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Arthur Kaliyev

Pacific Notes: Kaliyev, Gibson, Walman, Stone

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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.

More from the Pacific:

  • The Ducks have activated goaltender John Gibson from injured reserve, relays Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has yet to play this season after undergoing an appendectomy during the preseason.  After being a top performer early in his career, Gibson has struggled considerably in recent years and posted a 3.54 GAA with a career-low .888 SV% in 46 games last season.  Anaheim now has three goalies on its active roster with the others being Lukas Dostal and James Reimer.  Reimer was claimed off waivers last month and unless the Ducks want to carry three goalies for a while, he could be back on the wire soon.
  • While he missed Thursday’s game due to an upper-body injury, Sharks defenseman Jake Walman is with the team on their road trip that begins on Sunday, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. There has been some confusion about whether Walman’s absence was initially injury-related or just being a scratch but it’s clear he isn’t fully healthy at the time being.  The 28-year-old was acquired in a cap-clearing move from Detroit over the offseason and has been a big boost to San Jose’s back end.  Through 13 games this season, he leads their blueline group with nine points (including eight assists, one off his career-high) and an ATOI of 22:42 so whenever he’s cleared to return, he’ll be a welcome addition to their lineup.
  • The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that winger Mark Stone is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The injury explains the earlier recall of winger Jonas Rondbjerg from the minors.  Stone is off to a terrific start to the season, recording six goals and 15 assists in 13 games so far to lead the team in scoring while logging over 19 minutes a night so his absence will certainly be felt.

Pacific Notes: Gavrikov, Kaliyev, Lavoie, Rooney

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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.

The good news for Los Angeles is that Gavrikov is the only meaningful free agent needing a new contract on the roster. Alex Laferriere and Arthur Kaliyev are set to hit restricted free agency next offseason but neither should eat into Gavrikov’s potential earnings.

Other Pacific notes:

  • 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.
  • Now on the waiver wire for the third time this week, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal believes the Edmonton Oilers may look to trade forward prospect Raphael Lavoie. Matheson shares correctly that Lavoie is in no-man land in the Oilers organization being too good for bottom six duties and not good enough to crack the top six. If Lavoie clears waivers tomorrow he will at least get a consistent role with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors but could see his name in an early trade to start the year.
  • Calgary Flames forward Kevin Rooney skated in only 1:03 of last night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks after receiving a heavy check from J.T. Miller. Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reports Rooney is “doing well” but is still considered day-to-day. Calgary’s next game isn’t until Saturday night when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers and Rooney should be a game-time decision for that contest.

Evening Notes: Watson, Doughty, Kaliyev

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Max Bultman of The Athletic tweeted that the recent moves by the Detroit Red Wings point to the team signing forward Austin Watson to a contract. The 32-year-old is on a PTO for the second straight season and is hoping to grab an NHL job out of training camp for the second year in a row.

Watson turned last year’s PTO into a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning and could do so again this year, especially after he endeared himself to the team by sticking up for his teammate in Friday’s affair against the Ottawa Senators. Watson‘s presence would give the Red Wings a 13th forward and provide the team with a bit of toughness, something that they didn’t have a ton of last season.

PuckPedia has reported that Watson will likely sign a two-way contract with the Red Wings.

In other evening notes:

  • The Los Angeles Kings have announced that defenseman Drew Doughty will be placed on injured reserve. The news is not surprising given that Doughty just had surgery last week and was ruled out month to month. The 34-year-old suffered the injury back on September 25th after a collision with former teammate Tanner Pearson. Doughty’s absence will certainly complicate the Kings’ first month of the season as Doughty remains among the league leaders in ice time and averaged nearly 26 minutes a game last season.
  • The Los Angeles Kings announced that forward Arthur Kaliyev has been placed on the injured reserve. Much like with Doughty, Kaliyav’s move to the IR was strictly a formality as the 23-year-old suffered a fractured clavicle in a training camp scrimmage a few weeks ago. Kaliyev is currently out indefinitely and there is no timetable for a potential return. The former second-round pick had seven goals and eight assists in 51 games last season and suffered a steep drop in his offensive production which ultimately led to him settling for a one-year deal for $825K just a few days before the start of training camp.

Snapshots: Kings, Mukhamadullin, Karlsson, Palat

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The Los Angeles Kings will start the season with some cap juggling, per John Hoven with LA’s Mayors Manor. Hoven shares that the team will begin the year with depth forward Andre Lee on the roster, in an effort to reach cap compliance while they sort out injuries to Drew Doughty and Arthur Kaliyev. Both players could be candidates for long-term injured reserve, though that’d be a last resort as the team considers the juxtaposition of cap versus salary. Making matters even more complicated in Los Angeles’ preference to carry eight defenders, including summer signee Caleb Jones, who’s making his return to the NHL after splitting time between the major and minor leagues last year.

