That's the negative side to this move. On the positive side, the Kings free up Arvidsson's $4.25 million cap hit and can now dress a full roster of players.
That's the negative side to this move. On the positive side, the Kings free up Arvidsson's $4.25 million cap hit and can now dress a full roster of players.
On Thursday morning, the Los Angeles Kings announced that forward Viktor Arvidsson was placed on LTIR. Then, shortly after, announced a handful of transactions including the recall of Alex Turcotte and Brandt Clarke and the sending down of Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Laferriere.
I'd expect the latter two to be back up with the team tomorrow or Saturday ahead of the Kings' game against the Carolina Hurricanes, but Clarke being called up above Spence is interesting.
This is a big move for the Kings for several reasons.
The simplest one is the impact of losing Viktor Arvidsson for the next 10 games at minimum.
Arvidsson has consistently been one of the team's best players since joining in 2021 and this is a big blow. Particularly for a Kings power play that just went 0-5 against the Colorado Avalanche.
That's the negative side to this move. On the positive side, the Kings free up $4.25 million according to CapFriendly.com, allowing them to recall more players. It also increases their accruable cap space limit. Capfriendly explains the process more in depth here.
They won't need to go with 11 forwards and six defensemen and can play a full 18 players and allow Kaliyev to serve the final game of his suspension.
That suspension is where things get a little interesting for Los Angeles. Assuming Laferriere stays with the team during Arvidsson's abscence — Todd McLellan all but confirmed that — Saturday is a huge opportunity for Turcotte.
Turcotte put together a strong training camp and could have earned himself a roster spot under different circumstances. He then went down to Ontario and had a fantastic game in the Reign's first preseason game.
He's finally healthy and firing on all cylinders. Now, he'll likely get a chance in the Kings' top-nine, potentially in Arvidssons's spot next to Phil Danault and Trevor Moore.
It's unlikely he steals a full-time job off the back of one game, but a strong performance would be huge for Turcotte. If he proves he can handle top-nine minutes, as Laferriere has, McLellan might be banging on some desks for him too.
It's also possible that Jaret Anderson-Dolan comes up to fill in as an extra forward, but I'd be surprised if he draws in ahead of Turcotte come game day.
This should also free up room for one of Spence or Clarke to draw in on Saturday. Whoever it is will bring some needed reinforcement on the power play.
An injury is never ideal, but Arvidsson being able to go on LTIR is a benefit given the circumstances. In a perfect world, he isn't hurt and Kaliyev isn't suspended, but we don't live in a perfect world.