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Los Angeles Kings Claim Brendan Leipsic

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There are some benefits of being at the bottom of the NHL standings, and one is waiver priority. The Los Angeles Kings have added another young forward, claiming Brendan Leipsic from the Vancouver Canucks according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The team had recently added Nikita Scherbak as well through the waiver process.

Leipsic, 24, is now on his fifth NHL organization since being selected 89th overall in 2012. The Nashville Predators were the ones to select the undersized WHL scoring phenom, but ended up trading him to the Toronto Maple Leafs before he ever played a game for them. The Maple Leafs proceeded to lose Leipsic to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft, who followed by trading him to the Canucks last season. He’ll now head south to Los Angeles to get another chance at the NHL level.

The Kings have been searching for speed and skill to try and infuse some offensive into their lineup, and with Scherbak and Leipsic they’ve certainly taken a chance. Both players have failed to really establish themselves in the NHL, but have big upside if they can ever bring their previous production to that level. Leipsic in particular has been an outstanding player in the minor leagues, including a 51-point season in 2016-17 for the Toronto Marlies.

Kings’ Kovalchuk To Miss A Month After Ankle Procedure

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The Los Angeles Kings just can’t get things going on the injury front as the team suffered another setback as they announced that winger Ilya Kovalchuk will miss four weeks after undergoing an ankle bursectomy procedure this morning. Head coach Willie Desjardins said that injury is more of an infection of the bursa sacs, according to Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen. The procedure deals with bursa sacs, which are fluid-filled sacs that cushion high friction areas such as joints. Those sacs have become infected and required a surgical procedure to correct.

Kovalchuk had been struggling lately with the Kings as he had been demoted from a top-line player to the bottom-six for the last few games as many questions had started to arise surrounding new head coach Willie Desjardins sudden benching. Whether the injury had anything to do with it is unknown, but Kovalchuk, who has just five goals and 14 points in 25 games this season. While those numbers are respectable, he has failed to register a point in the past 11 games, quite unlike the 35-year-old star. Throw in the fact that the Kings have just four wins in the last 12 games and none of the team’s losses provided them with even a point and the team sits in last place in the NHL standings.

The surgery could explain the team’s claiming of Nikita Scherbak earlier today as the team is up against the cap and have Carl Hagelin on LTIR currently. The team was expected to have some serious cap issues once Hagelin was to be activated (he’s out three to five weeks with a lower-body injury), the team would have trouble getting below the cap. Scherbak’s contract wasn’t going to improve things in L.A. However, with Kovalchuk going on injured reserve, the team may have some extra means of staying ahead of the cap.

Los Angeles Kings Claim Nikita Scherbak

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After letting Valentin Zykov pass through to the Edmonton Oilers earlier this week, the Los Angeles Kings were not going to watch another talented young forward go unclaimed. The Kings have claimed Nikita Scherbak off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.

This is the second high draft pick the Canadiens have lost on waivers this season, following Detroit’s claim of Jacob de La Rose earlier in the year. Scherbak was selected 26th overall in 2014, after exploding onto the CHL scene as a rookie for the Saksatoon Blades. His minor league career was also quite successful, but the 22-year old forward was unable to crack the Montreal lineup on a regular basis and faced injury this season. The Canadiens did try to trade the young forward, but with their obvious roster crunch approaching teams likely just waited them out.

For the Kings, this is a worthwhile gamble given the performance of their own forward group this season. Los Angeles ranks easily last in the NHL in scoring with just 56 goals through 26 games, an amazing 47 fewer than the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. While their goaltending and defensive play has been good enough to keep them from being shelled on a nightly basis, expecting to win while averaging just over two goals a game is impossible. Scherbak doesn’t offer a guaranteed upgrade to that group, but at least has a healthy dose of potential left in him and could just be waiting for an opportunity.

