Kings Activate Anze Kopitar, Place Alex Turcotte On IR
The Kings have made a pair of roster moves heading into today’s matinee against Philadelphia. The team announced that they’ve activated center Anze Kopitar off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, center Alex Turcotte has been placed on IR.
Kopitar’s return will certainly be a welcome one for a Los Angeles team that scuffled in his absence, having lost seven of the 11 games they played while he was sidelined with a lower-body injury. As a result, they’ve slipped to sixth in the Pacific Division and are on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.
In his final NHL season, the 38-year-old has been quieter than usual offensively, being limited to six goals and 15 assists in 37 games. However, Kopitar continues to be elite at the faceoff dot and plays a regular role on both special teams units while holding down a top-six role at five-on-five. With his absence and Phillip Danault’s trade to Montreal last month, the Kings had been pretty thin down the middle in recent weeks.
As for Turcotte, he last played on January 24th due to an upper-body injury. Assuming that they backdate his placement, he’ll have already served the seven days after today, making him eligible to be activated at any time. That said, he has already been ruled out for Sunday’s road trip finale in Carolina and will likely be reevaluated after that time.
Turcotte has played in 49 games with the Kings this season and had been pressed into third-line action recently in Kopitar’s absence. He has three goals and nine assists on the campaign along with a solid 55.7% success rate on draws while averaging just under 11 minutes per night.
Latest On Alex Turcotte
Los Angeles Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller told reporters, including Zach Dooley, Manager of Editorial Content, that Alex Turcotte is out for the remainder of the road trip due to an upper-body injury.
Having returned home, the forward is ruled out until at least next Wednesday, as the Kings will take on Seattle back in Los Angeles.
Set to turn 25 next month, the former fifth overall pick has just 12 points in 49 games, but he still brings versatility to the Kings’ middle six. Turcotte has won 55.7% of draws this season, a career best, to go with a standout 57.2% Corsi For at even strength. The Illinois native may not pan out as a high offensive producer as initially expected, but he is still a valuable third line center for now, who will be missed for the rest of the week.
Kings Interested In Evander Kane
Most of the interest in Kane is coming from the Western Conference, where he may prefer to remain. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have already been linked, with beat writer Robert Tiffin confirming the latter team’s interest earlier today. Additionally, Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reported today that the Los Angeles Kings have entered the mix for Kane’s services.
Kings Sign Taylor Ward To Two-Year Extension
The Kings announced they’ve signed winger Taylor Ward to a two-year extension worth $875K per season for a total value of $1.75MM. The team didn’t specify whether it’s a one-way or two-way deal. Ward was slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Including his entry-level contract, this is the fifth contract Ward has signed with the Kings and his first multi-year deal. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2022, he’s in his fourth full season in the organization and fourth overall after appearing in some games with AHL Ontario at the tail end of 2021-22. A well-rounded, depth offensive threat with some physicality, he slowly worked his way up the organizational depth chart before being rewarded with his NHL debut in the final game of the 2024-25 regular season.
That game, in which he tallied his first NHL goal, evidently gave the 27-year-old renewed confidence. He’s parlayed that into a career year here in 2025-26, already matching his career high in goals (12) in only 32 appearances with Ontario. That earned him a recall to the Kings’ roster earlier this month. He’s provided some much-needed depth scoring in a fourth-line role since coming up, posting a pair of goals and assists each for four points in nine games while pushing north of 11 minutes of ice time per night.
For an L.A. team near the bottom of the league in scoring at 2.60 goals per game, they’ll take all the help they can get from wherever in the lineup. Given his relatively conservative goal-scoring history at the minor-league level, asking him to keep up his 27.3% shooting rate through 10 career NHL contests is highly unrealistic, but he’s shown he can be a legitimate factor – averaging 3.33 shot attempts per game to rank 10th on the team despite his limited role.
The Buffalo native has also gotten some power-play reps since coming up, averaging north of a minute per game on the man advantage. With Anže Kopitar‘s absence, more is being asked of Los Angeles’ depth forwards, and Ward’s helped make sure the Kings’ 3-2-4 record in their last nine hasn’t been any worse.
Now, he gets rewarded with the most financially lucrative commitment of his professional career. If he wants to make a move elsewhere, he’ll have to wait until the end of the 2027-28 season to test unrestricted free agency.
