Ryan Conmy Enters Transfer Portal
- Kings prospect Ryan Conmy has entered the transfer portal, relays Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Los Angeles in 2023, going 182nd overall. The winger’s first two seasons at the University of New Hampshire were solid, tallying 29 goals and 35 assists in 68 games, leading the team in scoring both seasons. He’ll now look to find a new school to play at and it will be interesting to see if he winds up with a program that can keep him on the top line or if he’ll look to play for a stronger team with more of a limited role.
Kings, Kenny Connors Agree To Entry-Level Contract
April 3: Los Angeles announced the deal this morning. It begins next season.
April 2: The Kings have agreed to a two-year entry-level contract with forward Kenny Connors, John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor reports. The 22-year-old pivot turns pro following his junior season with UMass. It’s unclear whether the deal begins immediately or next season, but it’s likely the latter.
Connors isn’t a free-agent pickup. Los Angeles selected him in the fourth round (No. 103 overall) of the 2022 draft from the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. The Glen Mills, Pennsylvania native jumped to NCAA play with the Minutemen following his selection, putting together a 9-17–26 scoring line in 32 games in his freshman season to earn Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors. He also suited up for the United States at the 2023 World Juniors, scoring a pair of goals in seven games and winning a bronze medal.
The 6’2″, 207-lb center hasn’t seen an increase in point production over his last two seasons, though. He was limited to 7-15–22 in 37 games in his sophomore season, a stark drop from 0.81 to 0.59 points per game. He got things back on track somewhat this year with a 10-goal, 29-point showing in 40 games, but his 0.73 points per game still didn’t eclipse his freshman effort.
Nonetheless, Connors will close the book on his collegiate career. He’ll likely get a lengthy look with AHL Ontario before getting a crack at making his NHL debut. He’s the No. 12 prospect in the Kings’ system, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. That’s second in what’s a paper-thin pool of centers in L.A. behind 2021 second-rounder Francesco Pinelli. He “plays a well-rounded two-way game built upon hard work, a drive to be involved, decent skating, applying pressure and then making quick decisions and reads with the puck to generate offense and sustain offensive-zone time,” Wheeler writes. “I’m not sure if he has true NHL skill, pace or upside, but some believe he might become a bottom-six option or good AHL depth and I could see that.”
Regardless of when Connors’ deal begins, it gives the Kings 32 deals on the books for the 2025-26 campaign, 19 of which are forwards.
Los Angeles Kings Sign Otto Salin
Apr. 1: PuckPedia provided an overview of Salin’s three-year entry-level contract:
- Year 1: $775K salary, $87.5K signing bonus, $12.5K unspecified games played bonus
- Year 2: $775K salary, $87.5K signing bonus, $12.5K unspecified games played bonus
- Year 3: $812.5K salary, $87.5K signing bonus
Mar. 31: Over the weekend, a report from Mayor’s Manor suggested that the Kings were on the verge of signing defenseman Otto Salin to an entry-level deal. That deal is indeed now done, with the team announcing that they’ve signed Salin to a three-year contract that begins next season. While not confirmed by the team, it’s expected that he’ll join AHL Ontario on a tryout deal, allowing him to play with the Reign down the stretch.
The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Los Angeles back in 2022, going 148th overall in a season riddled by some injuries. To that point, Salin had primarily played in Finland’s junior level but he has played exclusively in the pros since then.
Salin spent most of his post-draft year with HIFK at the top Liiga level while getting into a handful of Mestis games (minor league level) as well. He split time between the two levels last season as well while only managing six assists in 29 games with HIFK.
This season, his fortunes changed for the better. Salin notched eight goals and 20 assists in 56 games during the regular season with TPS while averaging 17:32 per game. He added two goals and two assists in five postseason contests in over 23 minutes per night of playing time before being eliminated by SaiPa, a decent way to cap off his season. That was good enough to earn an NHL contract while likely getting his feet wet in the minors in the days to come as well.
