The Kings made the move that had been coming all along Thursday morning, sending center Kenny Connors back to AHL Ontario in advance of Kevin Fiala being activated from injured reserve.
Connors had been up with Los Angeles earlier this month and got into three games during the recall. He also picked up his first NHL point against San Jose before heading back to the Reign. In Ontario, he’s put together seven points in 11 AHL games this season.
The demotion doesn’t read like a setback so much as a numbers game. Connors was the only waiver-exempt player still on the Kings’ roster, making him the logical piece to move once Fiala is ready to come off IR.
And even with the assignment, there’s a sense the organization still likes what it has seen from the second-year pro. As one post noted, “Logical move considering the 2nd year pro was the only waiver exempt player remaining in LA.
Yet, Lavi has been impressed; expect KC34 back up at some point.”
That part matters, because Peter Laviolette has been vocal in his praise of Connors. The expectation is that he’ll be back with the big club at some point, even if this trip back to Ontario comes first.
The bigger picture is the roster crunch that comes with Fiala’s return. General manager Ken Holland will be carrying a full 23-man group once Fiala is activated, and there are still plenty of moving parts. Fiala hasn’t played since February and has gone through multiple surgeries since then, so expecting him to jump straight into the lineup and immediately start producing goals would be a stretch.
Mats Zuccarello’s recent return has only added another layer to the puzzle. His place in the lineup is still unsettled, and so is the question of how healthy he really is.
The Kings still haven’t played with their full complement of players, which leaves Laviolette without a clean, settled lineup just yet. There’s still plenty to sort through in the weeks ahead.
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