Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Kings Rumors

Kempe Deal Up Next For Kings

at CDT | by 10 Comments

With the Los Angeles Kings recently finalizing a three-year, $12.3 million contract with restricted free agent Alex Laferriere, the team can now shift its focus to veteran Adrian Kempe, per Scott Coffman of Mayor’s Manor.

Kempe, who has spent his entire nine-year career with the Kings, has one year remaining on his four-year deal that comes with a $5.5MM cap hit. Given Kempe’s steady offensive production, his current deal stands as one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league. However, his next deal is expected to see a significant increase. And as Coffman outlines, the NHLPA and NHL recently agreed to a new CBA, meaning Kempe is theoretically the last Kings player eligible to sign an eight-year extension.

Kings Sign RFA Alex Laferriere To Three-Year Deal

at CDT | by 9 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings have signed restricted free agent Alex Laferriere to a three-year, $12.3MM contract, per a team announcement. The deal comes with a $4.1MM cap hit per season. The deal includes a $3.5MM salary for year one and $4.4MM salaries for years two and three, per PuckPedia. The Kings extended a qualifying offer to Laferriere on July 1, and it took exactly one month for both sides to come to terms on a new deal.

Coming off of his second season in the league, the 24-year-old right winger posted a solid 19 goals and 42 points in 77 games. He also produced a plus-22 rating, 124 hits, and 43 blocked shots while averaging 16:22 of ice time per night. He added three assists in six playoff games.

A third-round selection in the 2020 draft (83rd overall), the New Jersey native quickly established himself as one of the franchise’s key prospects. After being drafted, Laferriere spent two seasons in the NCAA at Harvard University, where he put up 73 points in 69 games. He then made his pro debut in the AHL with the Ontario Reign at the tail end of the 2022-23 season.

That was all the minor league experience the 6’1″, 205-pound winger needed. The following season, he broke camp with the Kings and appeared in 81 games as a rookie, posting 12 goals and 23 points. He took a major step forward offensively this last season (doubling his point total), and it’s reasonable to expect continued growth.

Frank Seravalli was first to report the agreement.

Kings' Corey Perry Excited For Return To California

at CDT | by 13 Comments

In a new interview with Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com, veteran winger Corey Perry spoke of his excitement to return to California to continue his playing career. After spending the last year and a half with the Edmonton Oilers, Perry signed a one-year, $2MM contract with the Los Angeles Kings this offseason.

[SOURCE LINK]

Kopitar Going Year-To-Year, No Extension Talks Planned

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Kings center Anze Kopitar is in the final season of his contract and is eligible to sign an extension.  However, while the team is hoping to get a new deal in place for Adrian Kempe, that won’t be the case for the captain.  In an appearance on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio earlier this week (Twitter link), GM Ken Holland indicated that Kopitar’s camp has indicated that he isn’t looking to sign a new deal at this time and intends to take a year-by-year approach moving forward.  The 37-year-old has played 1,454 games over his career in Los Angeles but is at the stage where it makes sense to assess things one year at a time.  Last season, Kopitar was still quite productive, tallying 21 goals and 46 assists in 81 games along with nine points in seven playoff contests.

Kings To Ramp Up Extension Talks With Adrian Kempe

at CDT | by 19 Comments

Kings forward Adrian Kempe is now eligible for a contract extension and is currently slated to be one of the better options in a 2026 UFA pool.  In an appearance on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio earlier this week (Twitter link), GM Ken Holland acknowledged that he’d like to get a deal done with Kempe and intends to ramp up discussions on that front soon.

The 28-year-old was a first-round pick by Los Angeles in 2014, going 29th overall.  At the time, he was playing a regular role in the SHL which is impressive in itself for a draft-eligible player but Kempe wasn’t producing much offensively.  Accordingly, one of the bigger questions at the time was around his potential to become a legitimate threat offensively, complementing his strong defensive game.

It has taken a while but Kempe has done just that.  After having limited offensive production in the minors soon after being drafted with AHL Manchester and his first few seasons with Los Angeles, Kempe had a breakout year in 2021-22, notching 35 goals and making his first (and only) All-Star appearance.  Considering his sluggish production beforehand, it was fair to question whether this was a blip or a sign of things to come so the two sides negotiated a four-year, $22MM contract that summer, one that bought the Kings two years of extra club control.

Kempe has certainly outperformed that contract in the first three seasons of it.  He has notched at least 67 points in each one and is coming off a 35-goal, 73-point campaign in 2024-25, one that saw him edge past 19 minutes per night of playing time, a career best.  Kempe has also been quite productive in the playoffs over that stretch, potting 13 goals and 10 assists in 17 postseason games, all against Edmonton.  Suffice it to say, he’s looking at a substantial raise next time out.

Earlier this offseason, AFP Analytics projected a seven-year, $64.225MM deal for Kempe, one that would carry a $9.175MM AAV.  When this contract kicks in for the 2026-27 campaign, the salary cap is expected to be $104MM at that time, a jump of $8.5MM.  This year, the biggest contract for a winger was Nikolaj Ehlers’ six-year, $51MM deal with Carolina (a cap hit of $8.5MM) so it would make sense that Kempe’s number should check in a bit above that, at least based on the way the market has operated this summer.

