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.