Kings Re-Sign Austin Strand

Oct. 19: Los Angeles announced the contract today at the previously-reported terms.

Oct. 12: The Kings have agreed to terms on a deal with one of their restricted free agents as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed defenseman Austin Strand to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract pays $735K in the NHL and $70K in the minors which means he accepted his qualifying offer.

The 23-year-old signed with Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent back in 2017 and then went to finish off his junior career with WHL Seattle where he flirted with the point per game mark, picking up 25 goals and 39 assists in 69 games.  However, that production hasn’t quite carried over to the professional level.

This past season, Strand played in 41 games with AHL Ontario, picking up eight goals and seven assists in 41 games, numbers that were a bit lower than his rookie campaign.  Nonetheless, he has shown a bit of offensive intrigue which was enough for Los Angeles to tender him his qualifier last week.  Strand will almost certainly start next season with the Reign but could emerge as a recall option if he has a strong start to 2020-21.