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With blue line banged up, Kings recall Schultz

JeffSchultz

The LA Kings signed Jeff Schultz this summer for defensive depth purposes and now, the move is paying off.

The Kings recalled Schultz from AHL Manchester on Tuesday, in the wake of Matt Greene going on long-term injured reserve and Robyn Regehr suffering an upper-body injury on Monday against St. Louis.

Regehr briefly left the Blues game at the end of the first period, but finished with 16:26 TOI and is “ready to go” for tonight’s game against Anaheim, according to Darryl Sutter. As such, it’s unlikely Schultz will get into the lineup, but could stick around for a while as the club was down to just six healthy defensemen prior to the recall.

In order to clear room for Schultz, the Kings sent Tanner Pearson down to the Monarchs.

The club’s first-round pick at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Pearson had one goal in six games but has been replaced by fellow rookie forwards Tyler Toffoli and Linden Vey on the depth chart.

As for Schultz... the 27-year-old was bought out of his four-year, $11 million deal (one year, $3 million in salary remaining) with Washington in July after requesting a trade — to which the Caps found no takers.

He averaged career-low 14:15 in ice time during the 2013 season and became increasingly frustrated with his role on the team. Following his buyout, Schultz signed a one-year, $700,000 deal with L.A.

He has yet to make his Kings debut.