Erik Portillo has quietly become one of the trickiest pieces in the Kings’ goalie puzzle.
The broad outlines are easy enough to see. Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg are locked in as the two NHL netminders in Los Angeles.
Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George, meanwhile, are expected to share the crease in AHL Ontario, and the organization has made it clear that plan is in place both publicly and privately. That leaves Portillo in an awkward middle ground, with no obvious lane and no easy answer.
The issue isn’t just roster math. It’s ice time.
The Kings can’t simply stash Portillo somewhere and leave him idle, because that would do little for his readiness if they needed him in a pinch. And if LA suffers an injury in goal, the club has usually turned to a veteran third goalie from Ontario - a role Slukynsky and George do not fit.
Kings general manager Ken Holland laid out the tension recently.
“I would say that at one point in time this summer, I thought about maybe starting [the season] with three goalies [in the NHL], and still might,” Holland recently shared on the dilemma. “When I saw the schedule - we [open the season] Wednesday in Colorado and then we have a couple of days off.
Then, we play a game followed by three days off. Kuemper and Forsberg are going to need the net to make sure we keep them sharp.”
He expanded on that point, too.
“If you start rolling three goalies…” Holland continued. “Looking at the schedule, I want those two young goalies to play in the American League.
So, we need to sort this out on the fly. Ports played well [last season].
Today, Ports is our number three goalie because of his age, his experience, how he’s played. I have to sort it out.
We want those young goalies to play, we want Kuemper and Forsberg to each have a net, and we want [Portillo] to be the number three guy. With this short preseason, it’ll be hard to play guys.
So, we have some tough decisions to make in goal.”
Coach Peter Laviolette added another clue earlier this week, when he indicated Forsberg and Kuemper would each start two of the Kings’ four preseason games. That only reinforces the idea that Portillo may not see a game of real consequence anytime soon, at least based on the way things look right now.
Portillo isn’t reading too far ahead.
“I’m just going about things day by day,” Portillo told Mayor’s Manor. “I’m talking to [Mike Buckley, goaltending coach], and doing everything I can to grab a spot on this team. That’s definitely my goal, and that’s what I want out of this camp.”
The 26-year-old Swedish-born goalie has spent three seasons in the Kings organization since his rights were acquired from the Sabres in 2023. In the AHL, he has posted save percentages of .918, .889, and .907.
He also picked up a win over the Ducks in his lone NHL appearance. In the playoffs with the Reign, he recorded .916 and .926 SV%s in two separate years.
His path has not been perfectly smooth. An injury two years ago stalled his momentum, leaving him sidelined for several months of the 2024-25 season. The Kings later signed Forsberg to a two-year deal in the summer of 2025, and when Portillo missed about a month last season, that move looked smart in hindsight.
Still, the current setup leaves LA with five goalies under contract for essentially four spots, and that’s where the discomfort starts to creep in. For now, one piece of the picture is clear: Portillo can be assigned to the AHL without needing waivers if that’s the route the Kings choose.
Beyond that, the situation remains very much in motion.
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