Los Angeles Kings Expected To Sign Otto Salin
Should everything go according to plan, the Los Angeles Kings are expected to sign Otto Salin to an entry-level contract this weekend (Twitter Link). Salin has reportedly already landed in Los Angeles, and he’s expected to join the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, for the remainder of the season.
Kings To Recall Jeff Malott
According to John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor, the Kings will recall forward Jeff Malott before their game Thursday with the Avalanche. L.A. has $1.757MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia, enough to fit Malott’s $775K cap hit without another transaction.
Malott was signed to a two-year, partial two-way deal last summer, and this will be his first stint on Los Angeles’ NHL roster this season. If he plays, it will be Malott’s second career NHL appearance after debuting with the Jets in the 2021-22 campaign.
The 28-year-old left-winger comes up after Tanner Jeannot sustained an upper-body injury last night against the Rangers, a game for which Alex Turcotte was also a late scratch due to an undisclosed injury. With only Akil Thomas on hand as an extra forward, Malott’s summons gives them another option to insert into the lineup if a third injury strikes their forward group.
What Malott lacks in NHL experience, he compensates for with his 6’4″, 201-lb frame and an increasingly strong minor-league track record. An alternate captain with AHL Ontario, he has 23-28–51 in 61 appearances to rank third in scoring. The hard-nosed winger also leads the Reign with 80 PIMs and ranks fourth with a +17 rating. His stay on the NHL roster will likely only last as long as the Kings’ injury troubles, but he’s an acceptable replacement for fourth-line minutes if necessary.
Kings Sign Jared Woolley To Entry-Level Contract
The Kings announced that they have signed defenseman Jared Woolley to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning next season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Woolley, 19, was a sixth-round pick by the Kings (No. 164 overall) last summer. The 6’5″, 207-lb lefty has spent the past two seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, where he won a league championship as a rookie in 2023-24.
A two-way defender by trade, Woolley had a coming-out party this year. After playing a limited role on last year’s London squad, he saw expanded minutes this year and rose to the occasion. He posted a respectable 9-19–28 scoring line in 68 games, and his +49 rating ranked third on the club. He also racked up 75 PIMs.
He didn’t check in at all when Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked the Kings’ prospect pool earlier this year, so it’s safe to say public scouts remain conservative on NHL expectations for Woolley. Nonetheless, the Kings liked his season enough to get a deal done now and avoid potentially running out the clock on his signing rights, which were set to expire in June 2026.
Woolley’s deal is eligible for a one-year entry-level slide. Assuming he plays fewer than 10 NHL games next season, overwhelmingly the likeliest scenario, his deal will defer to the 2026-27 campaign and run through 2028-29. He’ll still be paid any signing bonuses owed to him for the 2025-26 campaign, lowering the cap hit of his deal slightly when it does go into effect. He’s too young for a full-time AHL assignment next year and will undoubtedly return to London for a third OHL season. If that’s the outcome, he won’t count against L.A.’s 50-contract limit.
Prospect Notes: Kirsanov, Pinelli, Hage
With the end of the season nearing, news surrounding some of the league’s top prospects is beginning to ramp up. The Los Angeles Kings are the focal point of the latest updates, after news that Russian defender Kirill Kirsanov could sign with the team at the end of the season, per Scott Coffman of Mayor’s Manor.
The Kings drafted Kirsanov in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft, just months after his rookie season in Russia’s KHL came to a close. He tallied just three points in 29 games in his first pro year, but showed upside as a heavy and physical presence in the defensive end. Kirsanov continued to plant his feet in the KHL in the subsequent three seasons, routinely rivaling 25 games and a few points each year. He’s found a bit more stride with Novgorod Torpedo this season, with a career-high seven points in a career-high 34 KHL games – though his best impact remains close to his end boards. It will be the six-foot-two, 220-pound frame that Los Angeles looks forward to in signing the 22-year-old Russian, as they look to find the hefty compliment for impactful youngsters like Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence.