Kings Recall Kenny Connors
The Kings announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled center Kenny Connors from AHL Ontario. With Anže Kopitar still on injured reserve, there’s no need for a corresponding move.
Connors, 22, will be making his NHL debut if he gets into a game. The 6’2″ pivot was a fourth-round pick in 2022 from the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. He went on to be a key player at UMass for the next three years, including an appearance for the United States at the 2023 World Junior Championship, recording 26 goals and 77 points in 109 career collegiate games. He was named to the Hockey East’s All-Rookie Team in 2022-23 following a 26-point effort as a freshman, but his offensive production remained relatively stagnant from there.
Nonetheless, the Kings liked what they saw from Connors enough in college to offer him an entry-level contract last summer. In his first year pro, he’s been among the better two-way forwards in Ontario with 24 points and a +13 rating in 41 games, which ranks second on the team.
Whether his offensive game will pop enough for him to be a long-term NHL fixture remains to be seen. He’s not considered a top-10 name in the system and was described as a “long [shot] to ever make the big club” by Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis just last offseason. Now, he gets his first chance to prove that descriptor wrong.
For now, he gives the Kings a needed option down the middle after Alex Turcotte sustained an upper-body injury in Saturday’s game against the Blues. He’s listed as day-to-day, per the team’s Zach Dooley, and isn’t looking likely to play tomorrow against the Red Wings. With no options on the wing who are natural fits at center, the tea leaves point toward Connors entering the lineup if Turcotte can’t go, especially since Joel Edmundson is also banged up, removing the possibility for head coach Jim Hiller to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Kings Activate Trevor Moore From Injured Reserve
The Kings announced they’ve activated forward Trevor Moore from injured reserve. They had two open roster spots, so no corresponding move is required.
Moore returns to the lineup Saturday against the Blues after missing nearly a month. He was initially removed from the lineup due to an illness, but then sustained an upper-body injury that resulted in him being placed on IR on Jan. 8.
Tonight thus marks Moore’s first appearance of the calendar year. It hasn’t been a season to remember so far for the 30-year-old.
After being a consistent 40-to-50-point presence through much of his time in L.A., Moore is shooting at just 7.5% in 2025-26 with only 1.81 shots on goal and 3.65 shot attempts per game, some of his lowest numbers since emerging as a true top-nine threat at the beginning of the decade. He has just five goals and 13 points in 37 appearances, a far cry from the career-best 31 goals and 57 points he had just two years ago.
The Kings, who score the third-fewest goals in the league at 2.57 per game, simply need more from him and others in the stretch run to ensure their postseason streak doesn’t end at four seasons. With a 20-16-13 record through 49 games for 53 points and a .541 points percentage, L.A. currently sits ninth in the Western Conference and out of the playoff picture. Their strong possession numbers likely give them a leg up on their chief competitors, the Sharks and Kraken, though.
Darcy Kuemper Leaves Game Early
- Los Angeles Kings starting netminder Darcy Kuemper left the team’s victory over the New York Rangers last night early after appearing shaken up by a collision with Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski. The Kings announced his exit was due to an upper-body injury. It’s worth noting that Kuemper missed some time earlier this month with an upper-body injury. Kuemper has been solid for Los Angeles this season, though not quite as brilliant as 2024-25. He has a .904 save percentage in 32 games played.
Latest On Drew Doughty
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli sustained an undisclosed injury in tonight’s win over San Jose, and after the game, Head Coach Jon Cooper had no further updates, as reported by Eduardo A. Encina of The Tampa Bay Times. Cooper went on to say “we’ll see tomorrow”, but avoided more details.
Despite just one shift in the entire third period, Cirelli still recorded 13:22 of ice time, indicative of the extent of which the team has had to lean on him during Brayden Point’s absence. Impressively, the wins keep coming for the Bolts, thin not only down the middle but also on the blueline. They’ve vaulted themselves into second place in the league after tremendous play, including a franchise best-tying 11-game winning streak recently.
