Kings assign five to AHL-Ontario, place five on waivers as final roster approaches

Another set of transactions, Insiders.

The LA Kings have announced a slew of roster moves, as they get the NHL roster down to a more manageable number, with Saturday’s preseason final nearly upon us.

Saturday’s game has a clear focus – get the NHL group in action, all together, perhaps as we should expect to see them in Colorado next week. With a practice day tomorrow, it’s important to have a manageable group in place to set up for the game the following afternoon.

With that in mind, here are the moves the Kings announced earlier today, with 11 players departing the training-camp roster –

Loaned to the Ontario Reign (AHL)
Angus Booth
Aatu Jamsen
Kirill Kirsanov
Jared Woolley
Koehn Ziemmer

Placed on Waivers for the purpose of being assigned to the Ontario Reign
Martin Chromiak
Cole Guttman
Joe Hicketts
Lane Pederson
Francesco Pinelli

Placed on injured non-roster
Jan Jenik
Jakub Dvorak

Re-assigned to QMJHL-Cape Breton
Liam Lefebvre

Following today’s transactions, the Kings have 29 players remaining on their training-camp roster – 17 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders remaining on their training camp roster. Assuming the five players on waivers clear, they would be assigned to the AHL tomorrow morning.

I don’t want to say there isn’t anything in this announcement, but today’s moves don’t really reflect the more difficult decisions. Of the players assigned to the AHL or placed on waivers, I don’t think there are a ton of surprises. I looked at maybe a Lane Pederson or a Cole Guttman as someone who had an outside chance at the roster. Maybe the same for Angus Booth or Kirill Kirsanov with a big camp. However, there are still more moves to come and those will be the tougher decisions, though there aren’t as many as 31 players remaining would suggest.

Up front, forward Mats Zuccarello has been in a red, non-contact jersey, though he’s expected to be ready for Opening Night. Maybe he plays on Saturday. Forward Corey Perry is currently away from the team for personal reasons. Both are on the roster, but considering the situation, there are a couple of extra players here in camp. Forward Kevin Fiala remains sidelined, while defenseman Otto Salin is also injured. Both remain on the training camp roster.

I think that, ideally, Peter Laviolette would like to have no more than 15 forwards, eight defensemen and two or three goaltenders remaining for these final camp practices, so that he can effectively make sure that all of his NHL players are getting the repetitions they need. He essentially does have that, but with those caveats.

Including Zuccarello and Perry, here is who the Kings have remaining in training camp –

Forwards (16) – Joel Armia, Quinton Byfield, Kenny Connors, Erik Haula, Samuel Helenius, Adrian Kempe, Alex Laferriere, Scott Laughton, Andre Lee, Trevor Moore, Artemi Panarin, Corey Perry, Alex Turcotte, Taylor Ward, Jared Wright, Mats Zuccarello

Defensemen (8) – Mikey Anderson, Cody Ceci, Brandt Clarke, Drew Doughty, Brian Dumoulin, Joel Edmundson, Erik Gustafsson, Scott Perunovich

Goaltenders (3) – Anton Forsberg, Darcy Kuemper, Erik Portillo

Injured (2) – Kevin Fiala, Otto Salin

Some notable takeaways from today’s transactions –

– Goaltender Erik Portillo was not assigned to the AHL. Portillo is waiver-exempt, meaning he can transfer freely between the NHL and AHL at this time. For now, he remains with the big group. There was talk about carrying three goaltenders this season and we could possibly see that at some point. The October schedule, though, does not lend kindly to that approach, with just six games over the first 20 days of the regular season. Unclear on how things might proceed.

Portillo is in a tough spot. It’s not really all that fair to him. In a four-game preseason, he’s the one who got squeezed and that went double when you look at how the Kings goaltending is shaking out. Portillo is the number-three in the organization and if there were an injury to Darcy Kuemper or Anton Forsberg, Portillo would be the guy who gets called up. However, he won’t start a preseason game and the Kings have made it clear that Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George need to play AHL games in Ontario. Feels like each would get one AHL exhibition game this coming weekend. Leaves Portillo in a tough spot. He is ready to be tested as an NHL backup, but that role isn’t available in Los Angeles. Tough place to be.

– On the blueline, I don’t believe there are any surprises with this group of eight. The six from last year are set on the roster, considering their contracts, and Erik Gustafsson always felt like a signing for the NHL club. Scott Perunovich has NHL experience as well and it’s not surprising to see him sticking around the main group. Having four full pairs at practice makes things easier at times, even if eight might becomes seven as the Kings are required to get down to 23.

