Kempe's Camp Brings In High-Priced Comp in Extension Talks

Adrian Kempe waves to LA Kings fans as a game star

The Kirill Kaprizov fallout continues to impact contract negotiations around the NHL. The Minnesota Wild superstar's breakout $17 million AAV has players and agents everywhere licking their chops. The next player who is trying to cash in at a higher-than-expected number is Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings.

Coming off a $5.5 million cap hit from his deal that's set to expire after the season, he is certainly in for a big raise, but according to insider Pierre LeBrun, what he's asking for is beyond the pale.

In Adrian Kempe's case, I think that their camp has brought up (William) Nylander's deal in that negotiation—$11.5 million a year.

Um, excuse me? Yes, Kempe is a huge part of what the Kings do, on both sides of the puck. However, he's never been a point-per-game player, and has never topped 75 points in a season.

Nylander, with three straight 40-goal seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs, has four consecutive 80+ point seasons, and is well over the point-per-game mark in that span.

Adrian Kempe looking for William Nylander money, says insider

Can the 29-year-old Kempe put himself in the same weight class? Yes, his defensive abilities and physical play are strides ahead of what Nylander brings in those areas. Is that enough to get to his pay scale?

The Kings reportedly brought a $9M AAV offer to the table to begin negotiations, with the Kempe camp looking more at the $10M range. But that's all changed, Post-Kaprizov.

It's a new salary cap world out there, so it seems like anything is possible. But with Kempe's desire to get a deal in place by opening night, it's looking like there's simply too much of a gap to overcome at this point.

Kempe had 35 goals last season for LA, his third time in four years to reach that mark, and had 73 points in 81 games. He had a plus/minus rating of +22 and handed out 100 hits for the fourth consecutive season.