Kings Activate Mikey Anderson And Alex Turcotte
On top of debuting Artemi Panarin, the Kings welcomed back a pair of players for their game tonight against Vegas. The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mikey Anderson and forward Alex Turcotte have been activated off injured reserve. After recently moving Kevin Fiala to IR, they had two open roster spots so no other corresponding moves needed to be made.
Anderson is having a quiet year offensively (many are on the Kings, who sit 31st in goals scored), but he continues to hold down a top-four shutdown role. The 26-year-old has two goals and seven assists in 54 games this season but is second on the team in blocks with 77. Anderson is also averaging more than 20 minutes per game for the sixth straight season.
Anderson was sidelined with an upper-body injury at the beginning of the month against Carolina. However, thanks to the Olympic break, he ultimately only missed two games.
Turcotte’s absence was a little longer as he missed an extra week. The 24-year-old has been a regular on the fourth line in Los Angeles this season but has also seen his production go in the wrong direction. After picking up a career-high 25 points in 68 games in 2024-25, he has been limited to just three goals and nine assists in 49 outings this season. However, he’s winning nearly 56% of his faceoffs, which is allowing him to contribute even with the drop in production.
Evening Notes: Anderson, Luukkonen, Ratzlaff
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson told reporters, including Zach Dooley, Manager of Editorial Content for the team, that he is optimistic to return next game post-break, against Vegas on February 25.
The 26-year-old was able to skate over the break and is on the right track. Anderson left early against Carolina on February 1 with an apparent finger injury, unable to go in the Kings’ last two games before the Olympics. Clearly missing their trusty shutdown sidekick of Drew Doughty, the Kings lost both, and were outscored 8-3. Anderson was placed on injured reserve February 8.
Set to host Vegas in six days, the game will be full of excitement as Artemi Panarin is expected to make his long awaited Kings debut, although with the damper of missing Kevin Fiala after his devastating injury in Milan. Hopefully with Anderson back in the mix, Los Angeles will work on catching Anaheim for the second Wild Card spot and push for the playoffs.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned to practice today, noted by Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550, and seems to be on track to return in his club’s next game as well. The soon to be 27-year-old left mid game against Toronto on January 27 due to an apparent lower-body injury, concerning as he had to miss the start of the campaign due to the same ailment. Unfortunately, the injury cost him a spot on Team Finland at the Olympics, opening the door for Bruins netminder Joonas Korpisalo. Luukkonen has posted a .902 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average, to go with an 11-7-2 record. Buffalo is back in action next Wednesday at New Jersey.
- Not surprising given Luukkonen’s positive news, Buffalo reassigned fellow netminder Scott Ratzlaff back to ECHL Jacksonville earlier today. Like many others across the league, Ratzlaff got to fill in and practice with the big club during the Olympic break. A fifth round selection by the team in 2023, the 20-year-old is in his first professional season hailing from the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. Ratzlaff has spent most time in the ECHL, posting a strong .916 save percentage in 12 contests, also playing in six games for AHL Rochester, winning three.
Injury Notes: Hughes, Pettersson, Anderson, Crosby
The Vancouver Canucks could be a few star players short in their first game back out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Head coach Rick Tocchett (shared via Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre) confirmed that forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t be available against the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow due to injuries.
No report specified what type of injury Pettersson is dealing with but he’s only expected to miss a day or two. Meanwhile, Hughes’ oblique injury precluded him from participating in the international hockey tournament although he did attempt to return for the championship bout between Canada and the United States.
Vancouver entered the 4 Nations Face-Off break on the heels of a 6-1-1 record. Pettersson and Hughes could miss the second half of the back-to-back against the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday but the club could become increasingly uneasy should their absences extend further.
Other injury notes:
- According to The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, the Los Angeles Kings are expected to welcome back defenseman Michael Anderson against the Utah Hockey Club tomorrow night. The six-year pro missed the last four games before the 4 Nations Face-Off because of a finger injury. Los Angeles still needs to activate Anderson from the injured reserve but his return will give the Kings a healthy lineup to start the final stretch of the regular season.
- Despite playing in all four of Canada’s games for the 4 Nations Face-Off, captain Sidney Crosby may not be ready to return to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported earlier that Crosby will be a game-time decision for tomorrow afternoon’s action against the Washington Capitals. Yohe didn’t specify whether Crosby is dealing with a minor injury or needs another day of rest from the hotly-contested event. The future Hall of Famer finished his sixth championship-winning international event with one goal and four assists.
