Carter to IR, Ellerby on waivers, Toffoli, Vey up

It was an eventful Friday morning for the Los Angeles Kings.

Keaton Ellerby has been placed on waivers, and Jeff Carter will be going on injured reserve. As first reported by John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor, the Los Angeles-bound players from Manchester that will be fill the roster spots will be center Linden Vey and right wing Tyler Toffoli. Subsequent moves will also likely be made that impact the AHL-Manchester and ECHL-Ontario rosters.

Bigger Kings news: Told that Jeff Carter is out with a lower body injury and is expected to go on IR.

— lisa dillman (@reallisa) November 1, 2013

 

Though there is offensive intrigue in the call-ups of Vey and Toffoli, any loss of Carter for a significant amount of time will have a negative impact on a Kings offense that currently ranks 18th in the league with an average of 2.57 goals per game.

Though tied for the team lead with five goals, Carter was held without a point and compiled a minus-three rating in the San Jose and Phoenix back-to-back set. This will mark the first time he will be placed on injured reserve since he separated a shoulder while a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets in January, 2012. Until this point, the Kings had not lost any man-games due to injury.

Toffoli (7-5=12) and Vey (3-8=11) were Manchester’s leading scorers. In a discussion I had on Wednesday with Jack Ferreira, Special Assistant to General Manager Dean Lombardi, all three members of the renowned AHL line of Tanner Pearson, Vey and Toffoli were deemed ready to make the leap when needed.

Toffoli, a right wing selected in the second round of the 2010 draft, recorded five points (2-3=5) in 10 regular season games and six points (2-4=6) in 12 playoff games last season and is considered to be among the top prospects at the AHL level. Vey, a center selected in the fourth round in 2009, is yet to make his NHL debut. I caught up with Vey several times during training camp.

Ellerby, acquired from the Florida Panthers for a fifth round draft pick in February, had not drawn into a game this season. He recorded three assists in 35 games and appeared in five playoff games with Los Angeles in 2012-13.