The Kings announced that they’ve assigned winger Arthur Kaliyev to AHL Ontario on a conditioning loan. It will be Kaliyev’s first game action since suffering a fractured clavicle in a preseason practice session.
The 23-year-old’s reassignment comes two months to the day after general manager Rob Blake said Kaliyev would be out of action for six to eight weeks. He’s been back at practice for over a month now but evidently needed a slightly longer recovery window to get back up to game speed.
It was a tough break to start the season for the 2019 second-round pick, who had asked for a trade over the summer. The 6’2″, 210-lb winger was a frequent healthy scratch last season and was limited to 15 points in 51 games while seeing under 12 minutes of ice time per night. A restricted free agent for most of the offseason, he signed a one-year, $825K deal in mid-September to attend training camp with the Kings but sustained the broken collarbone just a few days later.
There’s likely even less of a chance at regular playing time for Kaliyev now on the surging Kings, who have won five in a row and are second in the Pacific Division with a 16-8-3 record. There may, however, be an opportunity for him to challenge someone like enforcer Tanner Jeannot (3-2–5 in 24 GP) for a top-nine role if Los Angeles can’t find a new home for him on the trade market during his stint in Ontario, which will last up to two weeks. He will remain on injured reserve during that time.
Kaliyev last appeared in Ontario during the 2020-21 campaign, his first professional season. He led the team in scoring during the COVID-shortened campaign with 31 points (14 G, 17 A) in 40 appearances.
His showing on the farm over the next couple of weeks will allow the Kings to evaluate whether they still see a future for him within the organization, although a strong run on the farm could also help boost his trade value. Teams are certainly open for business earlier than usual – there have been seven trades over the past couple of weeks, including ones involving youngsters in need of fresh starts like David Jiříček and Philip Tomasino.
Kaliyev, a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at season’s end, has 35 goals and 36 assists for 71 points in 188 career appearances with the team. That’s on pace for 15 goals and 31 points over an 82-game season.