Kings lose Marco Sturm on waivers, Andrei Loktionov to shoulder injury

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The Kings’ ongoing search for a scoring forward has taken some unexpected detours.

Left wing Marco Sturm, acquired by the Kings from Boston in December, was claimed off waivers Saturday by the Washington Capitals. The Kings had been so sure he would clear waivers that he was scheduled to play on their top line Saturday in an afternoon game against Colorado.

They had waived him to give themselves some roster flexibility in case they added a player before Monday’s trade deadline, figuring he would slide through Saturday and could then be demoted to the minor leagues on Monday.

Oops.

The Kings have one spare forward in Los Angeles, Kevin Westgarth.

In addition, promising prospect Andrei Loktionov injured his left shoulder Friday while playing for the Kings’ Manchester, N.H., farm team, and his season might be over.

Kings Assistant General Manager Ron Hextall, who also serves as general manager of the Manchester Monarchs, said Saturday that Loktionov is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on Monday ‘It doesn’t look good,’ Hextall said.

Check back later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott