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Jacob Moverare

Los Angeles Kings Recall Three Players

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12/3: According to a team announcement, the Kings organization has recalled all three players back to Los Angeles as expected.

12/2: The Los Angeles Kings are trimming their roster to open up cap space with a three-day break before their next game. The organization announced they’ve reassigned Samuel Helenius, Andre Lee, and Jacob Moverare to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.

Lee has the most playing time of the trio with 16 games already under his belt for this season. The 188th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft has tallied two assists on the year while operating in a fourth-line role in Los Angeles. He’s known more for his physicality than his offensive production as Lee ranks sixth on the team in hitting with 34 body checks handed out to opposing teams.

Moverare is the longest-tenured of the group as he’s entered his fifth professional season with the Kings organization. He’s suited up in 52 games for Los Angeles since the start of the 2021-22 NHL season but only has one goal and two assists to show for. The Ostersund, Sweden native has understandably performed much better in the AHL for the Reign scoring 10 goals and 71 points in 163 contests and an assist in three postseason contests.

The final member of the group heading back to the AHL is Helenius who was drafted 59th overall by the Kings in the 2021 NHL Draft and likely has the highest ceiling of the three reassignees. He’s collected two assists in nine games in Los Angeles this season while also scoring two goals and three points in eight games for AHL Ontario.

Los Angeles has four players (Arthur Kaliyev, Akil Thomas, Caleb Jones, and Darcy Kuemper), and an additional player (Drew Doughty) on the team’s long-term injured reserve. There is no indication any of the injured players will be activated before the Kings’ contest against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night so a few if not all of the trio should be back in Los Angeles in a couple of days.

Pacific Notes: Granlund, Karlsson, Pietrangelo, Helenius, Moverare

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San Jose Sharks forward Mikael Granlund will miss his second straight game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury (as per Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka). The Sharks leading scorer took part in the team’s morning skate but will not play tonight against the Ottawa Senators.

Granlund is in his second season with San Jose and continues to produce offense with nine goals and 15 assists in 23 games. The 32-year-old likely won’t be out for long which is good news for the Sharks as Granlund is almost a certainty to be dealt before the NHL trade deadline.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights tweeted that forward William Karlsson and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo should play tonight’s against the Colorado Avalanche. Karlsson missed the first eight games of the season with a lower-body injury but missed Monday nights for the birth of his second child. The 31-year-old has been solid since returning to action, posting six goals and four assists in 13 games. Pietrangelo suffered an upper-body injury on November 20th in Toronto and has sat out the last three games. He has had a terrific start to the season, with 14 points in his first 19 games.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled forward Samuel Helenius and defenseman Jacob Moverare from the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (as per AHL Transactions page).  The Kings have made several paper transactions with the two players as of late, trying to do what they can to maximize cap space. The 22-year-old Helenius has dressed in six NHL games this season for the Kings, posting two assists while averaging just over nine minutes a game. Moverare has gone scoreless in four games this season for Los Angeles, averaging a tick over 12 minutes of ice time per game.

Kings Recall Samuel Helenius, Jacob Moverare

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Nov. 18: It was indeed a paper transaction. Helenius and Moverare are back up with the NHL club today, per a team announcement.

Nov. 17: The Kings loaned center Samuel Helenius and defenseman Jacob Moverare to AHL Ontario on Sunday, the team announced. With four days until their next game, it could be a paper transaction to get them playing time and, in Moverare’s case, delay the expiration of his temporary waiver exemption.

Los Angeles recalled Helenius, 22 next week, last weekend, shortly after Alex Turcotte exited the lineup with an upper-body injury. Turcotte returned to action Saturday against the Red Wings, but Helenius remained in the lineup for his fourth straight appearance while Akil Thomas sat in the press box.

Helenius has spent his first look in the NHL centering the Kings’ fourth line. He’s averaged 10:22 per game, won 13 of his 26 draws, and recorded his first two NHL points – both assists. He has a +1 rating, four shots on goal, 7 PIMs, and put his 6’6″, 201-lb frame to work by averaging 17.37 hits per 60 minutes, second on the team only to Tanner Jeannot.

It’s hard not to be optimistic based on the 2021 second-round pick’s initial showing. The son of former NHL enforcer Sami Helenius hasn’t flashed intriguing point totals at the AHL level, with only 37 in 150 games for Ontario over the past four seasons. But the fundamentals are there for Helenius to continue growing into a potential fourth-line fixture at the game’s highest level, although he’ll need to improve on his possession play. The Kings controlled only 42.9% of shot attempts with Helenius on the ice at even strength despite giving him rather advantageous offensive usage.

