In advance of the Kings 2021 NHL season opener vs. Minnesota Wild on Thursday, we have confirmed LA’s 22-man roster, as well as the taxi squad.
13 Forwards
Alex Iafallo – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Andreas Athanasiou – Blake Lizotte – Jeff Carter
Adrian Kempe – Gabe Vilardi – Austin Wagner
Trevor Moore – Mike Amadio – Matt Luff
Carl Grundstrom
7 Defensemen
Olli Maatta – Drew Doughty
Mikey Anderson – Matt Roy
Kale Clague – Mark Alt
Tobias Bjornfot
2 Goaltenders
Jonathan Quick
Troy Grosenick
Taxi Squad
Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Lias Andersson
Austin Strand
Matt Villalta
Important Roster Notes:
— All of the names above are confirmed, while the line combinations and D-pairings are projections. Coach Todd McLellan may move a few pieces around before facing the Wild in Game 1, largely due to who is healthy and available at that time.
— Cal Petersen, Sean Walker, and Kurtis MacDermid remain unfit to play, having been out since last Saturday. They’re listed in the injured/non-roster category.
— Technically, Martin Frk and Alex Turcotte are listed with the same status, although the team has previously confirmed lower body injuries for both.
— Within the past few days, McLellan had indicated he does not expect Frk to be in the lineup on Thursday. His status beyond that is unknown. Once he is cleared to play, he’s expected to play RW on the Kempe-Vilardi line.
— Turcotte is expected to be assigned to AHL Ontario once he is healthy enough to play.
— Additionally, once Petersen is cleared for action, he is expected to join the Kings, with Grosenick moving to the taxi squad, and Villalta then joining AHL Ontario. This string of dominos will also include Grosenick needing to first be placed on waivers. Assuming he clears, he can then officially be placed on the taxi squad.
— Once Walker and MacDermid are both cleared, they’re expected to take their place among the D-core, Alt will head to the taxi squad. At that point, the only decision really needed will be to keep Clague or Bjornfot on the NHL roster. Throughout the season, the plan is to rotate Clague and Bjornfot between the NHL and AHL (provided the Kings top six defensemen are all healthy). Again, like Grosenick, Alt will first need to clear waivers before he is officially assigned to the taxi squad.
— As expected, Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev have been assigned to AHL Ontario. We discussed this in detail on the most recent Kings Of The Podcast episode and will have more on this topic later today.
A full roster can be downloaded / printed here.
The #LAKings opening roster includes 22 Active Players (13F/7D/2G) + 4 Non-Roster/IR (Petersen, MacDermid, Walker, Frk).
Lineup has $7.94M Projected Cap Space. At the trade deadline, that space would allow $34M in Annual Cap Hit added.https://t.co/6l1vDVjptr
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) January 13, 2021
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Man I am excited. I predict the kings are going to shock alot of teams this year. John if you could pick one player on the team that will have the biggest jump or surprise who would it be? I am picking vilardi and come back player will be doughty.
As noted on the recent Kings Of The Podcast, I think Vilardi should be a Calder candidate this season.
If you’re looking for two other names – keep an eye on defenseman Mikey Anderson and forward Carl Grundstrom.
ICYMI – Discussed in greater detail here http://mayorsmanor.com/2021/01/kings-of-the-podcast-s2-e5-preview-and-predictions-for-31-nhl-teams/
thanks john