With their plane for Quebec City set to leave mid-morning on Tuesday, Kings management has made their final roster decision in advance of the trip. As we noted last week, LA planned on taking 15 forwards, eight defensemen, and three goalies to Canada to finish up training camp and play their final pair of exhibition games. However, following an injury to Drew Doughty, the team was considering either Jacob Moverare or Caleb Jones to round out the group.
In what could be viewed as partial auditions for the role, Jones played against the Ducks on Saturday, while Moverare skated in Monday’s rematch at Anaheim.
Mayor’s Manor has now learned Jones will stay with the club for at least the remainder of this week. Conversely, Moverare will be placed on waivers today at 11am Pacific. Should he clear, the 26-year-old rearguard will then be assigned to AHL Ontario on Wednesday.
This gives the Kings eight defensemen on the trip, with at least seven of them all but guaranteed a spot on the opening night roster. From here, Hiller and the Kings brass will need to decide if they’ll take all eight on the first road trip of the season (which, conversely, would leave them room for only one extra forward), or if beginning with two extra forwards is more preferable (more on that later this week).
Essentially, there are three forwards (Sammy Fagemo, Andre Lee, and, Sammy Helenius) fighting for no more than two spots — and it would be only a single roster spot if coach Jim Hiller feels more comfortable with eight defensemen for game one next week. Thus, Jones ultimately plays a major role in this decision. He’s the first domino.
During Monday’s 4-0 shutout performance at the Honda Center, Moverare played 14:09 on the right side, rather than his usual left, and recorded the primary assist on LA’s opening goal.
Having been drafted by the Kings at just 17 years old, Moverare is fairly well-known throughout the organization. In addition to playing 45 games for the club in spot duty over the past few seasons, he’s also suited up for the Reign in 152 AHL games since coming over from Europe in February 2021.
Given his value to the organization as a depth defenseman, Moverare was signed to a two-year contract extension last March. This came after separate call-ups in 2023-24 that saw him fill in while Vladislav Gavrikov, and later Mikey Anderson, were out with injuries.
One interesting sort of ‘poison pill’ included with Moverare’s contract is the way the money is structured. He’s on a full one-way deal, meaning he’s paid $775K at both the NHL and AHL levels. That’s for this season and next year, which could prove to be a big ask for any team interested in putting in a claim on him.
Jones, on the other hand, was signed back in July to a one-year, two-way contract. He’ll still be paid $445K when in the AHL; a rather hefty sum for a league filled with guys making $150k or less.
On the hockey front, Jones is the more experienced of the two defensemen. He played 25 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season and has amassed 242 games of total NHL experience. As mentioned several times in recent days, Jones has played both the right and left side of the blueline throughout his career.
For a full look at the roster Hiller and the Kings are taking to Quebec City, be sure to check out the article linked below.
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