Los Angeles Kings place recent top 5 pick on Injured Reserve

Despite a huge pre-season injury to star blue liner Drew Doughty, the Los Angeles Kings have been off to a fantastic start in 2024/25, posting an 8-4-3 record through their first 15 games. Now however, the injury bug has seemingly struck again, with forward Alex Turcotte officially placed on the Injured Reserve with an upper body injury suffered back on November 4th in a matchup with the Nashville Predators.

The 23-year old has been unlucky with injuries in recent years, and after finally securing a starting role with the Kings in the NHL this season, this is a setback that could cost him his role. Dating back to 2021/22, Turcotte has played in just 45 NHL games down the middle, scoring 2 goals and 9 points over that time, and before this injury, it appeared he was finally getting comfortable.

There's been no official date revealed for his potential return, but on Saturday he was seen skating before the Kings morning skate in a red, non-contact jersey, showing that the injury is unlikely to keep him out long-term, a major relief for this team and their depth.

Given the retroactive move, Turcotte is eligible to come off Injured Reserve next Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche, but for now he'll work on getting himself back to 100% before anything else.

On Thursday, Head Coach Jim Hiller referred to him as 'day-to-day', which is a very good sign for his potential return, but for now the team will turn to Sammy Helenius as a short-term replacement, with the hopes that Turcotte can return and stay healthy moving forward.