It was a drawn-out offseason for Arthur Kaliyev and the Los Angeles Kings as the restricted free agent reportedly wanted to be traded. That trade never materialized and he would sign a one-year contract right before training camp.
However, his time on the ice was short-lived as he would suffer an upper body injury during the second practice. The injury appears to be pretty serious as Dennis Bernstein reported that Kaliyev is expected to have surgery and miss a few months.
Rough start to LAK training camp for a player that needed a strong preseason.
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) September 21, 2024
Can confirm @mayorNHL report.
I'm told Arthur Kaliyev sustained an upper body injury in camp on a hit during practice on Friday that may require surgery and he is expected to miss a few months.
After practice on Saturday, head coach Jim Hiller wouldn't confirm the severity or if surgery would be required. However, Zach Dooley wrote that Hiller just said that Kaliyev was "out".
Arthur Kaliyev appeared set to have a bigger role with the Los Angeles Kings before the injury
Kaliyev was one of the top prospects for the Los Angeles Kings a few years ago and was trending towards a bigger part of this team with 27 points in 2021-22 and 28 points (in 56 games) in 2022-23. However, he took a step backward last season with only 15 points in 51 games and saw his ice time cut significantly once Hiller took over as head coach.
The way the season ended, it wasn't that surprising that Kaliyev would request a trade and if he wasn't expected to be part of the plans moving forward it was surprising the Kings weren't able to get a trade done.
However, in the very early stages of training camp it looked like Kaliyev was going to be more involved as he was working on a line with Akil Thomas and Trevor Lewis. Hopefully the injury won't keep him out too long because if he can bounce back to how he was playing in 2022-23, it would be a nice boost for the Kings when he returns.