CapFriendly reports that Scherbak will remain on injured reserve for the time being, but the Kings will likely try to get him into the lineup as soon as possible. A restricted free agent at year’s end, he should get every chance to prove he can be a useful contributor going forward, deserved of a new contract.

Gabe Vilardi Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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When it rains it pours for the Los Angeles Kings, who have experienced periods of abject sorrow this season but are now finally seeing some improved luck. After activating Jonathan Quick from injured reserve, the team has also sent top prospect Gabe Vilardi to the Ontario Reign for a conditioning stint. Though this by no means assures that Vilardi is healthy enough to get back to the daily grind of a professional season, it does mean he’s approaching that level with his rehab and could be back on the ice soon.

In a season that is quickly slipping away from the Kings, Vilardi’s injury rehab is a cause for excitement. The 19-year old forward was selected 11th overall in 2017 but has dealt with troubling back injuries since then that robbed him of much of the 2017-18 season and all of this year so far. One of the most impressive puck-protecting forwards at the junior level, he still managed to record 80 points in 48 games for the Kingston Frontenacs last year and holds incredible NHL potential. Still, there’s work to be done after missing so much key development time in his young career.

Vilardi would actually not be allowed to play in the AHL under normal circumstances given his age and CHL eligibility, but can appear in three games for the Reign under this injury conditioning loan. Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider also adds that the team could petition to have him allowed to stay longer, though at that point there might be good reason to just send him back to junior to have him continue to develop at the lower level.

Others keeping a close eye on the Kings prospect will be the Canadian World Junior management group, who could potentially add him to their squad for the upcoming tournament if he’s healthy enough to compete. Vilardi missed out on that opportunity a year ago, despite obvious interest from the team.

Jonathan Quick Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Los Angeles Kings haven’t had much to celebrate this season, but they’ll finally at least get one of their most important players back on the ice. The team has activated Jonathan Quick from injured reserve, while sending Peter Budaj to the minor leagues. Trevor Lewis has also been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 16th.

Quick has been out since last month following a surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, forcing young goaltenders into the net in his place. First Jack Campbell took over and actually performed quite well, before the same injury forced him out of the crease and onto the surgery table. Following Campbell’s injury the team was forced to turn to Calvin Petersen, who had only 51 professional appearances to his name. Petersen has done much better than anyone could have asked for with a .921 save percentage, but there is little doubt the Kings are happy to get their star goaltender back on the ice.

The Kings are close to being left behind entirely in the Western Conference, now sitting at just 17 points on the season with a 8-14-1 record. That is obviously a terrible start—one which cost head coach John Stevens his job and forward Tanner Pearson his roster spot—but there is still hope that a rejuvenated Quick can get them back into the hunt. To do it they’ll need some help from the offense, who have scored just 51 goals on the season.

Los Angeles Kings Place Carl Hagelin On Injured Reserve

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Monday: Hagelin will miss four-to-six weeks, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider (Twitter link).

Sunday: The Los Angeles Kings can’t seem to find any continuity as injuries continue to play a part in the team’s downfall this season. After just having acquired veteran Carl Hagelin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Tanner Pearson, the Kings announced they have placed him on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and consider him to be “week-to-week,” with an MCL sprain. He will have an MRI on Monday.

Hagelin was starting to connect in his time with the Kings, having played five games now with Los Angeles. Hagelin has been a big influence on rookie Matt Luff, who has posted three goals in the three straight games for the Kings. Hagelin assisted on two of them. He had fallen out of favor in Pittsburgh as he averaged under 15:00 per game in November, but has received more playing time in Los Angeles, averaging close to 16 minutes per contest.

The team has recalled Michael Amadio from Ontario, who has already appeared in 13 games for the Kings this season, although he has scored just one goal in that time. Amadio has played just three games for the Reign, putting up three assists.

