4 Kings That Must Be Re-Signed
The Los Angeles Kings are going to be busy throughout this season and into next offseason if they don't want to fall to the bottom of the league and lose some of their key players. There are four important players that need new contracts and can all sign as early as today.
The somewhat dynasty of the Kings ended in 2014 after winning their latest Stanley Cup. The team only made the playoffs in two of the next seven years and didn't do it consecutively. There was a retool/rebuild that went on and LA has now qualified for the playoffs in four consecutive seasons, only to be put out by the Edmonton Oilers all four times.
Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar, the only long time players and the only ones left who knows what it feels like to get out of the first round in LA, are nearing the end of their careers. Doughty has two years left and Kopitar is one of the players who needs to be re-signed, except the ball is entirely in his court. He said it might be his last season in the NHL. Losing him would be detrimental as top line elite centers don't come around very often, even if there is a potential replacement in Quinton Byfield already on the team and breaking out.
The other three that the Kings need to get signed to new contracts are Adrian Kempe, Brandt Clarke, and Andrei Kuzmenko.
Kempe is a big one as he is rumored to be demanding a lot of money on his next deal and is arguably the best player on the team and deserving of it. He is also going to be a UFA if he doesn't sign, so there will be tons of interest around the league to sign him to a long-term, big money deal. He put up 35 goals and 72 points last season, produced a lot at 5-on-5, and is a top line player.
Kuzmenko was a surprisingly strong trade deadline acquisition for the Kings as he fit in on the top line and started producing offensively like he did as a rookie with the Vancouver Canucks. he is also a UFA after the season and won't cost nearly as much or have as much interest around the league as Kempe. The Kings should be able to re-sign him for less than seven or eight years as well. The 29-year-old has a $4.3 million AAV cap hit on a one-year deal and put up five goals and 17 points in 22 points with the Kings. He topped that off with three goals and six points in six playoff games as well.
Clarke is an interesting one and not as urgent. He is a RFA, so the Kings aren't going to lose him after the season. If he gets the opportunity, it will be a nice transition from Doughty to the future. They aren't the same player, but Clarke is a former high pick and a good offensive talent when given the ice time. The 22-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level deal and scored five goals and 33 points last season. A lot of that came when Doughty was out of the lineup.
If the Kings can at least get these four players signed for another year following 2025-26, they can push the worry about the future for one more year.
Photo credit: © Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
