Dec. 16--The Kings put defenseman Matt Greene on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, and reassigned defensemen Jeff Schultz and Nick Ebert to Ontario of the American Hockey League, moves designed to give General Manager Dean Lombardi about $2.5 million in salary-cap space to replace Greene or make other moves if he chooses.
Because of quirks in the NHL's salary-cap rules, it benefited the Kings to recall Schultz and Ebert and get as close to the cap as possible before moving Greene (shoulder surgery) to long-term injured reserve. Because they had little cap space, the Kings will get space nearly equivalent to Greene's $2.5-million cap hit. Although team officials said Schultz and Ebert were due to join the team at its ski-resort getaway at Mont Tremblant on Tuesday, the duo never made the trip and remained with the Reign in Southern California.
The Kings, who lost to Ottawa, 5-3, on Monday, did not practice Tuesday. They're scheduled to practice Wednesday before traveling by bus to Montreal, where they will face the Canadiens on Thursday. The Kings are 2-1-1 on a trip that ends Saturday at Toronto.
