Jake Muzzin likely to return Thursday for Kings

As the Slava Voynov issue continues to twist and turn -- our Nick Cotsonika has updates from Voynov's attorney and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly -- there is still a hockey component for Voynov's indefinite suspension by the league under suspicion of domestic violence.

At the time of Voynov's suspension, which was announced Monday, the Kings had five healthy defensemen without Voynov, as it was believed defenseman Jake Muzzin was out with an upper body injury sustained in the preseason.

Well, Muzzin is out no longer! Per Jon Rosen of lakingsinsider.com, Muzzin said he's not 100 percent, but good to go for Thursday's game against Buffalo, which brings the Kings up to six defensemen.

“[The injury] didn’t affect my skating or being able to do that,” Muzzin said. “It’s different though, going from practice to a game tempo and game battles and game situations. But we’ll look to get into it tomorrow night and go from there, see how I feel.”

Since Muzzin was not on injured reserve, this does not do any damage to the Kings' salary cap situation. Per CapGeek.com, Los Angeles is pushed up against the cap with just $498,291 worth of space as of Wednesday.

Voynov is in the second year of a six-year $25 million contract that carries a $4.67 million salary cap hit.

Daly told Cotsonika that Voynov, "currently occupies a roster spot and is being charged against the Kings' cap."

This all basically means that with Muzzin's return, the Kings salary situation is safe for now. But the first sign of an injury to a defenseman, there could be much questioning as to how both the league, and the Kings move forward.

As we've said many times in regards to the Voynov situation ... stay tuned.