Meanwhile, all signs point to the 26-year-old Moverare coming back up before Wednesday’s game if Caleb Jones isn’t yet ready to come off IR with his undisclosed injury. The 2016 fourth-round pick made his season debut on Saturday, posting a +1 rating, two hits, four blocks, and a 60.6 CF% in 14:50 of ice time. He was just recalled on Friday, so only two days and one game have been shaved off from his temporary 30-day, 10-game exemption after clearing waivers during preseason.

Kings Recall Erik Portillo, Jacob Moverare

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The Kings announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Erik Portillo and defenseman Jacob Moverare from AHL Ontario, with the former coming under emergency conditions. Defender Caleb Jones and Darcy Kuemper were placed on injured reserve in corresponding transactions to open roster space.

It’s the first NHL recall for the 24-year-old Portillo. Selected in the third round of the Sabres in the 2019 draft, the Sweden native was a star at the University of Michigan, where he compiled a .918 SV% in 87 games from the 2020-21 to 2022-23 seasons and won two Big 10 conference championships.

With Buffalo already having Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the goaltending pipeline, though, there wasn’t a real spot for Portillo in the Sabres organization when he was ready to turn pro. Near the end of his final season at Michigan, Buffalo dealt him to the Kings for a 2023 third-rounder that became defenseman Gavin McCarthy.

After Portillo’s season ended in late April 2023, he signed his entry-level contract with Los Angeles and reported to Ontario. That’s where he’s played all 44 games of his professional career, compiling a 2.56 GAA, .915 SV%, two shutouts, and a 27-13-3 record over the past two seasons. He also posted a 2.16 GAA, .916 SV%, one shutout, and a 5-3-0 record in eight Calder Cup Playoff games for Ontario earlier this year.

The Kings could also have opted to give veteran Pheonix Copley a summons while Kuemper is on the shelf. They’ve already done so this year, recalling him for a week in October while Kuemper was dealing with a lower-body injury. However, he surrendered two goals on 12 shots in his lone appearance, relieving David Rittich in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs back on Oct. 16. As such, they’ll give the younger Portillo a chance at some action as Rittich’s backup for the time being.

Moverare, 26, is in the first season of a two-year, one-way extension worth $1.55MM, which he signed back in March. The 2016 fourth-round pick lost a training camp battle for a roster spot to Jones, who inked a two-way deal in free agency over the summer. He cleared waivers at the beginning of October and headed to Ontario, where he has two assists and a team-leading +8 rating in 11 games.

In 45 NHL games over the past three seasons, the 6’3″ Moverare has shown he’s capable of being a no-fuss option in third-pairing minutes. He only has a goal and two assists to his name and has seen limited minutes, averaging 13:08 per game, but has a +2 rating and has controlled 51.5% of shot attempts when deployed at even strength.

As for Jones and Kuemper, it’s unclear when exactly they’ll be back in the lineup. They were both left Los Angeles’ last game, a 4-2 loss to the Avalanche on Wednesday, with injuries. The IR stint means they’ll miss at least seven days, meaning they won’t play Saturday against the Red Wings but are eligible to return on Wednesday next week against the Sabres.

Jones, 27, has spent most of this season in the press box. His appearance against Colorado was his first since Oct. 29 against the Sharks and ended a streak of seven straight healthy scratches. He’s averaged 12:49 per game when in the lineup and has a -2 rating through five games with four blocks and nine hits. He’s crushed his limited minutes against easy competition, though, posting a career-best 65.3% shot-attempt share at even strength.

For the 34-year-old Kuemper, it’s the second time he’s hit the shelf this season. That’s to be expected given his lengthy injury history, but the Saskatchewan native has been decent when healthy in his second stint with the Kings. Acquired from the Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois over the summer, the 2022 Stanley Cup champion has a 4-2-3 record, .899 SV%, 2.65 GAA, one shutout, and a -0.3 GSAA in 10 starts.

Waiver Wire: 10/1/24

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28 players hit the waiver wire Tuesday, per PuckPedia. It’s a sharp increase from yesterday’s 12 names as more veterans are assigned to the minors later in camp. All of yesterday’s waived players cleared, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. Today’s waiver placements are as follows:

Anaheim Ducks

F Carson Meyer

Buffalo Sabres

F Joshua Dunne
F Mason Jobst
F Brett Murray
D Colton Poolman
D Jack Rathbone
G Felix Sandström

Calgary Flames

D Ilya Solovyov

Edmonton Oilers

G Collin Delia
D Ben Gleason
D Philip Kemp
F Lane Pederson

Los Angeles Kings

D Jacob Moverare

Minnesota Wild

F Reese Johnson

New York Rangers

F Anton Blidh
G Louis Domingue
D Casey Fitzgerald
D Brandon Scanlin

Seattle Kraken

F Brandon Biro
F Max McCormick
F Ben Meyers
D Gustav Olofsson
F Mitchell Stephens
G Ales Stezka

Vancouver Canucks

F Phillip Di Giuseppe
G Jiří Patera
F Nathan Smith
D Christian Wolanin

Kings Recall Jacob Moverare

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March 29: Moverare is back on the NHL roster today, per a team announcement.