A contract in that price range would make Kempe their highest-paid forward and second-highest-paid player behind defenseman Drew Doughty.  With Kempe being among several contracts set to expire next summer, the Kings have nearly $38MM in room for that season, per PuckPedia, so Holland will have plenty of flexibility to work with to get a deal done for his top scorer from 2024-25.

Lord Officially Named Head Coach In Ontario

at CDT | by 2 Comments

  • As expected, the AHL’s Ontario Reign, affiliate of the Kings, announced today that Andrew Lord has been named as the fourth head coach in team history. He takes the place of Marco Sturm who held the post the last three seasons before being named as Boston’s head coach earlier this offseason.  Lord was the head coach with QMJHL Halifax last season after spending the previous four years as the coach and GM (for three seasons) of ECHL Greenville.

Ontario Reign Expected To Name Andrew Lord Head Coach

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Throughout the past few days, there have been several unconfirmed rumors that New York Islanders’ netminder Ilya Sorokin could be in play, particularly for the Edmonton Oilers. Those rumors were squashed earlier today when Sorokin’s agent, Dan Milstein, bluntly said that Sorokin hasn’t been involved in trade discussions and wouldn’t waive his no-movement clause.

Such is the way for this time of the NHL calendar when ideas for good fits sometimes become unsubstantiated rumors. There’s little argument against Sorokin being an objective improvement in the crease for most teams in the NHL, but it doesn’t appear that he’ll be moved this summer.

Still, he may be a goaltender to keep on the radar. He’s been one of the game’s best goalies over the last four years, managing a 112-83-33 record in 227 starts with a .916 SV% and 2.62 GAA, including 19 shutouts. Sorokin will have a full no-movement clause through the 2027-28 season before transitioning to a 16-team no-trade list ahead of the 2028-29 campaign.

More snapshots:

  • An impressive development camp may have led to a pair of entry-level contracts for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Although the team hasn’t confirmed the news, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reported earlier that the Blue Jackets are working on an entry-level contract with defenseman Will Bishop and forward Nicholas Sima. Columbus drafted neither player, as they were invited to the team’s development camp from the OHL.
  • Team Canada’s World Junior team is expected to have a new look at the top of their coaching staff. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Hockey Canada will announce Dale Hunter as the head coach of Team Canada’s U20 team. The successful, longtime head coach of the OHL’s London Knights will replace Dave Cameron as the team’s head coach in Canada’s attempt to return to the gold medal game for the first time since 2023.
  • After Marco Sturm departed to become the new head coach of the Boston Bruins, the AHL’s Ontario Reign began seeking a new bench boss. According to a new report from Anthony Collazo of The Mayor’s Manor, the Reign are expected to name Andrew Lord as the team’s new head coach. If he’s eventually named Ontario’s new head coach, it would be Lord’s first coaching role in the AHL after serving as the head coach of the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits for four years and the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads’ head coach last season.

Examining The Kings’ New-Look Defense

at CDT | by 20 Comments

The Kings have been eliminated by the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last four seasons and were expected to make changes this summer as they try to get past the first round. Newly hired general manager Ken Holland moved quickly to address concerns with the defensive unit, making several early summer moves to revamp the group.

Holland has moved on from a couple of twenty-something defensemen to acquire defensively minded veterans in their 30s, which will bring a different dynamic to the back end. However, since the Oilers’ speed exposed the Kings’ slower, heavier parts of the defense, the changes the Kings have made are unlikely to push them past Edmonton if they face each other in the playoffs again.

Los Angeles struggled to deal with the Oilers’ transition game in the playoffs, as well as their puck movement and speed. The faster Oilers were able to expose the Kings, leading to some head-scratching decisions.

They were unable to keep Vladislav Gavrikov, one of the few Kings defenders who could use his active stick and gap control to stop transition plays and zone entries. Gavrikov’s size helped him disrupt the Oilers, allowing him to stay on the right side of the puck and make his presence felt.

Although he didn’t control the puck often, it didn’t matter much when he was playing a shutdown role. Los Angeles will feel the loss of Gavrikov, especially if they face teams with speed in the playoffs next season.

Another move that wasn’t ideal was trading right-shot defenseman Jordan Spence to the Senators for a third and sixth-round pick. Spence was dependable for the Kings in sheltered minutes, but at just 24 years old, he was looking for an elevated role and was blocked by fellow right-shot defenseman Brandt Clarke.

Spence has a lot of potential and could have been a key part of Los Angeles for many years, but the Kings made the decision to send him to Ottawa for an underwhelming return. The trade handcuffed the Kings and forced them into a state of desperation when free agency opened on July 1. The Kings were down two defenders, and that was where their biggest mistake was made.

It wasn’t long into free agency before the Kings made a couple of defensive signings that left many in the hockey world scratching their heads. Los Angeles signed 33-year-old Brian Dumoulin and 31-year-old Cody Ceci to lucrative multi-year deals with AAVs above $4MM.

