Kings Recall Andre Lee, Taylor Ward
The Kings added forwards Andre Lee and Taylor Ward to the roster on recall from AHL Ontario, per a team announcement. Winger Corey Perry was placed on the non-roster list in a corresponding move as he deals with the illness of a family member, according to Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period.
Lee’s and Ward’s presence comes after Anže Kopitar and Joel Armia both left the Kings’ Monday game against the Wild with lower-body and upper-body injuries, respectively. They’re both day-to-day and won’t play tonight, per Bernstein, but the fact they haven’t been placed on injured reserve is a good sign for their availability on Friday against the Jets.
Lee, 25, comes up for the first time this season after getting a taste of NHL hockey last year. A seventh-round pick back in 2019, the 6’4″ winger is enjoying an offensive breakout in Ontario. After never recording more than 20 points in a season, he’s already hit 27 in just 32 games and leads the team with 15 goals.
The UMass-Lowell alum suited up 19 times for L.A. last season, recording a goal and three points with a -5 rating. He wasn’t used on special teams and was bound to fourth-line minutes at 5-on-5, averaging 9:10 per game. Despite that, he finished fourth on the team with 1.89 hits per game and averaged nearly a shot per night. However, despite receiving the most sheltered offensive zone usage of any Kings forward, his 51.2% share of shot attempts ranked near the bottom among L.A. skaters.
The Kings are hoping Lee’s possession game has improved as he steps back into the lineup tonight against the Sharks. He’ll also get a taste of shorthanded action as he’s expected to factor in on the team’s second penalty kill unit, per John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor.
Ward will also be entering the lineup for just his second NHL appearance. The 27-year-old debuted in the final game of the regular season last year, scoring the Kings’ lone goal in a 5-1 loss to the Flames. A 6’2″ winger, he’s also enjoying the best offensive season of his pro career with 12 goals and 21 points in 32 games for Ontario.
The son of one-time King Dixon Ward, he’s in his fourth professional season after signing with L.A. as a free agent out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2022. While in school, he averaged 0.88 points per game for the Mavericks.
Waivers: 10/1/25
With less than a week to go until the regular season, waiver season is in full swing. According to PuckPedia, the largest waiver placement of the preseason has taken place:
Boston Bruins
Colorado Avalanche
D Wyatt Aamodt
F Daniil Gushchin
Detroit Red Wings
F Sheldon Dries
D William Lagesson
F John Leonard
D Ian Mitchell
F Dominik Shine
F Austin Watson
Florida Panthers
F MacKenzie Entwistle
F Nolan Foote
F Wilmer Skoog
Los Angeles Kings
D Samuel Bolduc
F Logan Brown
F Martin Chromiak
G Pheonix Copley
F Glenn Gawdin
F Cole Guttman
D Joe Hicketts
F Andre Lee
F Akil Thomas
F Taylor Ward
Nashville Predators
Philadelphia Flyers
San Jose Sharks
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Nicholas Abruzzese
F Boris Katchouk
F Jakob Pelletier
Utah Mammoth
Washington Capitals
D Louis Belpedio
F Graeme Clarke
F Henrik Rybinski
F Bogdan Trineyev
Winnipeg Jets
Kings Re-Sign Taylor Ward
The Kings are using Day 2 of free agency to round out their depth after being one of the bigger spenders on Day 1, signing forward Taylor Ward to a one-year, two-way deal, PuckPedia reports.
Ward, 27, was an unrestricted free agent for less than 24 hours. The undrafted pickup by the Kings back in 2022 now signs his fourth consecutive one-year deal with the club, this one carrying a $775K NHL salary and $300K AHL salary, per PuckPedia. That’s nearly double the $165K AHL salary he earned on last year’s two-way deal.
While Ward again spent the vast majority of the season with AHL Ontario, he was called up for his NHL debut in the Kings’ final game of the season. He scored L.A.’s lone goal in a 5-1 loss to the Flames, recording four shots and three hits in 14:52 of ice time.
Down with Ontario, the University of Nebraska-Omaha product had 12 goals, 15 assists, and 27 points in 66 games with a plus-six rating. He has a 35-60–95 scoring line in 224 AHL games over the last four seasons.
Ward had to clear waivers to head to Ontario at the beginning of last season and likely won’t have a problem doing so again this fall. L.A. has now filled 44 of its 50 contract slots for this season.
Los Angeles Kings Recall Six Black Aces
As they look to stave off elimination in Game 6, the Los Angeles Kings announced several recalls. According to the announcement, forwards Andre Lee, Francesco Pinelli, Jack Studnicka, Taylor Ward, defenseman Caleb Jones, and netminder Pheonix Copley have been recalled as black aces.
Pinelli is the only player of the group who hasn’t debuted in the NHL yet. Although he has mild NHL experience, Studnicka did not play with the Kings during the regular season.
The remaining four all enjoyed limited playing time with Los Angeles this year. Lee appeared in the most contests, scoring one goal and two assists in 19 games while averaging 9:10 of ice time per game.
Los Angeles likely recalled players solely based on their past NHL experience. They did not promote any of the Reign’s top four point scorers (although Jeff Malott is already on the team) or the top five players with the best +/- ratings.
