Kings Sign Kempe to Four-Year Contract Extension

According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Los Angeles Kings have re-signed forward Adrian Kempe to a four-year contract extension. The official announcement is expected to be released on Saturday.

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Kempe, 25, has always been viewed as a skilled player for the Kings, but really took his game to a new level this past season. Coming into 2021-22, his career best season was in 2017-18 where he registered 16 goals and 37 points over 81 games. He annihilated those totals this year, scoring 35 goals and 54 points in 78 outings. His 35 goals led all Kings teammates, and by quite a wide margin, as Phillip Danault’s 27 tallies were second.

Kempe’s strong regular season helped the Kings qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a place very few had envisioned back in October. He continued to put up numbers in the postseason as well, scoring two goals and six points in his teams opening round series versus the Edmonton Oilers which they fell just short in.

While the official announcement of the contract has not yet been made, it seems safe to assume that he will be in line for a massive raise. The 29th overall pick of the 2014 draft is coming off of a three-year deal in which he made $2 million annually. Given the great season he had, particularly with the 35 goals scored, he could command a deal worth north of $5 million per year.

After a few dark years for the Kings in recent history, things appear to be on the up and up for them. Not only were they able to get Kempe re-signed, but they possess one of, it not the best, prospect pools in the entire NHL. A number of those young players could very well crack the Kings roster this upcoming season, meaning that they could be one of the most exciting teams to follow in 2022-23.

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