Tampa Bay is back at it on Friday in Chicago, and Cirelli’s status until then will be closely watched. The 28-year-old has 30 points in 44 games this season, and with a center group which is missing their #1 in Point, the Lightning have had to rely on Dominic James as a 2C, a 23-year-old in his first professional season. Already down Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh along with Point, losing Cirelli for any considerable time would be another major hurdle.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Ahead of their game against the Rangers, the Los Angeles Kings announced that Drew Doughty would not play due to illness. The stalwart had appeared in 41 of the team’s 48 games prior to tonight, and will need just two more to hit the 1,250 mark, all with his original club. With the game faster than ever, naturally it has not come so easy for Doughty, who turned 36 in December. The veteran continues to play heavy minutes, as his 22:51 average is good for most on the team, but he has just 13 points in 41 games, production not seen since his rookie campaign in 2008-09. Doughty was activated from injured reserve in early December from a leg/foot injury, and is still working to find his stride. He will look to return by Saturday against the Blues, but as for tonight, depth lefty Jacob Moverare has slotted in on the third pairing.
- Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins left tonight’s game after the first period due to illness, per the team, and did not return. The 31-year-old had allowed two goals on seven shots, leaving Jet Greaves to take over in a 2-1 game. The Jackets ended up losing 4-1 to Ottawa. Now in his seventh year with Columbus, Merzlikins has lost the crease to Greaves full time this season, as he continues to struggle to find consistency. The Latvia native has an .882 save percentage along with a 3.81 goals-against-average so far on the year, with an 8-8-1 record. Unfortunately, such numbers are more of the same over his last few seasons. Merzlikins will look to be healthy again by Thursday, as the group hosts Dallas.
Los Angeles Kings Reassign Andre Lee
According to a team announcement, the Los Angeles Kings have reassigned forward Andre Lee to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. The transaction reduces the Kings’ active roster to 21, with only 12 forwards, indicating that another roster move is coming.
Lee, 25, was originally recalled on January 7th. The 6’4″, 190lbs winger appeared in all seven of the Kings’ games since, scoring one goal and one assist while averaging 10:17 of ice time in a bottom-six role.
It’s a similar fashion to how Los Angeles utilized him last year, too. Lee made his NHL debut during the 2024-25 campaign, finishing the season with one goal and three points in 19 games, averaging 9:10 of ice time. He delivered solid physicality, averaging nearly two hits per game.
Despite being a depth forward in the Kings’ depth chart, Lee has carved out a decent career for himself after being a seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. After completing his collegiate career at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Lee has primarily played for AHL Ontario since then.
He’s understandably provided much more offense with the Reign. Throughout the last five years, Lee has scored 35 goals and 71 points in 185 games, becoming a decent secondary scorer for the club. He has helped Ontario reach the Calder Cup playoffs on three occasions, scoring four goals in 12 postseason contests.
Los Angeles Kings Make Multiple Roster Moves
The Los Angeles Kings will have a different look against the Edmonton Oilers tonight. According to a team announcement, the Kings have returned forward Corey Perry from the non-roster list, placed Anže Kopitar on the injured reserve, and have reassigned Cole Guttman to the AHL’s Ontario Reign.
Perry, 40, missed two games for the Kings while on the non-roster list. The team didn’t fare well without him, losing in overtime to the San Jose Sharks and in regulation to the struggling Winnipeg Jets. Regardless, he’ll provide Los Angeles with more offense at the very least, scoring nine goals and 21 points in 35 games while averaging 13:33 of ice time per game.
Not only has Perry been one of the better scorers on the team in his age-40 season, but he’s been one of the most responsible. Regarding Kings’ forwards that have played in 25 or more games this season, Perry is fifth on the team in CorsiFor% with a 53.9% mark.
Meanwhile, Kopitar lands on the IR, having missed the same number of games as Perry over the last little while. The Kings’ captain has been dealing with a lower-body injury and won’t be eligible to return until Wednesday against the Vegas Golden Knights due to the IR requirements for activation. He’s scored six goals and 21 points in 37 games throughout the duration of his final season in the NHL.
Lastly, Guttman will return to AHL Ontario after not appearing in a game for Los Angeles. The former bottom-six forward for the Chicago Blackhawks is in his first year with the Kings organization after signing a two-year, $1.55MM contract last summer. He’s been a solid player in the AHL this year, scoring nine goals and 23 points in 31 games, good for fifth on the team in scoring.