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Joel Edmundson

Kings Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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The Kings have made several roster moves in advance of their game tomorrow against Anaheim.  The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been placed on injured reserve, netminder Pheonix Copley has once again been recalled from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis, and defenseman Joel Edmundson has been reinstated to the active roster.

Kuemper is in his first season with Los Angeles after being acquired over the offseason in exchange for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.  He got off to a solid start in his first two outings, allowing just three goals on 59 shots.  However, he struggled mightily in his third outing this week against Ottawa with eight shots beating him in an overtime loss.  Since then, he has been listed as out with a lower-body injury.  The Kings can back-date the placement to October 15th, meaning Kuemper will be eligible to return early next week.

As for Copley, he returns to the active roster after being papered back to the Reign earlier today.  He made one appearance in his first stint, coming in relief earlier this week against Toronto, allowing two goals on a dozen shots.  The 32-year-old has 77 career NHL appearances under his belt and will continue to serve as David Rittich’s backup until Kuemper is able to return.

Edmundson, meanwhile, had been away from the Kings for the past few days following the birth of his child.  The 31-year-old is in his first season with Los Angeles after inking a four-year, $15.4MM contract with them back in July.  He has played in three games with them so far, recording an assist and eight blocked shots in a little over 21 minutes a night.  With his return, the team is now back to carrying eight healthy blueliners.

Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Place Joel Edmundson On Non-Roster List

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Saturday: Copley has been returned to Ontario, per the AHL’s transactions log, suggesting that Kuemper has been cleared to return.

Wednesday: The Kings have recalled netminder Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario under emergency conditions, per a team announcement. Starter Darcy Kuemper is out with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, adds Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Defenseman Joel Edmundson has been granted personal leave and moved to the non-roster list, giving the Kings the open spot on the 23-man roster necessary to add Copley.

It’s a tough break for the 34-year-old Kuemper, who’s just beginning his second stint with the Kings after he was acquired from the Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois this offseason. The veteran has played all three games to start the season for Los Angeles and looked strong early on, stopping 56 of 59 shots faced (.949 SV%) through his first two contests. Things came crashing down in a wild game against the Senators on Monday, though, allowing eight goals on 41 shots en route to an overtime loss, bringing his SV% on the year down to .890.

It doesn’t appear he’ll miss too much time, though. He could have been placed on IR to accommodate Copley’s recall but wasn’t, indicating there’s a chance he’ll return within the next seven days. However, he could still land there if Edmundson returns to the team before Kuemper’s ready to play, Bernstein said. Edmundson, 31, has been away from the team since yesterday while awaiting the birth of his child.

The Kings will now turn to David Rittich to make his first appearance of the season tonight against the Maple Leafs after he posted a career-high .921 SV% and 11.0 GSAA in just 24 appearances for Los Angeles last year. Copley, who missed most of last season after undergoing ACL surgery, will back up. The 32-year-old allowed three goals on 22 shots in his lone AHL showing this season against the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, his first appearance in over 10 months. The Alaska native struggled with a .870 SV% and 3.16 GAA in eight showings for Los Angeles last season, firmly slipping to No. 3 on their goalie depth chart behind Rittich.

Kings Sign Joel Edmundson To Four-Year Contract

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Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the Los Angeles Kings are close to signing free agent defenseman Joel Edmundson to a four-year, $15.2MM contract. The deal has been made official, per CapFriendly, moving Edmundson to the West Coast and completing the feat of playing in all four divisions.

Edmundson was a popular defender at the 2024 Trade Deadline, with his rights ultimately being moved from the Washington Capitals to the Toronto Maple Leafs, though Edmundson would play in just nine regular season games with the Leafs while nursing an undisclosed injury. He also appeared in seven postseason games, recording one assist – his lone point in 16 games with Toronto.

Amidst a turnover of their defense, and perhaps anticipating their big additions in free agency, Toronto opted to leave Edmundson unsigned, putting him back in a market excited about his hefty frame and long reach. The Kings were one of many teams tied to the defender, alongside Boston, Utah, and his original club of St. Louis, shares TSN’s Darren Dreger.