Other notes across the prospect world:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned 2023 fourth-round draft pick Luca Pinelli to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Pinelli’s OHL season with the Ottawa 67s came to an end on Sunday. He closed the season with a team-leading 37 goals and 71 points in 52 games. That’s just narrowly ahead of his scoring pace last season, when he potted 48 goals and 82 points in 68 games. But Pinelli’s story tood tall this year, as he led a 67s roster that struggled to score when he was off the ice. Ottawa managed just 205 goals as a team, good for third-lowest in the OHL. Pinelli is a speedy puck-handler who pushes transition – and carries surprising heft and strength on the puck for his five-foot-nine frame. He’ll be an interesting prospect to watch in the pros, after scoring 252 points in 246 career games, and four seasons, in the OHL.
- Top Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage has decided to return to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season, per Marco D’Amico of RG Media. Montreal drafted Hage 21st overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, after he scored 33 goals and 75 points in 54 USHL games as the Chicago Steel’s top center. He followed that performance with 13 goals and 34 points in 33 games in Michigan’s top-role this year – good for second in scoring on the Wolverines behind 23-year-old junior T.J. Hughes‘ 38 points. Hughes is viewed by many as a top college free agent this summer. His signing could open a clear path for Hage to become Michigan’s true star scorer next year. On top of many returnees on a young roster, Hage will be joined by 2025 NHL Draft prospects Cole McKinney and Aidan Park in 2025-26.
Kings Honor Former GM Lombardi
- On Monday, the Los Angeles Kings honored former president and GM Dean Lombardi, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. After his first stint as a general manager fizzled out with the Sharks, Lombardi oversaw tremendous success in his time in LA, which resulted in two Stanley Cup winning teams. Lombardi saw success in developing draft picks (perhaps most notably with Drew Doughty) but also made aggressive trades for veterans like Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. Since being let go by the team in 2017, Lombardi has served as an executive with the Flyers. During Monday’s celebration, as Friedman notes, Lombardi took time to state that he believes the game is getting too expensive for some children to play. He called it a “grassroots problem” that excludes some athletes from being able to pick up the game.
Kings Sign Joe Hicketts To Two-Year Extension
The Los Angeles Kings are keeping one of their organizational depth defensemen around for another two years. The Kings announced they’ve signed defenseman Joe Hicketts to a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55MM ($775K AAV) at the NHL level.
Hicketts has never been a household name as far as prospects go. Still, he made some noise in his first professional season after signing with the Detroit Red Wings as an undrafted free agent ahead of the 2016-17 season.
The Kamloops, British Columbia native debuted scoring seven goals and 34 points in 73 games with the Red Wings AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He didn’t earn any individual awards, but Hicketts finished seventh in rookie scoring among defensemen and aided in the Griffins’ championship run in the Calder Cup playoffs scoring one goal and eight points in 19 contests.
Unfortunately, his rookie campaign would be his best year-long performance in the Red Wings organization. Thanks to injuries and players being moved off the team as Detroit began their current rebuild, Hicketts earned the opportunity to debut in the NHL. From January 2018 to November 2019, Hicketts tallied five assists in 22 contests for the Red Wings averaging 18:13 of ice time per game.
He hasn’t played in the NHL since. From 2021 to 2023, Hicketts enjoyed a two-year stint with the Minnesota Wild’s affiliate, the Iowa Wild, scoring 18 goals and 79 points in 133 games. The 2022-23 AHL season has been his best statistical performance up to this point in his professional career, as he finished fifth in scoring among blueliners.
The nine-year AHL veteran is in his second season with the Kings’ affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and his first as the team’s captain. He’s tied for first with Reilly Walsh as the highest-scoring defenseman on the Reign with three goals and 27 points in 52 contests. Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, Ontario is expected to make the playoffs this year allowing Hicketts to enjoy the sixth postseason push of his career.
Greentree Suspended For Final Two OHL Regular Season Games
- Kings prospect Liam Greentree was suspended for two games today by the OHL for a checking from behind incident on Sunday, the league announced (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was the 26th pick last June and sits tied for second in the league in points (with 119) while being fourth in goals (49) and second in assists (70). Windsor only has two games remaining in the regular season so he won’t be able to move up those leaderboards even further.