Kings’ Quick headed to Manchester; Brown bound for Switzerland

A couple of Kings-related notes as the hockey world waits to see whether Tuesday’s labor talks in New York will be yet another tease or will produce any significant progress:

Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, winner of the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs, will be assigned to Manchester (N.H.) of the American Hockey League this week as the next step in his recovery from postseason back surgery. General Manager Dean Lombardi confirmed on Monday that Quick will play for the Kings’ top farm team, but Lombardi said he’s not sure whether Quick’s rehabilitation stint there will be limited to a specific number of games.

Although transactions are, in general, forbidden during the lockout this move is permitted because Quick’s injury and surgery were hockey-related and occurred before the NHL imposed the lockout on Sept. 15.

Also, team captain Dustin Brown confirmed on Monday that despite the scheduling of labor talks on Tuesday he’s still planning to leave Wednesday for Zurich, where he will play in the Swiss League during the lockout. He signed with the team last week.

Brown had been scheduled to play in a charity game Friday at the Kings’ practice facility in El Segundo but now won’t participate. Here’s a link to the latest on who is supposed to play.

As for the negotiations between the NHL and the Players’ Assn., those will be the follow-up to a lengthy session held Saturday between NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA Special Counsel Steve Fehr at an undisclosed location. It’s not clear how big a group will meet this time, but this time the location is the league’s turf.

The NHL, which previously canceled 326 games, last week announced the cancellation of the Jan. 1 Winter Classic. The Winter Classic will not be rescheduled this season even if a new collective bargaining agreement is reached soon. The logistics and preparation for the game make it impossible to reschedule this season.

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