Joe Patarino 
After trading for Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov late on Tuesday, the LA Kings acquired the rights to goaltending prospect Erik Portillo on Wednesday.
We have acquired the rights to goaltender Erik Portillo from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.#GoKingsGo
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 1, 2023
The 22-year-old netminder was a 20019 third-round draft pick by the Buffalo Sabres and is in his third season at the University of Michigan. The rumors of whether or not Portillo would sign in Buffalo have been lingering for a while now.
Oh ya Levi is 100% signing.
Johnson I’d say 65% signing.
Portillo 40%
— Chad DeDominicis (@CMDeDominicis) July 18, 2022
The Buffalo Sabres already have young goaltender Ukko Pekka-Lukkonen seeing plenty of NHL action, while the gem of their goaltending prospects, Devon Levi, is putting together another stellar season at Northeastern University. With Jonathan Quick‘s reign coming to an end, the struggles of Cal Petersen and the LA Kings goaltending pipeline leaving a lot to be desired, Portillo jumps to the top of the heap.
The 6-foot-6 Portillo played just seven games in his freshman year at Michigan but took the starting role the next season. He posted a 2.14 GAA and .926 SV% in 42 games as a sophomore. So far, in the 2022-23 season, he is 19-10-2 with a 3.01 GAA and .908 SV%. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler notes, “though his numbers aren’t as glossy this season, the team in front of him isn’t as strong defensively either, and he has still played well.”
Wheeler ranked Portillo seventh in a deep Sabres prospect pool.
Portillo is massive, with a 6-foot-6 and 225-pound frame. He uses that frame to play a poised, deep-in-his-net style, rarely overcommitting to shooters in an effort to play between his posts and avoid scrambles when things start to break down. At his best, Portillo takes away all of a shooter’s space and looks unbeatable.
The third-round pick that the LA Kings traded away is in this year’s draft. That is the second 2023 pick they have dealt in the last 24 hours after trading their 2023 first (albeit conditional) in the trade with Columbus. As things stand right now, LA holds five picks in this year’s draft.
We’ll see if there’s more to come by Friday’s deadline.
(Main Photo Credit: Julia Schachinger/Daily)