Inside Look At Arthur Kaliyev’s Toxic Relationship With Kings That Led Him To New York

Arthur Kaliyev’s messy situation with the Los Angeles Kings has led him to the New York Rangers.

Kaliyev didn’t magically just land in New York. There was a sequence of events that caused the Kings’ relationship with the young forward to become bitter and it certainly wasn’t pretty at all.

The Kings selected Kaliyev in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft, and he quickly rose up the ranks of the team’s top prospects.

By the 2021-22 NHL campaign, Kaliyev was already a full-time player for the Kings as he recorded 14 goals, 13 assists and 27 points in 80 games.

He followed that up by producing 28 points in 56 games the following year with the future seeming bright for Kaliyev in Los Angeles.

However, it was during the 2023-24 season when everything began to crumble for the right winger.

He had a strong camp and started hot on a line alongside Phil Danault and Trevor Moore before it all went downhill for Kaliyev.

After changing lines, the 23-year-old began to struggle and then he suddenly started to get scratched out of the lineup.

In January of 2024, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Kaliyev was looking for a change and Kings coach at the time Todd Mclellan gave a cold response following this report about Kaliyev’s lack of playing time.

"He's got to fit the team, okay," McLellan said. "I know some of you guys are nodding because you're around the group long enough and you get it. You have to work hard to fit. And you've got to be a good, and I'm not saying that Arthur's not a good teammate, but you've got to be able to fit and want to be successful. And when he does that, he'll play again."

Despite making his frustrations known, the Kings opted not to trade Kaliyev and dragged this whole situation out into the offseason.

Ultimately, the 2019 second-round agreed to a one-year, $825,000 deal with the Kings in September despite still preferring to be traded according to NHL Insider David Pagnotta.

Kaliyev suffered a fractured clavicle in training camp that sidelined him for about two months.

Even when he was eligible to return, the Kings opted not to play him as the feud seemed to reach a boiling point.

Los Angeles waived Kaliyev on Sunday and the Rangers wasted no time picking him up.

Rangers general manager Chris Drury sees the potential in what the Kings used to consider a promising forward.

Standing at 6’2’’, Kaliyev has all the physical attributes to be a dangerous player and he’s shown how dynamic he can be when in the right situation.

Now, Kaliyev gets a fresh start in New York and we’ll see if he can take advantage of it and blossom into an impactful NHL player.