Kings Recall Pheonix Copley On Emergency Basis, Place Mikey Anderson On IR
With Darcy Kuemper away from the team for personal reasons, the Kings needed to add a goalie to their roster for their game tonight versus Anaheim. The team announced that veteran netminder Pheonix Copley has been recalled from AHL Ontario. To make room on the roster, defenseman Mikey Anderson has been placed on injured reserve.
It’s the fourth recall of the season for Copley whose previous stints with the big club have been short-lived. That trend will almost certainly continue as he’s a strong candidate to be sent back to the Reign following the game. The North Pole native has only made one appearance with Los Angeles this season, that coming in relief back in mid-October but extended his streak of seasons with an NHL game to four. Copley has also played 20 times for Ontario, putting up a 2.45 GAA along with a .906 SV%.
Anderson, meanwhile, has missed a little more than a week with a finger injury sustained late last month. He has logged heavy minutes for Los Angeles this season, ranking second on the team in ATOI at 22:50 (excluding Drew Doughty who is five games into his return). Through 49 games, Anderson has five goals and nine assists along with 83 blocks and 68 hits. He’ll be eligible to be activated at any time as he has already missed more than the required seven days.
Kings’ Mikey Anderson Out Week To Week
Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson will be out with an upper-body injury on a week-to-week basis, interim head coach Jim Hiller said Saturday (via Eric Stephens of The Athletic). Hiller also confirmed that winger Viktor Arvidsson, who landed on LTIR earlier Saturday with a lower-body injury, carries the same designation, confirming an earlier report from Kevin Weekes of ESPN.
Anderson, 24, sustained the injury in the third period of Thursday’s 4-1 loss to Nashville. He skated to the bench hunched over after being harassed for puck possession by Predators winger Luke Evangelista.
It’s a major loss for the Kings, who are now without half their top defense pairing on a semi-long-term basis. Anderson and Drew Doughty have played 878 minutes together this season, the second-most of any pairing in the league, with a respectable 52.1 expected goals percentage, per MoneyPuck. Only the Blues’ Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko have been paired together more frequently.
A fourth-round pick of the Kings in 2017, Anderson has surpassed all the benchmarks expected of him as a shutdown prospect. He’s averaged over 20 minutes per game in each of his four full NHL seasons and has one goal, 14 assists, 15 points, and a +14 rating in 55 games this year.
Individually, however, Anderson is having his worst two-way season since cementing himself in L.A.’s top four. While still adept at limiting quality against at even strength, he’s become more of an offensive damper this season and has an expected -1.9 rating as a result. His -3.1 relative Corsi-for percentage at even strength is also the worst of his career.
That said, his minutes are difficult to replace. Vladislav Gavrikov, who’s put up better possession metrics than Anderson during his first full season in Los Angeles while anchoring their second pairing with Matt Roy, will likely slide up alongside Doughty. 23-year-old Jordan Spence was recalled from AHL Ontario in a corresponding transaction with Arvidsson’s LTIR placement and will draw into the lineup tonight against Anaheim.
NHL Announces 2023 King Clancy Memorial Trophy Nominees
In an announcement made Tuesday afternoon, the NHL unveiled the list of nominees for the 2023 King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities both on and off the ice, as well as making a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to their community.
The list of nominees for this year’s award is an impressive one, featuring some of the league’s most well-respected captains, such as Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov.
One notable nominee is one of the youngest captains in the league – Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk, in a few short years as a Senator, has already implanted himself in the community, especially in recent seasons. Working with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Tkachuk hosts the ‘Tkachuk’s Captains’ program, which works with kids at club locations across Ottawa to help develop leadership skills.
That’s not to diminish the off-ice efforts of anyone else named on the full list of nominees, found below. While an often-overlooked award, it’s a great way to highlight some players who focus on making positive contributions to their communities.