The Kings will have a complicated path to walk. They’re entering the year with just $546.67K in cap space, hardly enough to handle the day-to-day logistics of running a team. That’s largely thanks to their summer acquisition of goaltender Darcy Kuemper, and Quinton Byfield’s five-year extension – two moves that collectively cost the Kings $11.5MM in space. Both players will serve pivotal roles for the lineup in the early going, especially as the team prepares for an extended period without top-defender Doughty.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Top San Jose Sharks prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin has finally made his way into the team’s camp practices, shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, after a lower-body injury held him out of all of the team’s rookie camp and training camp to this point. Mukhamadullin was expected to be one of the top young Sharks pushing for the roster this fall, though new head coach Ryan Warsofsky acknowledged that the injury puts him a step behind. Mukhamadullin made his NHL debut last season, recording one assist in three games to go with his 34 points in 55 AHL games. He’ll be among the many young players fighting for NHL ice time when he has healthy legs back under him.
  • Star Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson is expected to be ready for the team’s season opener after missing much of the preseason with an upper-body injury, shares the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel. Karlsson added that the season opener has always been his target, and that his recovery briefly slowed down in the middle of camp to, “let a few things settle down.” The future Hall-of-Fame candidate is set to enter his 16th NHL season, coming off yet another season of double-digit goals and over-50 points. He’ll look to return to those heights once again, with head coach Mike Sullivan already confirming that he’ll be a fixture of the team’s power-play, per Tribune-Review Sports’ Seth Rorabaugh.
  • New Jersey Devils forward Ondrej Palat missed the team’s second game of the season to attend to the birth of his second child. He is expected to rejoin the team when they return to North America. Palat appeared in nearly 14 minutes of New Jersey’s season opener in his native Czechia, recording one shot, one block, and two hits. He’s continued to find ways to be productive late into his career, netting 11 goals and 31 points in 71 games last season. Palat will continue to serve as a winger New Jersey can lean on as they look to continue their bout of early success.

Kings’ Arthur Kaliyev Out Indefinitely With Broken Clavicle

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9/22: The manager of editorial content for the Kings, Zach Dooley, shares that Kaliyev suffered a broken clavicle on Friday and will be out indefinitely.

9/21: Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev is expected to miss “an extended period of time” after sustaining an upper-body injury during a scrimmage Friday, Mayor’s Manor reports. An official announcement from the team is expected later Saturday after Kaliyev went through further testing to diagnose the injury this morning.

Kaliyev, 23, left yesterday’s scrimmage after taking a hit in the corner from defenseman Kyle Burroughs. He’d started training camp in a fourth-line role alongside Trevor Lewis and Akil Thomas.

The 2019 second-round pick was a restricted free agent for most of the offseason, officially putting pen to paper on a one-year deal worth $825K on Wednesday. He’s had an active trade request since at least May, as reported by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Signing the cheap deal should have benefitted Kaliyev in one of two ways – either by giving him the runway to prove to head coach Jim Hiller that he can handle a full-time top-nine role or by making it easier for general manager Rob Blake to find a trade partner with cost certainty for this season in hand. A long-term injury puts a significant damper on either of those possibilities.

The Uzbekistan-born winger is coming off his worst season as a full-time NHLer, recording career lows across the board with 15 points (7 G, 8 A) in 51 games. Despite seeing fourth-line minutes at even strength and fringe second-unit power-play time throughout his four-year career, Kaliyev has still managed at least 100 shots on goal in his three full-time NHL seasons.

Kaliyev has also consistently managed strong shot-attempt and possession-quality numbers. He was also on pace for 41 points had he played all 82 games in the 2022-23 season despite playing just 11:41 per game.

That’s led many to question why he hasn’t received a longer look higher in the Los Angeles lineup. If his trade request wasn’t granted by the start of the season, there was ample opportunity for him to land a top-nine role at left wing, with his offensive upside trumping that of youngster Alex Laferriere and trade addition Tanner Jeannot.

Instead, it looks like he’ll start the season on the shelf for the second straight year. Kaliyev was unavailable for the first two games of the 2023-24 regular season while serving the final two games of a four-game suspension he received during preseason.

Kaliyev’s absence bodes well for fellow 2019 draftee Alex Turcotte’s chances of cracking the opening night roster. That year’s fifth overall pick took his place alongside Lewis and Thomas in fourth-line duties today. He played a career-high 20 games last season after a late-season call-up from the AHL’s Ontario Reign, posting a goal and three assists for four points while averaging 9:17 per game.

