on injured reserve.

This is the first recall for Helenius in his young career. The 21-year-old was a second-round pick by Los Angeles back in 2021, going 59th overall. Standing 6’6, the hope was that Helenius could become a solid checking piece and now in his third professional season, things appear to be on track.

This season, Helenius has three points in eight games along with 22 penalty minutes for the Reign. That’s a small improvement in offensive pace for him after he put up 19 points in 69 contests last season. Helenius should take Tanner Jeannot’s place in the lineup as he begins a three-game suspension tonight.

As for Turcotte, he was injured back on Monday against Nashville, suffering an upper-body injury. However, it’s not supposed to be a long-term issue as he has already resumed skating, albeit in a non-contact jersey. The 23-year-old has done relatively well in his first full NHL campaign, notching five points in 13 games while logging a little under 12 minutes a night.

Kaliyev Ramping Up Practice Activity, Still In Non-Contact Jersey

November 8, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev ramped up his participation in practice today, albeit in a non-contact jersey, relays Andrew Knoll of the LA Daily News. The 23-year-old has yet to play this season after suffering a broken collarbone during a scrimmage in the opening days of training camp. Kaliyev is coming off a rough year that saw him record just seven goals and eight assists in 51 games after putting up 27 and 28 points in his previous two years. While he requested a trade, one never came to fruition over the summer and the sides settled on a one-year, $825K deal just before camp; he was injured just a few days later. Originally targeted for a late-November/early-December return, it’s possible that Kaliyev is a little ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery.

Kings’ Tanner Jeannot Receives Three Game Suspension

November 8, 2024 at 5:43 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments

5:43 PM: The Department of Player Safety announced Jeannot has been suspended three games for the hit on Boeser last night.

10:30 AM: The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Kings winger Tanner Jeannot will have a hearing today for an illegal check to the head against Canucks star Brock Boeser. It’s not an in-person hearing, so his pending suspension will be five games or less.

The incident occurred midway through the first period of last night’s 4-2 road win for Vancouver. Immediately after Boeser completed a neutral-zone pass, Jeannot attempted to lay an open-ice hit on Boeser while crossing the other direction. He led with his shoulder, making contact with Boeser’s head and knocking him out of the game (video via Lachlan Irvine of Canucks Army). Officials assessed Jeannot a match penalty on the play, initiating an automatic league review for supplemental discipline.

Vancouver has yet to give Boeser an injury designation, so he remains uncertain for tomorrow’s game against the Oilers. Hearings that do not result in suspensions are rare, so the Kings are undoubtedly preparing to be without Jeannot tomorrow against the Blue Jackets and potentially for a couple of more games afterward. The heavy-hitting power forward has never been suspended in his 242-game NHL career, but he has been fined once before for kneeing Senators captain Brady Tkachuk in March 2022.

The 15 PIMs assessed to Jeannot last night gave him 36 on the season, the most in the league. Through his first 15 games as a King, the 27-year-old has struggled to produce offensively, with just a goal and an assist while averaging 10:28 per game. So far, it’s not the resurgence L.A. hoped for when they parted ways with a pair of draft picks to acquire him from the Lightning in June. He hasn’t been a legitimate top-nine player offensively since his rookie season when he potted 24 goals and 41 points in 81 games for the Predators in 2021-22.

Three years later, it’s become clear that his play that season was more of a flash in the pan than anything else. In 146 games since for the Preds, Bolts and Kings, he has just 14 goals and 34 points with a -18 rating. Upon completing the two-year, $5.33MM deal he signed with Tampa Bay in 2023, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Alex Turcotte Out With Upper-Body Injury

November 7, 2024 at 8:35 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

Los Angeles Kings’ manager of editorial content, Zach Dooley, reported earlier that forward Alex Turcotte will not play tonight due to an upper-body injury. Dooley noted that it’s not a head injury for Turcotte but he will still miss a second straight game. He’s only scored one goal and five points in 13 games this season but he has been one of the Kings’ most formidable players with a team-leading 3.6 E +/- according to Hockey Reference.

[SOURCE LINK]

Evening Notes: Oilers, Clarke, Salary Deferrals

November 5, 2024 at 8:18 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski Leave a Comment

The Edmonton Oilers are currently sporting the worst penalty kill in the league and the 26th ranked powerplay (as per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic). These special teams’ issues have left the Oilers in an early season funk as the reigning Western Conference Champions have started the season 6-6-1.

Edmonton’s penalty kill has a success rate of 60%, while the powerplay has stumbled out of the gate, clicking at just 14.7%. This is a significant drop from last season when Edmonton’s cumulative total in the playoffs for the powerplay and penalty kill was 123.6. Some optimists may point to Connor McDavid’s absence as the cause of the powerplay falling off, but Edmonton had just a 13% success rate on the powerplay with him in the lineup.

In other evening notes:

Eric Stephens of The Athletic writes that Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke is living up to the billing that made him the eighth overall pick in 2021. Clarke is filling in for injured Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and has done an incredible job, despite having played just 38 NHL games to this point. The 21-year-old has a goal and 11 assists in 13 games thus far this season and has embraced the Kings’ philosophy of turning him into a complete defenseman.
A small trend has started to emerge in the NHL which is seeing players defer some of their salary to reduce their current cap hits. Despite the tactic being used in new deals for Carolina Hurricanes Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis, NHL general managers, agents and league executives aren’t expecting much of an uptick in the application of this maneuver (as per Chris Johnston of The Athletic). Jake McCabe had the same tactic used in the five-year deal he signed last week, and despite this happening more and more, it doesn’t appear as though it will be anything more than a niche thing. Player agent Scott Bartlett of Bartlett Hockey told The Athletic that he doesn’t believe it will happen very often because it is typically not in the interest of the player to defer money.

Agent Change For Danault

October 25, 2024 at 8:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

Kings center Phillip Danault has changed agents. Octagon’s Allan Walsh announced (Twitter link) that he is now representing the 31-year-old who was previously repped by Newport’s Don Meehan. Walsh won’t be having to worry about contract talks for a while, however, as Danault is signed through the 2026-27 season at a $5.5MM AAV. He’s off to a bit of a quiet start offensively this season with just three assists through his first eight games. However, he has recorded at least 47 points in five of the last six seasons.

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