Anaheim: Kevin Shattenkirk
Arizona: Travis Boyd
Boston: Patrice Bergeron
Buffalo: Alex Tuch
Calgary: Mikael Backlund
Carolina: Jordan Staal
Chicago: Connor Murphy
Colorado: Devon Toews
Columbus: Zach Werenski
Dallas: Jason Robertson
Detroit: Dylan Larkin
Edmonton: Darnell Nurse
Florida: Aleksander Barkov
Los Angeles: Mikey Anderson
Minnesota: Matt Dumba
Montreal: Jordan Harris
Nashville: Juuse Saros
New Jersey: Jack Hughes
NY Islanders: Anders Lee
NY Rangers: Jacob Trouba
Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk
Philadelphia: Scott Laughton
Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin
San Jose: Luke Kunin
Seattle: Chris Driedger
St. Louis: Brayden Schenn
Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman
Toronto: Morgan Rielly
Vancouver: Elias Pettersson
Vegas: Reilly Smith
Washington: Tom Wilson
Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler
Los Angeles Kings Emergency Recall Jordan Spence
The Los Angeles Kings announced Wednesday that they have recalled defenseman Jordan Spence on an emergency basis from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
Spence, 22, has been playing with the Reign for most of the season, scoring four goals and adding 38 assists in 53 games. The move comes as the Kings deal with a rash of injuries on their blue line, with Alex Edler and Mikey Anderson currently sidelined with undisclosed injuries.
The Kings are well-positioned for the stretch run, having clinched a playoff berth earlier this week. The focus now sets on playoff positioning, with the most likely outcome a rematch of last year’s First Round series against the Edmonton Oilers. Spence isn’t coming into potential NHL action cold turkey, though, having played five games earlier this season with the Kings and being involved in multiple paper transactions throughout the year. He also recorded eight points in 24 games last season with Los Angeles and appeared in three playoff games.
Spence, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Kings, is a skilled puck-mover who excels in transition and logs big minutes at the minor-league level. He also possesses a solid defensive game, using his quick feet and positioning to shut down opposing forwards. He figures to be a future piece in the team’s top six defense corps, and he’s a great option to have on hand as a depth call-up at this stage in his development.
Los Angeles Kings Extend Mikey Anderson
6:33 pm: CapFriendly has reported the full breakdown of the eight-year contract. He’ll receive $1.6MM in base salary and a $2MM signing bonus in 2023-24, and $4.2MM per year (all in base salary) for the remainder of the contract. There is no trade protection involved.
12:06 pm: The Los Angeles Kings, rumored to be involved in a trade for one defenseman, have signed a long-term extension with another. Mikey Anderson has inked an eight-year deal that will kick in next season, and keep him under contract through 2030-31. Moving forward, he will carry an average annual value of $4.125MM.
Kings general manager Rob Blake had this to say:
We’re excited to have a player of Mikey Anderson’s caliber signed to the Kings long-term. Mikey has not only developed into a trusted, shut-down player on the ice, but a well-respected individual in the room that we envision continuing to grow into our leadership core.
Anderson, 23, has quickly become one of the most reliable defensive defensemen in the league. Despite his relatively small frame, he plays a physical, risk-free brand of hockey and is almost always found latched onto the other team’s best, frustrating them at every turn.
Selected in the fourth round in 2017, he not only became a star at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but his leadership skills quickly shone through, making him the captain of the U.S. World Junior team that won silver in 2019. He would win a national championship a few months later, his second in as many years, and then transition to professional hockey.
It only took him half a minor league season before showing he was ready for the NHL, and he’s never looked back. Anderson has 33 points in 172 regular season games, and now averages close to 22 minutes a night for the Kings.
Defense-first defensemen rarely get huge paydays, but this is a significant commitment from Los Angeles nonetheless. Anderson’s current contract was just a one-year, $1MM deal that he signed in September as a bridge, but he’ll never have to negotiate as a restricted free agent again.
With the suspected cap increase, this could quickly turn into quite the bargain for the Kings. Anderson already sits as the 74th-highest cap hit among defenders for next season, a number that will continue to go down as more players sign new deals.
Even if more offense never comes, Anderson’s strong defensive play should make this a reasonable bet for the Kings to make.
Evening Notes: O’Reilly, Robertson, Anderson
After losing Alex Pietrangelo to free agency a couple of offseasons ago, having David Perron and Ville Husso leave the same way this offseason, and observing this summer’s Calgary Flames from afar, the St. Louis Blues made it a priority this offseason to sign young stars Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou long-term. The organization accomplished that feat on Tuesday by signing Kyrou to an eight-year, $65MM contract which will kick in during the 2023-24 season – two months to the day after Thomas signed an identical deal. Although St. Louis has several key UFAs at season’s end, including Ryan O’Reilly an Vladimir Tarasenko, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on today’s 32 Thoughts podcast that the Blues’ priority was to get their two pending RFAs signed long-term.