Who plays with who is where the conversation really goes from here. Does a Gustafsson or a Perunovich get a chance to unseat a player who was here last season? For the roster picture, however, no surprises with today’s news.

Up front is where things need to move over the next few days.

There are 16 healthy forwards on the active roster, including Zuccarello and Perry. Still with the big club are Kenny Connors, Andre Lee, Taylor Ward and Jared Wright.

Assuming full health, I see 20 players who feel like a lock to make the team, which leaves three spots for the following group – Portillo, Gustafsson, Perunovich, Connors, Lee, Ward, Wright. I suppose there could always be a surprise cut, but the other 20 players feel pretty likely. Again, assuming full health and availability, that would mean four of those players listed above would be assigned to the AHL.

Question one is do the Kings keep two or three goaltenders. If it’s three, that only leaves room for two additional skaters to make the team and some more difficult decisions. If it’s two in net, it opens the door for one additional bubble player to make the roster. 2/6 versus 3/6 is quite different.

Question two is do the Kings envision keeping seven defensemen or eight. We’ve seen both in the past. If it’s seven, the picture again becomes a little bit clearer as one of Gustafsson or Perunovich would be placed on waivers and the other would make the roster. With Gustafsson’s experience and familiarity with the NHL coaching staff, he remains in the driver’s seat for that spot. If it’s eight, the roster gets tighter up front.

Then comes question three – which forwards will make the team?

Connors sticking around is deserved with how he played. It’s maybe a little bit surprising, because he does not need to clear waivers to head to the AHL and that typically works against a younger player in a roster battle. Connors, though, has played three strong exhibition games. He has a couple of assists and has transported the puck well, while providing responsible, defensive play. With the Kings, the openings are more there on the wings, but if the Kings were to keep 14 forwards on their roster, a guy like Connors could stick around. Maybe Laviolette sees him as a legitimate option to center a line in Colorado, as he’s spoken highly of him. Good on Connors for standing out as he has.

Lee has stood out positively in each game he’s played during the preseason. He had a well-taken assist in Anaheim yesterday and his combination of size and physicality, along with good touch for a bigger player, has allowed him to really impress. When you look at the opportunities earned by bubble players, Lee’s were atop the list. He played with NHL players at even strength and on the power play. Good on him. He came into training camp in 2024 and made the team from off the radar. While he was more in the picture this time around, he might just be able to run that feat back.

The most experienced member of that group is Taylor Ward, who played 36 regular-season games with the Kings last season. I think that Ward probably came in with an inside track towards making the team, especially with Kevin Fiala unavailable. He was a Top-3 standout at last season’s training camp but I don’t feel he’s made the same impact this time around. Probably had his best game last night, though, and his NHL track record should carry some weight. Ward is an honest, hardworking player who will likely play NHL games this season. He’s a guy who has been effective in a fourth-line role in his time in the league.

For Wright, once he was called up in March he never left. Played in every game – regular season and playoffs – from that point on, including the 2026 Rookie Faceoff and the 2026 preseason. Wright’s speed is undeniably NHL-caliber. The rest of his game, though, is still a work in progress and it’s fair to ask whether it’s better served in the NHL or the AHL. I like Wright a lot and I’ve said from the start I think he is an NHL player today. I still believe that. I think he’s done some good things in camp but maybe hasn’t stood out to the level of a Lee or Connors. Interested to see where that leaves him.

For Connors and Wright, working against them is waiver eligibility. Lee and Ward would need waivers to hit the AHL. Connors and Wright do not. If either player is someone who Laviolette wants in the lineup in Colorado, they should be here. If they’re a 13th or 14th forward, I don’t think it’s worth it, especially with guys who need to play every night in their development process.

So that’s where we stand with Opening Night six days away.

With respect to who is left, we’ve got one more game and we should expect to see everyone playing together.

Assuming Zuccarello plays and Perry doesn’t, here is what I would do in Game 4 against Anaheim.

Panarin – Byfield – Kempe
Zuccarello – Turcotte – Laferriere
Moore – Haula – Armia
Lee – Laughton – Wright

Anderson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Doughty
Edmundson – Ceci

Kuemper
Portillo

If Perry is ready to play, he would play RW4 in this alignment. This keeps in mind that Gustafsson, Perunovich and (I think) Forsberg aren’t eligible to play due to the two-game veteran rule.

See on Saturday if Peter Laviolette and his staff agree!