Kings, Arthur Kaliyev In Agreement On One-Year Deal

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Sep. 18: It’s a one-way deal worth $825K, John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor reports.

Sep. 17: The Kings and restricted free agent winger Arthur Kaliyev are in agreement “in principle” on a one-year deal close to his $874,125 qualifying offer, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports Tuesday. It has no bearing on Kaliyev’s trade request which has been active since at least May, Pagnotta adds.

The deal puts Kaliyev in a similar situation to Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson. The 23-year-old was also an RFA with an active trade request this summer but opted to sign a one-year, $875K deal last week, giving teams interested in acquiring him some cost certainty.

But unlike Robertson, Kaliyev is coming off a down year, not a breakout one. The American national was limited to seven goals and 15 points in 51 games after hitting double-digit goal totals in each of the previous two seasons.

Kaliyev does still have a bit of room to grow at age 23. The 2019 second-rounder doesn’t use his 6’2″, 209-lb frame to get involved physically and can have some visible defensive lapses, but his possession numbers at even strength haven’t been a cause for concern at any point of his career thus far, even when compared directly to his teammates.

The Uzbekistan native has averaged 15 goals and 31 points per 82 games through his career. That’s impressive production for a player who’s averaged just over 12 minutes per game and doesn’t have a terribly high career shooting percentage (8.4%). He’s a chance-generating machine who averages 2.23 shots per game – sixth-most among Kings forwards with at least 100 games played in an L.A. jersey over the past three years.

There’s legitimate reason to believe a move to a top-nine role elsewhere could generate a 20-goal, 40-point breakout for Kaliyev – or more. It’s been mostly quiet on the trade front up to this point, but with a contract in hand, he could very well find himself on the move during training camp.

Arthur Kaliyev Has Asked To Be Traded

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This season was a rough one for Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev.  After being a capable secondary scorer in his first two seasons, things more or less went off the rails in 2023-24.  Now, the 22-year-old is believed to have asked for a trade, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Kaliyev put up a respectable 14 goals and 13 assists in his rookie year in 2021-22 and followed that up with an improvement in 2022-23, collecting 13 goals and 15 helpers despite missing 26 games.  Accordingly, there was reason for optimism that he’d take another step forward this season while ideally being able to play a little higher in the lineup.

None of that happened.  Instead, Kaliyev found himself a frequent healthy scratch, especially under Jim Hiller who had the interim tag lifted to become the full-time head coach earlier this month.  Along the way, he managed just seven goals and eight assists in 51 games while logging less than 12 minutes a night of playing time.  Then, when the playoffs came, he was scratched for all five games in their opening-round loss to Edmonton.

While his stock isn’t at its highest right now, Kaliyev could be an intriguing buy-low candidate for some teams.  71 points in 188 career NHL appearances is relatively decent for a player who has averaged just over 12 minutes a night over that time.  Meanwhile, while he’s a pending restricted free agent, Kaliyev is owed a qualifying offer of just $874K and doesn’t have salary arbitration rights.  Coming off the year he just had, it’s hard to see him commanding much more than that on a one-year contract.

The Kings were believed to be open to trading Kaliyev during the regular season (amidst speculation that Kaliyev himself would also be open to being moved) but a suitable swap never came to fruition.  Now, they’re believed to be willing to move on from him altogether according to a recent report from Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription link) so the asking price will almost certainly be lower now.  With Kaliyev wanting to move on and Los Angeles believed to be wanting to move on from him, he seems quite likely to be moved in the coming weeks.

Kings May Non-Tender Carl Grundstrom, Arthur Kaliyev

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Each year, the unrestricted free agent market always has a few late additions, thanks to teams opting not to issue qualifying offers to retain the rights of some of their restricted free agents. We’re starting to get an idea of who some of those names could be, as Eric Stephens of The Athletic wrote earlier this week that the Kings are unlikely to bring pending RFA wingers Carl Grundström and Arthur Kaliyev back next season.

To see the organization cut bait entirely with Kaliyev would be slightly surprising. The 22-year-old was one of the first picks of the second round in the 2019 draft, and he’d been a capable depth scorer for the Kings in back-to-back years heading into this season.

But the Uzbekistan-born American national struggled mightily in his junior campaign, limited to seven goals and 15 points in 51 games. Again, he failed to earn anything above a fourth-line role, averaging fewer than 12 minutes per game for the second year in a row.