Pacific Notes: Vegas’ Defense, Boeser, Kovalchuk, Luff, McLellan

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The Vegas Golden Knights have always followed a general philosophy when it comes to pairing up their defensemen. Head coach Gerard Gallant loves to pair a fast, quick-moving offensive defenseman with a bigger defensive counterpart. However, with Nate Schmidt missing the first 20 games of the season with a suspension, Gallant hasn’t had the opportunity to put together his perfect pairing, which included Schmidt matched up with Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore with Deryk Engelland and Colin Miller paired with Nick Holden.

The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) analyzes those new changes which has produced a 3-0 record since Gallant put those pairings together, including a 2-1 overtime win over Arizona and a pair of shutouts over Calgary and San Jose, Friday and Saturday. That’s just one goal allowed in 183 minutes. While it has been made clear that the team missed Schmidt, Vegas’ entire defense missed him as everyone had been shuffled out of alignment without the speedy blueliner. Without Schmidt, the team lacked a third offensive defenseman as the team had to pair Holden with Jonathon Merrill, which struggled throughout the first quarter of the season.

“It adjusted our defenseman because they all played different roles when Nate was out,” Gallant said. “So, everybody is in their spots now and playing pretty well and they are confident.”

  • Rick Dhailwal of Sportsnet reports that he’s heard from a source that Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser is making good progress recovering from his groin injury. The 21-year-old has been out since Nov. 2. The scribe adds that Boeser is getting closer and should be back at some point next week. He has four goals and 11 points in 13 games so far this year.
  • One of the Los Angeles Kings struggles comes from the play of major off-season acquisition Ilya Kovalchuk who has failed to record a point in eight straight games, according to Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times. The 35-year-old, who signed a three-year, $18.75MM contract this summer, has gone from the team’s top winger to a third-stringer and has dropped to the second unit of the power play. The team broke their 0-for-16 slump on the power play Saturday with Kovalchuk on the bench.
  • Fox Sports Jon Rosen writes that the Kings need to get more playing time to rookie Matt Luff, who has played well since being called up from the AHL. The 21-year-old has three goals in eight games after dominating in Ontario. Head coach Willie Desjardins re-teamed him with Carl Hagelin and Adrian Kempe, which found some success for the Kings. The scribe writes that Luff needs playing time and needs to start receiving power play time as well.
  • Rosen also adds that the Kings have no interest in bringing former Edmonton Oilers’ coach Todd McLellan aboard.

Jonathan Quick Returns To Practice, Likely A Week From Returning

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  • Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick participated in his first full practice with the team since undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus late last month, notes Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. Head coach Willie Desjardins doesn’t want to put a firm timetable on when the netminder may be able to return to the lineup but the belief is he’s about a week away from getting the green light to play.  Meanwhile, center Adrian Kempe is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Vancouver after suffering a lower-body injury on Wednesday.  If he can’t play, Los Angeles will likely have to bring up a forward from AHL Ontario.

Los Angeles Kings Acquire Pavel Jenys

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Though it is certainly not the blockbuster trade many are hoping for the Los Angeles Kings have acquired prospect Pavel Jenys from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Stephan Falkovsky. Both players will remain in the minor leagues after swapping teams.

Jenys, 22, was a seventh-round pick in the 2014 draft but hasn’t been able to establish himself above the ECHL level. The Czech forward has size and some solid finish around the net, but is a long way off from the NHL. He has four goals in nine games with the Allen Americans this season, and will likely go right to the Manchester Monarchs to give them a little more firepower up front.

Falkovsky on the other hand was a seventh-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2016, but didn’t end up signing with them and became an unrestricted free agent. The Kings snapped him up to an entry-level deal likely because of his massive 6’7″ frame, but he too has been playing in the ECHL this season. He’ll turn 22 in December, and isn’t in the NHL plans for the Wild for now.

Minor Transactions: 11/21/18

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If you struggled through Tuesday evening due to the lack of NHL action, fear not. The league has 14 games scheduled for Wednesday including a battle of New York between the Islanders and Rangers. Nearly the entire league will be involved tonight, and as they prepare we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.

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