The Kings’ high-scoring center still is unlikely to play in the defending Stanley Cup champions’ banner-raising season opener against Chicago on Saturday, but might not miss much more time.

“To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect,” Kopitar said. “It felt good, and we’ll see day by day how I progress.”

Kings coach Darryl Sutter was encouraged by Kopitar’s post-practice return to the ice just nine days after getting hurt in a collision on the boards while playing for Mora IK in Sweden. Kopitar skated with coaching consultant Bernie Nicholls, shooting a few pucks with no obvious limitations.

“I didn’t go all-out right off the hop,” Kopitar said. “Just curious to explore the turns and stuff, and I didn’t have any problems. I thought it would be a little worse than it was. … I’m very optimistic. It’s in my nature.”

Kopitar has been the Kings’ leading scorer in each of the past five seasons, with a career-high 51 assists among his 76 points last year. The seventh-year pro was the NHL’s top playoff scorer last summer with 20 points, tied with linemate Dustin Brown.

Kopitar played alongside his brother, Gasper, at Mora IK, and Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan also joined the team later in the NHL lockout. Although the injury probably will deprive Kopitar of the chance to celebrate the Kings’ championship on the ice this weekend, he’s still glad he played during the labor stoppage.

“No regrets whatsoever,” Kopitar said. “I’ve been hit plenty of times when it looked way worse, and nothing happened.”

The Kings improbably managed to keep together their entire roster from last season’s Cup run until Sunday, when they traded little-used enforcer Kevin Westgarth to Carolina for Anthony Stewart, who skated with his new teammates Monday. But Los Angeles likely will be missing at least two key components when the first Stanley Cup banner goes in the Staples Center rafters.

“One of the reasons that we won the championship last year is … the lineup that we were able to use from the middle of January on was pretty much intact,” Sutter said.

Veteran defenseman Willie Mitchell had knee surgery in the offseason and still isn’t back to full strength, forcing the Kings to dig into their defensive depth. The Kings aren’t sure when Mitchell will be ready to return.

But Jonathan Quick, the Kings’ Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie, appears to be in top shape after offseason surgery to repair a disk problem in his back. The injury caused pain for Quick whenever he wasn’t on the ice during Los Angeles’ championship run last season, but the timing of his offseason surgery allowed him to work with the Kings’ medical staff during rehabilitation this fall.

“They didn’t push me if I was in any pain, and the trainers and doctors did a great job,” said Quick, a Vezina Trophy finalist last year. “I’m back to 100 percent.”

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After interviewing four candidates, the Jets have decided to expand their search for a new general manager. New York will interview three new candidates Thursday, including former Chicago Bears GM Jerry Angelo, according to league sources.

Angelo, who was fired from his post in Chicago after the 2011 season, is the only known candidate with experience as a GM. He was the Bears’ GM for 11 years, compiling an 87-73 record and building the team that reached Super Bowl XLI.

The Jets also will meet with Miami Dolphins assistant GM Brian Gaine and Pittsburgh Steelers director of football and business administration Omar Kahn, sources said.

The Jets have reached out to no fewer than 12 potential candidates, and that number is expected to grow. They’re expected to conduct more interviews on Friday, which means the search probably will continue into next week.

The Jets clearly were not blown away by any of their original four candidates, prompting team officials to cast a wider net. The franchise is under intense pressure to make the right choice.

Not only did the Jets stumble to a 6-10 record, but they’ve been lampooned since the end of the season. They’ve provided plenty of tabloid fodder, with Rex Ryan’s well-chronicled getaway to the Bahamas, his infamous tattoo and the clumsy, eight-day delay before their season-ending news conference — a violation of the NFL media policy.

Owner Woody Johnson still wants Ryan to be a major presence in the organization. That became apparent Tuesday at their joint news conference. Despite the losing season, Johnson gave an effusive vote of confidence to Ryan, also revealing that Ryan will be involved in the latter stages of the GM search.

Johnson confirmed that Ryan is part of the package, meaning the next GM has to retain the coach for at least one season. Johnson said he hasn’t received any negative backlash from potential candidates.

“I really haven’t had any reaction, no,” he said. “I think everybody feels like they’re pretty fortunate to have Rex because of what they know. They know he’s a good coach and you can’t always say that. It takes one of the uncertainties out of the equation.”

Not everyone feels the same way.

“It’s an absolute recipe for disaster,” said a longtime GM, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “It’s a marriage by proxy.”

Amid the Jets’ recent embarrassing headlines, they’re still looking for a GM. Consider their odyssey:

Two landed other GM jobs: Former Atlanta Falcons director of player personnel Dave Caldwell was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars and former Indianapolis Colts vice president of football operations Tom Telesco landed the San Diego Chargers’ GM job.

One declined an interview (Baltimore Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta); one canceled his interview (former Cleveland Browns GM Tom Heckert); and one postponed to pursue other options (Green Bay Packers director of football operations John Dorsey).

49ers director of player personnel Tom Gamble was considered the early favorite, but his interview didn’t go as well as expected, according to league sources. Caldwell became the next hot name — he was invited back for a second interview — but league sources suspect he used the Jets as leverage against the Jaguars.

The Jets also met with New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross and their top in-house candidate, Scott Cohen, who served as Tannenbaum’s assistant GM for five years. People close to the organization believe owner Woody Johnson will give strong consideration to Cohen because he’s already familiar with Ryan.

The Jets’ job would be a homecoming for Gaine, who will meet with team officials later this week. He grew up in Pearl River, N.Y., attended Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey, played briefly on the Jets’ practice squad and became a scout under Bill Parcells. He followed Parcells to the Dallas Cowboys and Dolphins, ascending to the front office.

Gaine was a practice-squad tight end for the Jets and Giants. Former Jets teammates Wayne Chrebet, Marvin Jones and Anthony Becht gave their endorsements, tweeting that Gaine would be an excellent choice.

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