Kaliyev was scratched for most of the second half of the campaign and, as Stephens points out, only played in 13 of the final 34 games of the regular season after Jim Hiller took over behind the bench. With Hiller signing a multi-year extension, there’s little hope of the offensively-minded Kaliyev providing much value to the Kings in a limited role with a fractured relationship with the coach. Stephens also seconded mid-season noise that Kaliyev was on the trade block.

They could still trade his signing rights and recoup a draft pick for them, but they’re unlikely to land much if teams gain the sense that he’ll end up on the open market regardless. He’s not eligible for salary arbitration this summer after completing his entry-level contract.

Grundström, meanwhile, is arbitration-eligible, something that could dissuade the Kings from issuing him a qualifying offer, Stephens said. The 26-year-old has been a serviceable checking fourth-liner for the club since arriving via trade from the Maple Leafs in 2019 but missed a solid chunk of this season due to injury. When in the lineup, he contributed eight goals and 12 points in 50 games while averaging 10:56 per game.

The Swedish winger was signed to a two-year deal with a $1.3MM AAV, though, which carries an equivalently expensive $1.3MM qualifying offer on a one-year deal. It wouldn’t be a drastic overpay for his services, but the Kings likely (and rightfully) feel they could save a little bit of cap space by replacing his role on the open market with a player making closer to the $775K league minimum.

L.A. has $19.9MM in projected cap space this summer with 10 open roster spots as they try and push themselves into the upper echelon of the Pacific Division, per CapFriendly. A decent chunk of that will go to pending RFA Quinton Byfield, coming off a breakout 20-goal, 55-point season.

Kings Open To Trading Arthur Kaliyev

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes that the Los Angeles Kings could be willing to move on from winger Arthur Kaliyev if they can make a swap and acquire a depth player with some edge to their game as a potential replacement for the 22-year-old. Kaliyev has struggled to carve out a role with the Kings and may have reached a point in Los Angeles where it might be best for the team and player to go their separate ways.

Kaliyev has been a healthy scratch several times this month and has struggled this season with just six goals and eight assists in 38 games. Kaliyev has had his name pop up in trade rumors over the last few weeks and is likely looking for more consistency in his ice time and deployment. The former second-round pick looked as though he was turning the corner last year with 13 goals and 15 assists in 56 games but wasn’t able to carry his momentum into this season despite having a strong training camp.

Much has been made about Kaliyev’s offensive style not suiting the system that Kings head coach Todd McLellan likes to deploy as McLellan likes his teams to play an energy game where attention to detail and defensive responsibility are top of mind. Kaliyev’s talents lie more in the offensive side of the game, while his defensive skills are not his strong suit.

The Kings could wait to see what happens over the next few weeks with the club’s play heading into the trade deadline but given the struggles with Kaliyev’s development, it appears they would like to address some of their needs elsewhere before it’s too late.

Senators Notes: Kubalik, Brannstrom, Kastelic, Kaliyev

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With Ottawa’s cap challenge dating back to the preseason, winger Dominik Kubalik’s presence on the roster has always felt a little tenuous.  Acquired in the move that sent Alex DeBrincat to Detroit, the 28-year-old’s inclusion seemed more for contract-matching purposes than filling a specific void in the lineup.  To that end, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the Senators have been trying to move Kubalik for the past two months but have yet to find a taker.  Kubalik has nine goals and three assists in 41 games so far and is on an expiring contract that carries a $2.5MM cap charge.  When Anton Forsberg is ready to return from his injury, the Sens will be in a cap crunch so it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Steve Staios redouble his efforts to clear Kubalik’s contract from their books.

More from Ottawa:

  • Also from Garrioch’s piece, he suggests that there’s a sense that defenseman Erik Brannstrom and center Mark Kastelic could both be on the move. Brannstrom has been a regular on the third pairing most nights although he briefly lined up as a winger as well.  At a $2MM price tag, he’s a possible non-tender candidate this summer as he’ll have arbitration rights so if there’s a team that wants to take a look at him, moving him now would make some sense and help their cap situation.  Kastelic, meanwhile, has been scratched several times this month and has just two points in 28 games.  However, he does play with a physical edge and is winning over 56% of his draws this season so he could have some value as a depth piece elsewhere.
  • The Senators are among the teams believed to have shown some level of interest in Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports in his latest Toronto Star column. The 22-year-old had been a capable secondary scorer the last two seasons but has struggled this year with just six goals and eight assists in 37 games while being healthy scratched with some regularity lately.  There’s a connection between Kaliyev and the Sens front office as the winger played for OHL Hamilton in junior, a team run by Staios and owned by new team owner Michael Andlauer.

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