The Kings announced what should be their final set of preseason roster moves on Sunday night, reassigning goaltender Erik Portillo, right-winger Taylor Ward, and defenseman Scott Perunovich to AHL Ontario. The latter two had cleared waivers earlier today. Additionally, they placed defense prospect Otto Salin on the injured non-roster list to open the season.
Los Angeles is now down to the 23-player maximum before tomorrow’s deadline, and could even open up another space if they elect to place winger Kevin Fiala on injured reserve. He’s close to a return from the left leg fracture he sustained at the Olympics in February but isn’t expected to be ready for opening night.
Portillo, a pending Group VI unrestricted free agent in his final year of waiver-exempt status, will face some stiff competition for the third-string job this season. He joins a crowded crease in Ontario with high-end netminding prospects Carter George and Hampton Slukynsky, the #2 and #3 prospects in the whole system, per NHL.com. Now 26, the former University of Michigan star has just one NHL start under his belt back in the 2024-25 campaign but is coming off a decent season in Ontario, logging a .907 SV% and 2.45 GAA with an 18-7-4 record in 30 outings.
Of the other demotions, Ward’s is more surprising. The 6’2″ forward was undrafted but has endeared himself to Kings brass while playing in Ontario over the past several seasons. That earned him a long look in a fourth-line role last year, scoring three goals and seven points in 36 games while averaging a shade under 10 minutes per game. However, L.A. added much in the way of forward depth this summer to help offset Anze Kopitar’s loss – bringing back Corey Perry and acquiring Erik Haula and Mats Zuccarello in free agency – so they’re hoping to not have to rely on their limited offensive depth in Ontario as much this season.
Perunovich, as offensively gifted a blue-line threat as he once was, no longer appears like an NHL option. A Hobey Baker winner back in 2020, he’s now on his fourth NHL organization after landing with the Kings in free agency this summer. Several injuries early in his professional career completely derailed his development, and he didn’t see a single NHL contest last year while in the Mammoth system. He posted a 9-40–49 scoring line in 64 AHL games last season, which would have led Ontario in scoring among defensemen by a long shot, so they’re clearly looking for him to be a #1 threat down there as top-ranked prospect Henry Brzustewicz makes the jump to the pros to augment Perunovich atop L.A.’s minor-league depth.
Salin, 22, was a fifth-rounder back in 2022. He’s kicking off his second season in North America and wasn’t anything more than a depth option in Ontario last season, posting five points and a -3 rating in 43 outings. Undersized at 5’11” and 192 lbs, he’s an offensive-minded threat that will need more reps than that to be effective.