Kings Arvidsson Out Week-to-Week Per Reports & What Comes Next

After just three games and 17 seconds, Los Angeles Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson once again suffered an injury, leaving Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Kings PR announced that Arvidsson would not return on Tuesday and reports on Wednesday suggested that Arvidsson is now considered week-to-week.

There hasn't been an update on the specifics of Arvidsson's injury, but it didn't appear to involve his back, which is a big plus.

Arvidsson pulled up when entering the zone and skated off the ice putting minimal weight on his left leg.

He then appeared to be holding his groin or the back of his leg on the bench before being taken back to the locker room.

It's impossible to know the exact injury, but it looks to be a muscle injury given the non-contact nature of it.

Regardless, the Kings will be without Arvidsson again and must find a new formula for their top nine.

So, how can Jim Hiller configure his forward group most efficiently without Arvidsson?

First, we should look at the nailed-on center and wing pairs in the top nine.

Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, Phil Danault and Trevor Moore, and Pierre-Luc Dubois and Quinton Byfield. 

If one of those pairs was to be split up, Dubois and Byfield are the most likely. Hiller might load up the top line again with Byfield-Kopitar-Kempe. 

However, that would damage the team's depth and he should avoid this if possible.

If we're using those pairs as our base for the top nine, that leaves Alex Laferriere, Kevin Fiala and an unknown forward to fill out the rest.

Fiala's history of success with Danault and Moore makes him an obvious option for the second line. The Kings could try him with Kopitar and Kempe, but that feels unlikely.

This leaves Laferriere on either the top line or back with Dubois. Moving Laferriere to the top line seems like the move right now though.

He's shown flashes of success with Kempe and Kopitar and plays a "trusting" game as Todd McLellan often called it.

I've made this comparison before, and I know it isn't quite one-for-one, but Laferriere reminds me a bit of Alex Iafallo. 

He plays a diligent, hard-working game that Kopitar often covets in his wings. He can do a lot of dirty work for Kopitar and Kempe, letting the skill of those two shine.

Which isn't to say Laferriere lacks skill, he can more than keep up with those two, but he slots in as a nice complimentary piece for Kopitar and Kempe.

That leaves us with the third line then, and who plays opposite Byfield on Dubois' wing. 

This should be a battle between two players, Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Turcotte. Jaret Anderson-Dolan and even Samuel Fagemo are options, but there's far more upside in Kaliyev or Turcotte. 

Kaliyev's played quite a bit on Dubois' wing this season with limited success, however, the addition of Byfield could change things for him. 

Byfield gives that line a speed, skill and puck-retrieval element they didn't have before and could be key for Kaliyev. He needs to be in a spot where he can be a bit of a floater, looking for open space in the offensive zone to finish chances.

Of course, it doesn't seem like the coaching staff is willing to make room for a floater in their top nine, making it tough for Kaliyev to find a spot.

That brings us to Turcotte. He's the obvious answer in my eyes. A hard-working player with excellent hockey IQ and now underrated skill, he could be a great addition to this line.

We even saw flashes of how well it could work on Tuesday. Dubois' second goal against the Blue Jackets comes directly off Turcotte's solid play.

He forced a turnover and moved the puck up the wall to Byfield who found Dubois in front for the finish. 

Turcotte deserves a chance higher in the lineup, and more than 5-8 minutes of ice time a game, and this is the perfect opportunity to give him that.

We should get a sense of Hiller's short-term plan at practice Thursday morning, but a lot can change depending on Arvidsson's eventual timeline.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Anderson-Dolan slide onto the third-line for Thursday, as he's often used as a bandaid by the coaching staff.

But he shouldn't be the long-term option there.

The immediate reaction from several people was to put Arvidsson on LTIR until the playoffs and use his freed-up cap hit to make a trade.

While this could be an option, it's not a surefire thing right now. I'm always wary of how casually fans throw around the, "LTIR him until playoffs and load up your roster with free cap," idea.

Yes, it happens, but it isn't that simple. Firstly, it often happens with players on long-term, lucrative contracts, not players on expiring contracts.

Secondly, it requires an injury that will take the player close to the playoffs. Week-to-week is very vague and Arvidsson could be ready for game action well before the playoffs.

Let's say, and this is purely hypothetical, he's healthy by March 19, to play the Chicago Blackhawks, that's too much time to keep him on LTIR for the remainder of the season.

Maybe Arvidsson willingly sits out to let his body heal and maybe the league accepts him sitting out because of his injury history, but it's unlikely.

Now, if he isn't going to be ready until the second week of April, sure, the LTIR option is in play.

For now, we have to assume it isn't and move forward until we find out otherwise.

If it is LTIR again for Arviudsson, then we can start speculating about trades.