Kings recall goaltender Erik Portillo and defenseman Jacob Moverare from AHL’s Ontario Reign

Happy Friday, Insiders.

The LA Kings have recalled goaltender Erik Portillo and defenseman Jacob Moverare from the AHL’s Ontario Reign. More to come on Moverare, but for the young goaltender, he earns the first NHL recall of his professional career. Veteran Darcy Kuemper left Wednesday’s game in Colorado early due to an undisclosed injury, with an update on his status expected to come after today’s practice. The Kings are recalling one of the AHL’s top netminders in Portillo, who is coming off a stout performance on Wednesday with the Reign, as he stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in a 4-1 win over Tucson.

Overall this season, Portillo is 3-2-0, with a .891 save percentage and a 3.02 goals-against average. His 2023-24 numbers were perhaps more reflective than a five-game sample size, as his .918 save percentage ranked sixth in the league among qualifying goaltenders.

Instant Analysis –
Big Erik!

Welcome to the National League. Portillo’s rookie season was a really good start. Portillo was acquired by the Kings to push towards becoming the goaltender of the future, coming over from Buffalo at the 2023 trade deadline. The fit at the time made a ton of sense. The pipeline was pretty bare for the Kings in net and Portillo was highly regarded out of the University of Michigan. Big and athletic, yet raw in certain areas, Portillo took a bit of time to adapt, beginning the season as the backup in the AHL, but he emerged as a legitimate number one as the season progressed, eventually leading his team into the playoffs, into the third round.

Over the summer, Portillo signed a three-year contract extension. He spoke about his love for the organization, for those who have helped him develop and he talked about how he wants to be here, with the Kings, going forward. Portillo’s contract is a two-way deal this season but years two and three are both one-way deals, with a slightly escalating salary in the third season. That, to me, says that the Kings expect Portillo to challenge for the backup role in the NHL, perhaps as soon as next season. Today will be his first glimpse of the NHL and depending on the severity here with Kuemper, we’ll see how long that glimpse lasts for.

Kings General Manager Rob Blake said that the Kings saw “good things” out of Portillo in Ontario last season, saying he played “very, very well” at that level, especially down the stretch and into the playoffs. Blake also spoke about how the Kings project out potential goaltending situations two to three years out and Portillo is a big factor in that.

When asked about going from Year 1 to Year 2, Portillo used the team “level up” to talk about where he wanted to go. He had a good rookie season with the Reign and wanted to build on it. The sophomore slump has gotten many a young player. Portillo was aware of that, and wanted to make last season the floor, taking steps to continue to push the ceiling. His first opportunity in the NHL is a great way to take that next step forward.

In the bigger picture, the Kings goaltending pipeline is defined, but spaced out. Kuemper has three seasons left on his contract, including this one, and he’s the veteran of the group. At the backend are Carter George and Hampton Slukynsky, who are both so, so early on in their process, several years away from what the Kings hope will be an NHL impact. Portillo is in the middle and with where he’s at, it’s important that the Kings see what they have in him. He has measurables that George and Slukynsky don’t, with the Swede standing at 6-6. While he’s just a second-year pro, he isn’t young, turning 24 back in September. Goaltending development curves are longer by nature, maybe even by design. There’s no rush with Portillo and the structure of his deal is an affirmation that the Kings see the process for what it is, and that they believe in Portillo’s longer-term trajectory.

The timing for him isn’t bad, though, and injuries can always change a timeline. Portillo will get his first opportunity now. I don’t know if this figures to be the opportunity that begins what everyone hopes is an ascent to the NHL, but it could be the first step in that process. You don’t always know when that opportunity is until you’ve already achieved it. Consider this the next test in his process.

Should Portillo get into game action, it would be his first taste of regular-season play in the NHL. He impressed during his preseason debut in Utah, which wound up as his only action of the exhibition season. That’s preseason, though. We all know the regular season is another beast. We don’t know how Portillo will react to NHL regular-season competition for the first time. We could find out soon enough.

Naturally, the Portillo recall leads to speculation about the status of Darcy Kuemper. Expecting that we’ll get an update on Kuemper’s status in a couple hours, but he won’t practice today with the Kings. By then, there should be a clearer picture on where this ranges, from a day-to-day thing to perhaps something a bit longer. Should Kuemper be out for more than just a day-to-day range, which we do not know yet, the Kings only play one game over the next six days, so they could rely on David Rittich to play against the Red Wings and assess from there. There isn’t a back-to-back situation until November 29 and 30, so we’re a long ways out from that point, with five games in total between now and then. Lots of time to see how Kuemper’s situation unfolds, which ultimately impacts Portillo’s. For today, it’s congrats to the big man on the opportunity. Hoping it’s a short one, on accont of Kuemper’s status, which we’ll provide an update on as soon as it is available.

On Moverare, will have more on his status after practice today, but he is the 1-for-1 to replace Caleb Jones, who left Wednesday’s game in Colorado with an upper-body injury. More on Moverare in today’s practice report.