March 28: The Los Angeles Kings have re-assigned defenseman Jacob Moverare to the Ontario Reign of the AHL. The 25-year-old defenseman may end the month of March in the AHL, but it has been quite a ride over the last few weeks.

A native of Ostersund, Sweden, Moverare scored his first NHL goal three weeks ago in a game against the Ottawa Senators. The marker came just a day after he signed a two-year, one-way extension worth a total of $1.55MM. At one point he also found himself exposed to waivers this month and assigned to the AHL, but he went unclaimed, likely because of the additional two years attached to him at NHL money.

Moverare was drafted by the Kings in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL entry draft and has spent time on the NHL roster in each of the last three seasons. His offensive game has started to take shape this season in the AHL, but he hasn’t been able to translate that to the NHL game. In 40 career NHL games, Moverare has a goal and two assists, while at the AHL level, he’s registered 10 goals and 59 assists in 152 career games.

Although he doesn’t produce much scoring, Moverare remains a steady defensive presence and a good depth option for the Kings on their back end. However, he has struggled as of late and has seen a dramatic decrease in his playing time, particularly in the past two games in which he has played less than four minutes in each game.

Waivers: 3/5/24

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March 7: Johansen, Lockwood and Moverare cleared waivers today, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. Anderson-Dolan was claimed off waivers by the Predators.

March 6: As trade deadline season is in full swing, so too is the NHL’s waiver wire. Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff lists four players finding themselves on the wire today. Furthermore, Seravalli also notes that all players placed on waivers yesterday have cleared. The list for today is as follows:

Los Angeles Kings
F Jaret Anderson-Dolan
D Jacob Moverare

Florida Panthers
F William Lockwood

Philadelphia Flyers
F Ryan Johansen

For Los Angeles, the team will free up a bit of cap space leading up to the trade deadline on Friday. Both Anderson-Dolan and Moverare have been used as depth players for much of the season, and shouldn’t alter the continuity of the lineup moving forward in their absence.

After trading for Vladimir Tarasenko this morning, Lockwood’s roster spot fell victim to the chopping block. Whether or not Lockwood clears by tomorrow afternoon, the Panthers will now roll with 14 forwards on their active roster.

Lastly, this waiver placement will mark Johansen’s name in the second transaction today, as he was recently traded to the Flyers from the Colorado Avalanche in the Sean Walker trade a few moments ago. With 50% of his salary still being paid by the Nashville Predators, Johansen and his $4MM salary will be available to rest of the league for the next 24 hours.

Kings Sign Jacob Moverare To Two-Year Extension

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The Kings signed defenseman Jacob Moverare to a two-year contract extension Wednesday, per a team release. The deal carries the league minimum salary of $775K in both seasons, making him a UFA upon expiry in 2026.

While the timing of such an extension may seem random, it’s likely a calculated move by the Kings’ front office. The team placed Moverare on waivers earlier Wednesday in an attempt to assign him to the AHL’s Ontario Reign, and attaching an additional two seasons to his term is likely to dissuade teams from placing a claim for short-term help.

Moverare, 25, was selected by Los Angeles in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. Despite signing his entry-level contract just a few days after the draft, it took him a while to join the Kings. He spent two seasons in major junior hockey with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads and another two seasons with Frölunda HC in the Swedish Hockey League before making his North American professional debut with the Reign in 2021.

He’s since played in 31 games for the Kings, recording two assists and a +1 rating while averaging 15:50 per outing over the last three years. 10 of those showings have come this season, during which time he’s been held without a point but has decent possession impacts with a +0.9 expected rating and a sparkling 65.3% expected goals share through 75 minutes partnered with Matt Roy, per MoneyPuck.

A decent two-way presence at the minor-league level, Moverare also has 18 points and a +16 rating in 34 games with the Reign this year. He doesn’t grade out as much more than a seventh defender on a contending team. Still, he’s shown the ability this season to be inserted into the lineup without being a liability.

