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 Rumors
Kings’ Tanner Jeannot Receives Three Game Suspension
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
- 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.
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Evening Notes: Oilers, Clarke, Salary Deferrals
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
- 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.
Kings Activate Darcy Kuemper, Reassign Pheonix Copley
Netminder Darcy Kuemper’s time on the injured reserve is ending. The Los Angeles Kings announced they’ve activated Kuemper off injured reserve and reassigned goaltender Pheonix Copley in a corresponding roster move. This move puts Kuemper in line to make the start tonight as the Kings take on their rivals, the San Jose Sharks.
Kuemper’s been on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury suffered during a difficult start against the Ottawa Senators on October 14th. His first two starts back with the Kings organization were exceptional with Kuemper 56 of 59 shots against the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins to the tune of a .949 save percentage. Kuemper more than doubled his goals against in the contest against Ottawa allowing eight goals on 41 shots in an overtime loss.
The team’s goaltending has been a mixed bag since Kuemper went on the injured reserve. The combination of David Rittich and Copley allowed 14 goals in four games but 12 of those goals came in two separate games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights. Kuemper, assuming he’s fully healthy, should put Los Angeles in a better position to improve upon their modest 3-2-2 start to the regular season.
Copley didn’t garner any starts for Los Angeles during his emergency recall but filled in for Rittich during the team’s loss to the Maple Leafs on October 16th. He managed to stop 10 out of 12 shots in 27:29 of ice time for a .833 save percentage and 4.37 goals against average. He’ll now return to the crease for the AHL’s Ontario Reign where the team has averaged four goals against per game using three netminders.
Kings Announce Multiple Roster Moves
The Kings have made several roster moves in advance of their game tomorrow against Anaheim. The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been placed on injured reserve, netminder Pheonix Copley has once again been recalled from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis, and defenseman Joel Edmundson has been reinstated to the active roster.
Kuemper is in his first season with Los Angeles after being acquired over the offseason in exchange for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. He got off to a solid start in his first two outings, allowing just three goals on 59 shots. However, he struggled mightily in his third outing this week against Ottawa with eight shots beating him in an overtime loss. Since then, he has been listed as out with a lower-body injury. The Kings can back-date the placement to October 15th, meaning Kuemper will be eligible to return early next week.
As for Copley, he returns to the active roster after being papered back to the Reign earlier today. He made one appearance in his first stint, coming in relief earlier this week against Toronto, allowing two goals on a dozen shots. The 32-year-old has 77 career NHL appearances under his belt and will continue to serve as David Rittich’s backup until Kuemper is able to return.
Edmundson, meanwhile, had been away from the Kings for the past few days following the birth of his child. The 31-year-old is in his first season with Los Angeles after inking a four-year, $15.4MM contract with them back in July. He has played in three games with them so far, recording an assist and eight blocked shots in a little over 21 minutes a night. With his return, the team is now back to carrying eight healthy blueliners.
Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Place Joel Edmundson On Non-Roster List
Saturday: Copley has been returned to Ontario, per the AHL’s transactions log, suggesting that Kuemper has been cleared to return.
Wednesday: The Kings have recalled netminder Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario under emergency conditions, per a team announcement. Starter Darcy Kuemper is out with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, adds Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Defenseman Joel Edmundson has been granted personal leave and moved to the non-roster list, giving the Kings the open spot on the 23-man roster necessary to add Copley.
It’s a tough break for the 34-year-old Kuemper, who’s just beginning his second stint with the Kings after he was acquired from the Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois this offseason. The veteran has played all three games to start the season for Los Angeles and looked strong early on, stopping 56 of 59 shots faced (.949 SV%) through his first two contests. Things came crashing down in a wild game against the Senators on Monday, though, allowing eight goals on 41 shots en route to an overtime loss, bringing his SV% on the year down to .890.
It doesn’t appear he’ll miss too much time, though. He could have been placed on IR to accommodate Copley’s recall but wasn’t, indicating there’s a chance he’ll return within the next seven days. However, he could still land there if Edmundson returns to the team before Kuemper’s ready to play, Bernstein said. Edmundson, 31, has been away from the team since yesterday while awaiting the birth of his child.
The Kings will now turn to David Rittich to make his first appearance of the season tonight against the Maple Leafs after he posted a career-high .921 SV% and 11.0 GSAA in just 24 appearances for Los Angeles last year. Copley, who missed most of last season after undergoing ACL surgery, will back up. The 32-year-old allowed three goals on 22 shots in his lone AHL showing this season against the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, his first appearance in over 10 months. The Alaska native struggled with a .870 SV% and 3.16 GAA in eight showings for Los Angeles last season, firmly slipping to No. 3 on their goalie depth chart behind Rittich.
Jordan Spence Healthy Scratched Tonight
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews will not dress tonight when the team takes on the Boston Bruins (as per Avalanche play-by-play announcer Conor McGahey). The 30-year-old will miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury as the Avalanche will be looking to get into the win column for the first time this season.
Colorado has started the year 0-3 as they try to overcome a growing list of injury concerns. They will be in tough against the Bruins without the services of Toews. Oliver Kylington will take Toews’s place on the top pair once again alongside Cale Makar, while Sam Malinski will likely occupy Toews’s spot on the second power-play unit.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe took the morning skate with the team but won’t play tonight as he continues to deal with an illness (as per Derek Lee of The Hockey News). The 23-year-old has yet to play this season as he will miss his third consecutive game to start the year. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native signed a two-year $1.85MM extension with the Ducks in July and will likely compete with Olen Zellweger for a spot in Anaheim’s defense core going forward.
- Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings scratched Jordan Spence tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Kings opted for a third pairing of Caleb Jones and Andreas Englund which is very telling given the commitment Los Angeles showed to Spence in the summer by signing him to a two-year deal worth $3MM. The 23-year-old has had an abysmal start to the season, getting pinned in the defensive zone regularly while struggling with turnovers. The Kings hoped Spence would claim a spot on their backend after Matt Roy departed to Washington in free agency, but his struggles have become too much for the Kings to ignore. Spence’s time in the press box will likely be short-lived though as the Kings are being throttled by the Maple Leafs tonight and are sure to make changes before they take the ice tomorrow night against the Montreal Canadiens.
Kings Taking A 'Wait-And-See' Approach With Gavrikov Extension
The Los Angeles Kings already lost one underappreciated shutdown defenseman this summer in Matt Roy and they may be in danger of losing another. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reports the team is taking a ’wait-and-see’ approach with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and extension negotiations haven’t started.
Gavrikov has been exactly as advertised for the Kings since the organization acquired him from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022-23 season. He’s a regular shot blocker and has maintained solid defensive play despite starting 58.4% of his shifts in the defensive zone throughout his time in Los Angeles. Gavrikov signed a short two-year, $11.75MM extension with the Kings in 2023 hoping to earn a higher AAV in his age-30 season with the salary cap rising.
- Speaking of Kaliyev, the former top prospect isn’t expected back on the ice for another six to eight weeks (X Link). Kaliyev broke his collarbone early in training camp and is currently listed on the Kings’ injured reserve. A start in November/December isn’t ideal for Kaliyev as he looks to earn more responsibility in Los Angeles. He’s coming off the worst season of his career scoring seven goals and 15 points in 51 games last year.