The Los Angeles Kings activated forward Marian Gaborik from injured reserve and inserted him into the lineup prior to a road game against the Arizona Coyotes Friday, the team announced in a press release.
The 35-year-old Trencin, Slovakia native had been recovering from off-season knee surgery.
Gaborik has been injury plagued for much of his career since breaking into the league as a third-overall pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2000. He registered 10 goals and 11 assists in just 56 games with the Kings during the 2016-17 campaign.
This is the second consecutive year in which Gaborik started the season on the IR. He didn’t make his debut last season until Nov. 26 after suffering a broken foot while playing for Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey.
Gaborik has three more years left on his contract beyond this season with a $4.875-million annual cap hit. He has 396 goals and 398 assists for 794 points in 989 career regular-season NHL games.
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