That competition may have sparked a July 1st bidding war, as Edmundson will walk away from free agency with a $350K raise from his last contract, despite posting just 32 points in 193 games over the course of the contract. He’ll look to support Los Angeles in the loss of Matt Roy, who’s held down a confident top-line role for the last three years. Top-pair minutes will likely go to Vladislav Gavrikov or Michael Anderson before they go to Edmundson, though the 31-year-old defender could be primed for a boost in ice time after middling through third-pairings over the last three seasons.

Evening Notes: Maple Leafs Defense, Goligoski, Mikheyev

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be prioritizing size as they gauge potential additions to their defense, shares David Pagnotta and The Fourth Period.

That news comes as no surprise from a Toronto team that acquired 6’4” Joel Edmundson and 6’2” Ilya Lyubushkin at the Trade Deadline, sending a third-round pick for each defender. Neither seemed to make much of a splash in the year’s second half, with Lyubushkin potting just four assists in 19 regular-season games, while Edmundson went pointless through nine games while battling injury. The duo were two of many vying for ice time on Toronto’s bottom pairing, competing with the likes of Simon Benoit, William Lagesson, Conor Timmins, and Maxim Lajoie. Nobody on the list was able to push into routine top-four minutes, though the Leafs found reasons for optimism, with Pagnotta adding that the team is interested in re-signing Edmundson – at least ahead of other pending free agents Lyubushkin and Lajoie. That deal would return Edmundson to a crowded Toronto depth chart, though his stout defense on both sides of the ice could provide nice flexibility for a Leafs team that always seems to face nagging injuries.

In that way, Edmundson’s role would mirror former St. Louis Blues teammate Robert Bortuzzo, who’s stood strong in spot starts with the Blues and New York Islanders. In fact, Toronto may be drawing a lot of interest from the Blues defense, also showing renewed interest in trading for veteran big-man Colton Parayko, shares Pagnotta. Toronto has been tied to Parayko for many years, though he becomes a more palatable trade chip with the more time he spends on his pricey eight-year, $52MM contract. That deal is set to carry Parayko through the 2029-30 season – posing a major hurdle to any interested buyers. Parayko scored 10 goals and 26 points in 82 games this season – with strong goal-scoring lifting up an otherwise slowed season. Now 31 and on a very pricey deal, Parayko certainly isn’t an ideal trade target – though his veteran presence and Stanley Cup precedent could make him a strong acquisition with salary retention.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Minnesota Wild aren’t expecting aging defenseman Alex Goligoski to return next season, shares Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). Goligoski became a routine healthy scratch in the second half of the season, ceding ice time to Dakota Mermis and Declan Chisholm. The 38-year-old veteran ultimately appeared in just 36 games, recording 10 points, all assists. Now set for the free market, he’ll face the question of if now is the right time to retire, having accumulated 1,078 games, 475 points, and one Stanley Cup across 17 seasons in the NHL. Meanwhile, Di Marco adds that Minnesota could look externally for a new depth defenseman.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have granted player agent Dan Milstein permission to find a trade for client Ilya Mikheyev, shares Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News (Twitter link). Mikheyev has muddled through the last two seasons with the Canucks, with untimely injuries making it hard to find a comfortable role. He ultimately totaled 59 points in 124 games with the club, and will now look to find a spark with a change of scenery. Mikheyev has two seasons left on a contract carrying a $4.75MM cap hit.

Maple Leafs Notes: Lambert, Edmundson, Lyubushkin

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Keep an eye on Lane Lambert as a name to join the Maple Leafs’ bench this offseason. The former Islanders bench boss is a candidate to land a role on new head coach Craig Berube’s staff in Toronto, Darren Dreger of TSN said Monday morning.

The Leafs have at least one vacancy to fill after assistant coach Manny Malhotra left to take a head coaching job with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. There’s a chance Berube could opt to make some other changes to the staff, including assistants Guy Boucher and Dean Chynoweth, later on. Their fourth assistant, Mike Van Ryn, is a logical choice to stay after working under Berube previously in St. Louis.

Lambert, 59, lasted about a year and a half during his first try as an NHL bench boss on Long Island. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Hurricanes in his first season behind the bench, and he was fired in January after going 19-15-11 to start 2023-24. He and Berube haven’t been on the same staff in their coaching careers.