One of these signings alone wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it’s free agency, and almost everyone overpays, so most would have shrugged it off as part of the business. However, overpaying for two older, slower defenseman who are collectively a downgrade in talent from Gavrikov and Spence could be a problem that haunts the Kings for years.

The main criticism of the deals is that if Los Angeles had kept Gavrikov for the same money he received with the New York Rangers ($7MM annually on a seven-year deal), then the combined salary for him and Spence would have matched what Los Angeles is paying Dumoulin ($4MM annually) and Ceci ($4.5MM annually).

Dumoulin can still disrupt plays in the defensive zone and prevent teams from getting the puck into dangerous areas with his stick, but he doesn’t excel at much else anymore and often takes penalties. His foot speed has slowed down in recent seasons, which isn’t ideal if the Kings face the Oilers again in the playoffs.

For Ceci, he doesn’t excel at much but always manages to persuade coaches to give him plenty of ice time. His performance became an issue for Dallas in the playoffs, especially against Edmonton, where he finished with a -5 rating in five games and recorded a disappointing 46.75% expected goals share at five-on-five.

Combine Ceci and Dumoulin with Joel Edmundson and Drew Doughty, and Los Angeles has the makings of a defense core that is old, slow, and likely to struggle in transition. All these factors could be disastrous if the Kings face the Oilers in the playoffs again or another team with good speed. Doughty remains a solid defenseman, but with an $11MM cap hit and an aging defensive group around him, he will be asked to do too much, which could reduce his productivity.

Edmundson will likely be asked to perform beyond his usual capabilities, which could cause issues if that means placing him in the top two defensive pairs. Although Edmundson is large, physical, and tough to play against near the net, he isn’t well-suited for the transition game or facing opponents with speed and skill. Some might argue that the 32-year-old helps keep the front of the Kings’ net clear, but he certainly allows many scoring chances around it.

Los Angeles entered the offseason with a chance to do something special with their defensive core, but unfortunately, they missed out on the opportunity to improve. The losses of Gavrikov and Spence will sting, but replacing them with Dumoulin and Ceci for essentially the same money will probably be fans’ biggest frustration. The Kings are set to spend $30MM on a defensive core that is much older, slower, and likely not built to take down the Oilers or any other team with a quick forward group.

Photo by Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Kings Sign Samuel Bolduc, Logan Brown, Cole Guttman

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The LA Kings continue to bolster their depth on the second day of free agency, signing defenseman Samuel Bolduc and forwards Logan Brown and Cole Guttman to two-way contracts, per a team release. In that same release, the team also confirmed the signing of forward Taylor Ward, who was previously reported to have inked a one-year, two-way deal with the team.

Bolduc’s one-year deal comes with an $775K AAV at the NHL level. Bolduc, 24, appeared in just one game for the New York Islanders last season, spending most of the season with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. In 52 career games at the NHL level, the 6’4″, 220-pound defender has produced four goals and eight assists. However, he had produced far better offensive numbers in the AHL, including last year when he secured nine goals and 35 points in 69 games for Bridgeport.

Brown, 27, was selected 11th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2016 NHL Draft. He has appeared in 99 NHL games over six seasons, posting seven goals and 27 points. However, he hasn’t appeared at the top level since a 30-game stint with the St. Louis Blues during the 2022-23 season. He spent last season in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization but only secured playing time in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch, where he posted 29 points in 33 games. His contract is a one-year deal with a $775K AAV.

Guttman’s two-year deal also comes with a $775K AAV at the NHL level. Guttman, 26, last appeared in the NHL with the Blackhawks during the 2023-24 season, where he posted four goals and eight points in 27 games. While he didn’t appear in an NHL game last season, Guttman had his best year as a professional, posting 23 goals and 57 points for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.

Kings Re-Sign Taylor Ward

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Kings are using Day 2 of free agency to round out their depth after being one of the bigger spenders on Day 1, signing forward Taylor Ward to a one-year, two-way deal, PuckPedia reports.

Ward, 27, was an unrestricted free agent for less than 24 hours. The undrafted pickup by the Kings back in 2022 now signs his fourth consecutive one-year deal with the club, this one carrying a $775K NHL salary and $300K AHL salary, per PuckPedia. That’s nearly double the $165K AHL salary he earned on last year’s two-way deal.

While Ward again spent the vast majority of the season with AHL Ontario, he was called up for his NHL debut in the Kings’ final game of the season. He scored L.A.’s lone goal in a 5-1 loss to the Flames, recording four shots and three hits in 14:52 of ice time.

Down with Ontario, the University of Nebraska-Omaha product had 12 goals, 15 assists, and 27 points in 66 games with a plus-six rating. He has a 35-60–95 scoring line in 224 AHL games over the last four seasons.

Ward had to clear waivers to head to Ontario at the beginning of last season and likely won’t have a problem doing so again this fall. L.A. has now filled 44 of its 50 contract slots for this season.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top