Still, it’s unlikely any of the six call-ups will play in Game 6 for the Kings. Entering their first elimination game of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, Tanner Jeannot remains the only injured member on the roster. Without any meaningful injury updates after Game 5, it’s unlikely any of today’s recalls will suit up for the Kings.
Kings Recall Taylor Ward, Reassign Caleb Jones
There will now be two Taylor Wards in the Los Angeles area. The Kings announced they’ve recalled Ward from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, on an emergency basis and reassigned defenseman Caleb Jones in a corresponding roster move.
While the other Ward has patrolled left field for the MLB’s Los Angeles Angels for the last eight years, the Kings’ Ward has spent the last three-and-a-half years with AHL Ontario, including the 2024-25 AHL season. After a four-year career with the NCAA’s University of Nebraska-Omaha program, Los Angeles brought Ward into the organization as a collegiate free agent in 2022.
He’s been a capable tertiary scorer for the Reign, scoring 35 goals and 59 points in 223 AHL contests. Without having much in the way of postseason experience, Ward has registered two goals and eight points in 14 playoff games. There’s no word on whether or not he’ll suit up for the Kings tonight. Still, they have nothing to lose by allowing him to make his NHL debut.
Meanwhile, Jones was recalled on an emergency basis only a few days ago. He appeared in his first NHL contest in five months, registering zero points against the Seattle Kraken after accruing 11:20 of ice time. Jones, as Ward will eventually, will now be tasked with helping the Reign in their pursuit of the Calder Cup.
Waiver Wire: 10/4/24
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:
Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins
G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
New Jersey Devils
F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman
Philadelphia Flyers
F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals
Kings Sign Taylor Ward, Joe Hicketts To One-Year Contracts
The Los Angeles Kings have announced the signing of forward Taylor Ward and defenseman Joe Hicketts to matching one-year, two-way, league-minimum contracts. They also confirmed the previously-reported signing of forward Kaleb Lawrence to a three-year, entry-level deal yesterday.
Both Ward and Hicketts have become familiar faces in the AHL over the last three seasons. Ward stepped into pros with a one-year, entry-level contract signed in March of 2022 – a deal he earned with a strong performance on an amateur try-out agreement with the Ontario Reign, following his Senior year at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He’s since appeared in 158 AHL games, recording 23 goals and 68 points. That includes his career-high 11 goals and 32 points posted in 71 games this season. Ward is still awaiting the first NHL call-up of his career – a feat his new contract keeps him eligible for. He added a good deal of physical confidence, especially in front of the net, last season and could be a go-to depth option, should L.A. need extra forwards next season.
Meanwhile, Hicketts will look to fight his way back to the NHL on this new deal. The 28-year-old defender also began his career as an undrafted free agent, signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings after a strong performance as a training camp invitee in 2014. He made his NHL debut a little over three years later, appearing in 22 games with the Red Wings between 2018 and 2020. Hicketts only posted five points, all assists, in those outings, adding four penalty minutes and a collective -9. He’s since spent the last four years in the minor leagues, on tours with the Griffins, the Iowa Wild, and the Reign. The stable role has led to strong results, with Hicketts posted a career-high 42 assists and 48 points in 72 games with in Iowa last season – and 20 points in 30 games with the Regin this year, after missing three months with an early-season injury. It will be that momentum that Hicketts enters the 2024-25 season with, looking to fight for an NHL role among a crowded Kings defense group.
Los Angeles Kings Re-Sign Taylor Ward
The Los Angeles Kings have also re-signed an AHL prospect after not qualifying them a few hours ago. Per PuckPedia, the team has re-signed 25-year-old forward Taylor Ward to a one-year deal worth $775K in the NHL and $95K in the minors.
Ward, 25, just completed his first full pro season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. The son of longtime NHLer Dixon Ward played in 71 of the team’s 72 regular-season games, recording nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points.
He was brought into the organization last year as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he registered 39 points in 38 games during his senior season. Ward then impressed in the minors on an ATO with the Reign to end 2021-22, recording 10 points in 16 games. However, he was never able to earn a recall to the NHL roster this season.
Ward left his career at Nebraska-Omaha as one of the top scorers in the program’s history, accumulating 57 goals and 58 assists for 115 points in 131 games. It’s been a sharp rise for Ward, who recorded just nine points in 56 games with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees in his draft year, the 2015-16 season – numbers that may not have even put him on the NHL Central Scouting mass list.
He’ll now have another chance to try and climb up the Kings’ ranks before becoming a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next offseason.
Kings Sign Taylor Ward
The Kings have added to their prospect pool as the team announced that they’ve signed forward Taylor Ward to a one-year, entry-level contract. The deal is for next season and Ward will join Ontario of the AHL on an ATO agreement for the remainder of this season.
The 22-year-old recently wrapped up his fourth and final season with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Through his first three years, he had been fairly consistent offensively, notching between 22 and 27 points but this season, Ward was able to take a big step forward in his production. In 38 games, he led the Mavericks in scoring with 19 goals and 20 assists and was the only player on the team to score more than 10 goals which likely got the power forward on the NHL radar.
Ward’s cap hit will be $842.5K next season. That suggests a base salary of $750K plus a maximum $92.5K signing bonus which means there will be at least $82.5K in performance bonuses in the deal as well.