He joins former Blues and Flames assistant Marc Savard, who parted ways with Calgary last month, as names linked to the Leafs’ bench already this offseason.

Elsewhere in Leafland:

  • Toronto has expressed interest in retaining trade pickup Joel Edmundson, but the pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman seems intent on testing the market next month, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. The 30-year-old hasn’t ruled out a return to the Leafs but wants to see what else is out there. He struggled with injuries after being picked up from the Capitals the day before the deadline, going without a point and logging a +3 rating in nine regular-season games. He had a decent showing in postseason play, averaging 18:40 in their seven-game loss to the Bruins while adding an assist and a -1 rating. The aging blue liner won a Stanley Cup with Berube as a member of the Blues in 2019.
  • The Leafs appear less likely to retain another depth defenseman, Ilya Lyubushkin, with Pagnotta reporting extension discussions haven’t started with free agency less than a month away. General manager Brad Treliving sent a third-round pick to the Ducks to bring the Russian blue-liner back for his second stint in Toronto, and he was one of their better defensemen in the postseason with three assists and a +4 rating against Boston while riding shotgun alongside Morgan Rielly on their top pairing. The shutdown defender totaled eight assists and a -11 rating in 74 games split between Anaheim and Toronto this season.

Maple Leafs Notes: Domi, McMann, Järnkrok, Edmundson

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Maple Leafs forward Max Domi is expected to miss the final two games of the regular season, head coach Sheldon Keefe said (via David Alter of The Hockey News). It’s an undisclosed injury that’s been nagging him for a while, Keefe said, although he’s aggravated it slightly in recent outings. It’s not expected to plague him heading into the postseason, so they’ll hold him out now with a playoff spot under wraps and make sure he’s ready to go. The 29-year-old has been a late-season revelation, excelling since being bumped up to the first line alongside Auston Matthews and Tyler Bertuzzi. He’s scored just nine goals but has 47 points in 80 games on the year. 37 of his 38 assists have come at even strength, placing him inside the top 15 league-wide.

Elsewhere in Leafland:

  • While there’s still a glimmer of hope for Domi to suit up in the regular-season finale Wednesday against the Lightning, the same can’t be said for Bobby McMann. His lower-body injury will keep him out of both their remaining contests, Keefe said. He also didn’t confirm McMann’s availability for Game 1 of their likely opening-round series against the Panthers, saying, “We’ll see where he’s at as that approaches” (via Mark Masters of TSN). McMann left Saturday’s overtime loss to the Red Wings after skating only four minutes. The undrafted free agent has been Toronto’s most unlikely producer, working his way up from the ECHL over the past few seasons and eventually solidifying his spot as an everyday NHLer this season. He has 15 goals and 24 points in 56 games this season, ranking ninth among Leafs forwards in points per game.
  • Winger Calle Järnkrok’s availability for Game 1 is also in doubt as he continues to recover from a hand injury. Keefe said that his status is “still to be determined, but I think he’s more in a day-to-day situation. Unfortunately, we’re running out of schedule here” (via Masters). Järnkrok was a partial participant in today’s practice and did travel with the team on their regular season-ending road trip to Florida. He hasn’t played since March 14, sustaining his second hand injury of the season after missing over a month with a knuckle fracture in February.
  • Defenseman Joel Edmundson will be re-evaluated by the team’s medical staff ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Panthers, Keefe said (via Masters). The defenseman practiced today as he continues to try and shake an undisclosed injury, which Keefe called a “positive sign” for the trade deadline pickup. He’s been injured for most of his Toronto tenure, missing 10 of 18 games. When in the lineup, he’s averaged 17:56 per game with a +3 rating.