Moverare was to be a Group VI UFA this summer after completing a two-year, $1.525MM extension signed with the Kings in June 2022. While his cap hit increases slightly from $762.5K to $775K, he isn’t getting a pay raise – the second year of his extension was structured as a one-way deal with a $775K salary, the same as what he’ll earn for the next two years.

Minor Transactions: 12/24/23

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With no games on the NHL schedule until Wednesday, many teams snuck last-minute transactions in before the full roster freeze kicked in.  We’ve covered a handful of them here throughout the day in Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and St. Louis; here’s a rundown of the remaining moves.  All transactions are via the AHL’s transactions log unless otherwise noted.

  • The Capitals returned winger Ivan Miroshnichenko and center Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey. Both players were recalled on Tuesday with Miroshnichenko making his NHL debut.  He was held off the scoresheet in his three appearances while Lapierre has five points in 14 games with Washington so far.
  • The Red Wings re-assigned center Austin Czarnik and defenseman Simon Edvinsson back to AHL Grand Rapids. Czarnik has been shuffled back and forth frequently this month and has one assist in 16 games with Detroit while Edvinsson, who was only brought up Saturday, made his season debut last night.
  • The Kings loaned Jacob Moverare back to AHL Ontario after playing just shy of 15 minutes last night versus Calgary. The 25-year-old has been recalled and sent back down ten separate times each since mid-November.
  • The Golden Knights have loaned goaltender Isaiah Saville back to AHL Henderson, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). He has been serving as their interim backup with both Adin Hill and Logan Thompson injured.  As Thompson remains on the active roster, Saville was eligible to be sent back down.  The 23-year-old was activated off SOIR earlier this month and has made three appearances for the Silver Knights.
  • The Bruins sent three players back to AHL Providence – defensemen Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon along with center Patrick Brown. Lohrei has five points in 17 games so far in his first full professional campaign while Wotherspoon is logging nearly 16 minutes a night in eight games with Boston.  As for Brown, he cleared waivers early in the season and has been brought up four separate times now; he has an assist in nine games at the top level so far.
  • Boston also made one other transaction as they converted defenseman Ian Mitchell from an emergency recall to a regular one, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). Mitchell was recalled on Saturday and has two assists in 13 games with Boston so far.  The Bruins will now be ineligible to send him down until after the roster freeze lifts.
  • The Maple Leafs have returned center Pontus Holmberg to AHL Toronto. It’s the third time he has been sent back down since Wednesday as Toronto has been shuffling him up and down quite frequently.  The 24-year-old has an assist in eight games with the big club so far.
  • A day after recalling him, the Coyotes have sent center Justin Kirkland back to Tucson of the AHL. The 27-year-old had spent the full year with the Roadrunners prior to yesterday’s move, notching ten points in nine contests.
  • Grant Hutton is once again on the move as the Islanders have sent him back to AHL Bridgeport, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). He has been recalled and re-assigned six times apiece in the last month and has been limited to just two appearances with New York so far this season.

Many of these transactions will be undone on the 27th or 28th as NHL teams return to action.  In the meantime, these teams will save a bit of salary money and cap space with these demotions.  Toronto and Ottawa’s moves could have AHL implications as well as their two affiliates will play on Tuesday so the players they sent down could suit up in that contest.

Pacific Notes: Soucy, Barabanov, Moverare

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Still, without a firm timeline for his return, the Vancouver Canucks will likely be getting defenseman Carson Soucy back very shortly, as he has finally begun skating again after suffering a fractured leg in November (article link). Factoring in the recent acquisition of Nikita Zadorov, once their defensive core becomes completely healthy, there is a very reasonable argument to be made that Vancouver may have the best defensive core in the league.

Joining the organization this past summer as an unrestricted free agent, Soucy would sign a three-year, $9.75MM contract after spending the last two seasons with the Seattle Kraken organization. Throughout his two years in Seattle, Soucy would skate in 142 regular season games, scoring 13 goals and 37 points, becoming a very valuable two-way defenseman for the Kraken.

Now in Vancouver, Soucy skated in 13 games before his injury, scoring two goals and five points, averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time per night. Without any real reason to carry eight defensemen on the active roster, Soucy’s return will likely spell the end of either Mark Friedman or Noah Juulsen’s time in the NHL.

Other notes:

  • Earlier today, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reported that forward Alexander Barabanov will be out of the lineup tonight with an illness. Already missing over a month of the season with a finger injury, Barabanov has been quite good upon his return on December 3rd, scoring one goal and four assists in eight games for the San Jose Sharks.
  • According to the AHL transactions log, the Los Angeles Kings have recalled defenseman Jacob Moverare from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. It will mark the 10th time already this season that Moverare has been recalled by the Kings, scoring zero points in four games at the NHL this year.

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