Kings place $15M goalie Petersen on waivers

The Los Angeles Kings placed goaltender Cal Petersen on waivers Wednesday.

The struggling netminder is in the first season of a three-year, $15-million contract he signed in September 2021. He's due a $4-million signing bonus next summer and will earn $6 million in salary during the final year of the contract in 2024-25.

Petersen has a 5-3-2 record and an .868 save percentage in 2022-23. He allowed four goals on 16 shots Tuesday after relieving Jonathan Quick in the Kings' 9-8 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken.

The Kings' .879 team save percentage is the worst in the NHL.

The 28-year-old seemed to have usurped Quick as the starting goaltender in Los Angeles in 2021. Petersen played 35 games and had a .911 save percentage in the shortened 2020-21 campaign, leading to his contract extension.

Petersen faltered last year and has been unable to find his form since. He had an .895 save percentage in 37 games in 2021-22 and lost the starting job to Quick, who played all seven of the Kings' games in the first round against the Edmonton Oilers.