Atlantic Notes: Husso, Motte, Maple Leafs, Highmore

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Ville Husso’s conditioning stint isn’t exactly going as planned.  The Red Wings sent the netminder down to AHL Grand Rapids earlier this week to get him some game action.  However, as MLive’s Tyler Kuehl details, Husso left during the pregame warm-up on Friday night and ultimately didn’t dress for the contest which suggests he either re-aggravated his lower-body injury or sustained some other injury.  There was no update on Husso’s status following the game but at the moment, it’s fair to say that Detroit can’t be counting on the 29-year-old to return down the stretch.  Husso has struggled when he has played with the Red Wings this season, posting a 3.55 GAA with a save percentage of just .892 in 19 appearances.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Lightning winger Tyler Motte is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, relays Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. He left Thursday’s game after blocking a shot and did not return.  While he might not be back for Tampa Bay’s final regular season contests, the injury is not expected to prevent him from being available for the playoffs which kick off next weekend.  Motte has played in 69 games this season, notching six goals and three assists along with 97 hits.
  • Despite missing Friday’s practice with an undisclosed injury, Maple Leafs center Max Domi will play tonight against Detroit, notes David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 29-year-old is just one of two Toronto players who have played in every game this season (William Nylander is the other).  Domi has picked up 47 points in 79 games so far.  Meanwhile, Alter adds that defenseman Joel Edmundson won’t play tonight; head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that “something popped up” regarding the veteran.  Edmundson has been limited to just eight appearances with Toronto since being acquired last month at the trade deadline.
  • Senators forward Matthew Highmore took part in a full practice today, reports Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has missed a little more than a month with an upper-body injury.  Highmore has played in seven games with Ottawa this season, picking up two assists but won’t suit up tonight despite having the full game-day skate.  The pending unrestricted free agent also has 29 points in 40 appearances with AHL Belleville.

Atlantic Notes: Byram, Dahlin, Edmundson, Lyubushkin

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The Buffalo Sabres will be without newcomer defenseman Bowen Byram on Thursday due to a personal matter (Twitter link). Byram also missed the team’s morning practice. He has so far played in 16 games with the Sabres, netting three goals and seven points. That’s a 0.438 point-per-game pace, a significant boost over the 0.363 scoring pace he managed prior to being traded, when he scored 20 points in 55 games with the Colorado Avalanche. His combined 27 points in 71 games mark a new career-high for Byram, topping his 24 points last season.

Buffalo will now be back to square one, trying to make up for a lack of defense depth now without Byram or Erik Johnson, who was also traded at the Trade Deadline. This likely opens the door for Kale Clague to step back into the lineup for Buffalo’s last three games. Clague has made two other appearances in the Sabres lineup this season, recording one assist and one penalty. He was a much more frequent lineup piece last season, playing in 33 games with Buffalo and recording four assists, but he lost his platoon role to rookie Ryan Johnson this year. Johnson, who has played in his first 41 NHL games this year, is currently assigned to the minor-leagues but could receive a call-up if Buffalo wants added depth to close out the season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Staying with the Sabres defense, star Rasmus Dahlin has shared that he is ready to take on the Sabres captaincy, if the opportunity presents itself, per Paul Hamilton of WGR550 (Twitter link). Buffalo recently traded two-year captain Kyle Okposo, leaving the role once again vacant. Dahlin is serving alongside Zemgus Girgensons as the team’s assistant captains, though Girgensons is on an expiring deal and faced trade rumors earlier in the season. That leaves Dahlin, who is signed through the 2031-32 season, as seemingly the last man up in Buffalo’s search for leadership. He could face competition from top centerman Tage Thompson, long-tenured veteran Jeff Skinner, or grizzled personality-piece Alex Tuch – though it’s hard to envision the Sabres not once again placing their trust in Dahlin, who this season became the first Sabres defender since Phil Housley to score 20 goals.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Joel Edmundson has shared that he’s good to go, after missing the team’s last eight games with an undisclosed injury, shares TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). He will be joined in re-entering the lineup by Ilya Lyubushkin, who has missed Toronto’s last three games. Masters adds that Conor Timmins and Jake McCabe will step out of the lineup – with McCabe getting rested after an extended stint in the lineup.

Atlantic Notes: Edmundson, Pinto, Rasmussen

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Maple Leafs defenseman Joel Edmundson won’t be available for their next two games, head coach Sheldon Keefe said (via David Alter of The Hockey News). However, Keefe didn’t rule out the possibility of Edmundson returning later this week, potentially Thursday at home against the Devils. The 30-year-old hasn’t played since sustaining an undisclosed injury against the Hurricanes on March 24, knocking him out for now at least eight games. He’d been solid otherwise for Toronto, controlling possession quality well with a 50.5 xGF% in tough shutdown minutes at even strength through seven games. The Manitoba native is still looking for his first point as a Leaf after they picked him up from the Capitals before the trade deadline.

Other updates out of the Atlantic Division:

  • Senators center Shane Pinto will suit up for the United States at the 2024 World Championship if invited, he confirmed to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia and TSN. While it’s unlikely he’ll crack the roster for the U.S. national team at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off or the 2026 Winter Olympics, Garrioch relays Pinto would like to extend his season regardless and gain experience playing meaningful games after the regular season ends. Pinto has been excellent for Ottawa since serving a 41-game suspension for violating the NHL’s sports wagering rules, racking up eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points in 36 games. He’s averaging 17:41 per game, a career-high by a long shot, and has some of the best possession numbers on the team with a 53.3 CF% and a 60.1 xGF%. The United States last medal at the 2021 tournament, winning bronze, and has lost the bronze medal game in back-to-back years.
  • Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen won’t be in the lineup tomorrow for a crucial game against the Capitals in a crucial game in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, head coach Derek Lalonde confirmed. The two-way winger will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old has done well before his four-year, $12.8MM extension kicks in next season, posting a career-high 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 75 games. He’s logging over 15 minutes per game for the second consecutive campaign, and while his possession numbers have dipped from last season, he’s receiving much more frequent deployment in the defensive zone.

Injury Notes: Nichushkin, Rielly, Edmundson

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Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin will join the team on their road trip and could return Friday against the Oilers, head coach Jared Bednar said today on Altitude Sports Radio (via Altitude’s Conor McGahey). The 29-year-old has carried a day-to-day designation since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Canadiens on March 26. Bednar said Nichushkin will meet the team in Minnesota ahead of tomorrow’s matchup against the Wild, which will mark his fourth straight absence.

It’s been a successful season in limited action for Nichushkin, who returned to the club in early March after spending nearly two months in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Back in his usual top-six role, Nichushkin had four goals and four assists for eight points in eight games since re-entering the lineup after the trade deadline, again averaging over 20 minutes per game. The two-way force has 26 goals and 50 points in 48 games on the season and is on pace to finish above the point-per-game mark for the first time in his nine-year career. His return will allow grinder Brandon Duhaime, who’s jumped up to a second-line role alongside Artturi Lehkonen and Casey Mittelstadt at times since being acquired from Minnesota nearly a month ago, to slot into a more comfortable fourth-line role for his offensive abilities.

Some other modifications to players’ injury statuses this morning:

  • Line rushes indicate top Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly will return tonight against the Lightning after missing four games with an upper-body injury, David Alter of The Hockey News relays. The 30-year-old will return to a top-pairing role flanked by Ilya Lyubushkin, who have controlled 56% of expected goals in 92 minutes together since the latter was re-acquired from the Ducks on March 1, per MoneyPuck. Rielly is averaging 23:49 per game this season, the second-highest mark of his career, and has 51 points in 65 contests. He’s missed nine games on the whole this season, including a five-game suspension in February for cross-checking Senators forward Ridly Greig. 40-year-old Mark Giordano, who had one goal in three games since returning from a concussion, exits the lineup to accommodate Rielly.
  • Sticking with the Leafs, defenseman Joel Edmundson participated in an optional skate today but has been ruled out of Toronto’s next two games with his undisclosed injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters today (via Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun). The trade-deadline pickup from the Capitals hasn’t played in a week and a half, last suiting up on March 24 against the Hurricanes. Edmundson, 30, had yet to get on the scoresheet in seven games with the Leafs but had seen a sharp improvement in his possession quality control, recording a 50.5 xG% in more strenuous defensive minutes compared to a 47.5% mark with the Caps. The 6’5″ bruiser is now five years removed from his Stanley Cup win with the Blues and is looking to get back there by excelling in a shutdown role in Toronto. He remains with a day-to-day designation and could return when the Leafs take on former GM Kyle Dubas and the Penguins next Monday.

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