Despite their clear focus, Friedman believes St. Louis will take a run at re-signing O’Reilly too, seeing term as the likely sticking point for both sides, O’Reilly turning 32 in February. A comparable contract could be Nazem Kadri, as Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek suggests, given his age and style of play, but as Friedman says, “I don’t know if I can see St. Louis doing that” (Kadri signed for seven years and $49MM). Of course, with their two biggest building blocks signed long-term through their prime years, the Blues have put themselves in a good position, however it’s still worth noting the departure of two key pieces from this year’s team (Perron and Husso) and further departures of O’Reilly or Tarasenko, or both, could put a further dent in the team’s plans for it’s current build.
- Earlier this week, we discussed Jason Robertson‘s contract negotiations, which were said to be speeding up with an open dialogue. Friedman also discussed the potential contract on today’s podcast, opining that a possible eight-year, $64MM contract might not be enough to sign the young forward long-term anymore. Friedman cites to the recent extensions of Kyrou and Tim Stutzle, both for eight-years at $65MM and $66.8MM, respectively, as examples of why Robertson could reasonably reject a long-term offer at an AAV of $8MM. Complicating the matter even more is that, right now, Dallas wouldn’t be able to afford an $8MM cap hit on Robertson anyways, having just over $6.3MM in available salary cap space. In that case, the more likely scenario would be a bridge deal for both sides that would carry Robertson to, or at least closer to, UFA status. If Dallas is intent on signing their RFA long-term, one option to clear cap space, which was suggested a few weeks ago by Dallas Stars Senior Staff Writer Mike Heike, would be to trade goaltender Anton Khudobin, who carries a $3.33MM cap hit.
- A final note from Friedman today, the Los Angeles Kings may have been interested in trying to sign defenseman Mikey Anderson to a long-term contract extension. As he elaborates, Friedman believes the team had talked to him about what it would take to get a long-term deal done, but just didn’t have the ability to fit it in. The Kings and Anderson will be able to sign another extension beginning on January 1st of next year, and though Friedman didn’t say a long-term signing is going to be announced then and there, he does believe Los Angeles was able to get a sense of what that deal might have to look like and can better handle it in the future. Rumors that the Kings could try to sign Anderson long-term are interesting considering the defenseman signed just a one-year, $1MM contract a few days ago, causing some to wonder that if that was the price on a one-year pact, it couldn’t have been all that much more for four or more years. Though that might be the case, the recent signings of Anderson an fellow defenseman Sean Durzi leave the team with just under $500K in cap room, which would be a tight squeeze if Anderson’s number came in just under $1.5MM per season, but on a long-term deal for a promising young defenseman, that number may well have been higher.
Kings Re-Sign Mikey Anderson
The Kings had two remaining restricted free agents to deal with but that has been cut to one as they announced the re-signing of defenseman Mikey Anderson to a one-year contract. The deal is worth $1MM.
The 23-year-old has quickly become an important part of the back end for Los Angeles over the last two seasons, logging over 20 minutes a night. Last season, he played in 57 games (missing the rest of them due to an upper-body injury and a brief stint in COVID protocol), collecting eight points while taking only four minor penalties. Anderson also took a regular turn on the penalty kill and led all Kings rearguards in hits. All in all, he has quickly become an unheralded top-four defender for them.
Anderson is coming off his entry-level deal with a required qualifying offer of $874,125 and didn’t have salary arbitration rights this summer. Between that, his limited offensive production, and their salary cap situation, that would have made a multi-year agreement hard to work out. By going this route, Los Angeles gets Anderson at a bargain rate which will help from a cap-management perspective. However, Anderson will qualify for salary arbitration next summer which will help pave the way for a bigger increase at that time. He’ll be owed a $1MM qualifying offer at that time.
GM Rob Blake will now turn his focus to their other unsigned blueliner in Sean Durzi. He’s in the same situation as Anderson was as he has completed his entry-level pact but didn’t qualify for arbitration eligibility this summer. The team has a little over $1.37MM in cap space to work with to get that contract done, per CapFriendly.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Anderson was nearing a one-year agreement.