SOURCES: Kings Make Final Roster Decisions, Comes with a Slight Swerve

With preseason games now complete, all eyes turn to what moves GM Ken Holland will make to get his roster down to the league maximum of 23 before Monday’s deadline. And in typical LA style, there appears to be a slight swerve in what’s about to take place.

To help set the stage, Holland trimmed the Kings training camp roster by several players on Saturday — including sending Kenny Connors and Jared Wright to AHL Ontario. Although both players appear to be NHL ready, neither really had a secure spot on the NHL roster, so better to play with the Reign than sit in a press box as LA’s extra forwards.

Things looked pretty settled at that point. Then, came late word that Joel Edmundson was going to be out day-to-day, per coach Peter Laviolette. This resulted in defenseman Kirill Kirsanov being recalled from Ontario for Saturday’s matinee with the Ducks — in a bit of a yo-yo move, as he was just sent down on Friday.

“I think [Joel] is going to be fine,” Laviolette shared. “Kirsanov is a young player, he played well in camp. I think he’s gotten better with every opportunity to play; a good showing. He elevated a little bit from last game, so he kind of worked his way up [the depth chart] to get a game in on the recall when we needed a defenseman.”

Well, according to several sources, Kirsanov is now headed back to AHL Ontario. That’s not the unexpected move. Despite Ken Holland having toyed with the idea of carrying a trio of goaltenders to start the season — as opposed to the traditional method of carrying a duo — we hear they’re sending goaltender Erik Portillo to the Reign, as well. This means the Kings will officially have 22 active players on the roster, not 23.

Other Roster Notes

– Kevin Fiala’s status will have him on injured reserve to begin the season. However, his contract money still counts toward the salary cap. There’s no real reason to move him to long-term injured reserve either, as the Kings have cap room to recall an extra forward or defenseman, should that be needed.

– Even with Kirsanov going back to the AHL, it’s not a sure thing Edmundson will be ready to go by Opening Night in Colorado on Wednesday. This could just be paperwork-related. Although every NHL team has to file a cap-compliant roster with the league office by Monday afternoon, teams are allowed to recall players, if needed. Meaning, it will be interesting to see what develops on Tuesday before the Kings depart SoCal for Denver. Even if Edmundson isn’t ready to go, they technically wouldn’t have to recall anybody, as Erik Gustafsson could be an option to slide in and play. That wasn’t possible yesterday because he had already suited up for the maximum of two preseason games (with over 500 NHL GP, he was bound by the veteran player rule). Either way, it’s something to keep an eye on over the next few days.

– As for Portillo, he’s been in a weird spot all camp. He doesn’t really have a spot with the Kings or the Reign. Both clubs have two goalies who are expected to get the bulk of the starts. Making matters more complicated, he didn’t play in a preseason game either. Now, his last chance to get any sort of game action before the season starts will come tonight in Coachella, when Ontario plays their final exhibition contest in advance of next weekend’s AHL season opener.

Could Portillo then possibly be recalled on Tuesday, putting LA back at 23 players? Oh, the drama.

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