Kings Send Four Players Down; Surgery for Sykes

The Kings sent down four more players to the minor leagues Tuesday as part of roster trims before next week’s start of the regular season in the National Hockey League.

Reassigned to the Kings’ minor league team in New Haven, Conn., were defensemen Ken Hammond and Peter Dineen, center Dave Gans and right wing Mark Lofthouse. There are 28 players with the Kings for their two remaining exhibition games Friday and Sunday. About seven more still have to be trimmed.

The Kings lost another player Monday. Left winger Phil Sykes will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a damaged tendon in his left wrist. Sykes, a two-year veteran, injured his wrist last April. He is expected to be out for at least six weeks.