Most have considered a Kempe extension as a must-do for Kings basic supervisor Ken Holland, and for good motive. With captain Anze Kopitar’s pending retirement already set to go away a obvious gap of their prime six subsequent season, shedding a second member of their prime unit would have been catastrophic.
Extra so than ever, Kempe has taken the reins from Kopitar because the staff’s prime offensive risk. With six targets and 13 assists in 19 video games this season, he’s on observe to hit the point-per-game mark for the primary time in his profession regardless of an early-season taking pictures hunch. His 9.7% ending price is presently his worst since hitting a low of seven.4% within the 2019-20 season. He’s solely on observe to hit 26 targets this yr at current, however together with his taking pictures common up at 14.2% over the prior 4 years, there’s a excessive likelihood he’ll hit over 30 as soon as once more and end within the 80-to-90-point vary.
Kempe has now scored 30 targets in three of the final 4 years and would have gone four-for-four if not for a five-game absence in 2023-24. He’s been stapled to Kopitar’s wing on L.A.’s prime line since first getting an prolonged promotion within the 2020-21 season. It was considerably of a delayed breakout for the 29-year-old, who was a first-round choose again in 2014. He didn’t make his NHL debut till late in his third yr post-draft and spent the next few years posting round 30 factors a yr in a middle-six function. His large break didn’t come till his first full season on Kopitar’s wing in 2021-22, when he notched a team-leading 35 targets as L.A. ended a three-year playoff drought.
The 6-foot-2 winger has been a money-in-the-bank producer since then, whereas additionally hitting the 100-hit mark in yearly since 2021-22. Since his breakout, Kempe’s 145 targets in 337 video games are tied for twenty first within the league. He’s now at 200 targets for his profession, placing him simply inside the highest 10 in Kings franchise historical past and 14th in factors with 420.
With him and Kevin Fiala checking in as L.A.’s solely semi-consistent 30-goal choices, there was little likelihood they may maintain shedding him and Kopitar with out many different choices slated to be out there to exchange them in free company with out dropping again out of the playoff image. His new deal will make him the Kings’ highest-paid ahead subsequent yr, and he might be their highest-paid participant outright beginning in 2027-28 with the expiry of Drew Doughty’s contract.
The Kings tried aggressively to get Kempe’s deal finished months in the past in the course of the offseason, however have been unsuccessful. Shortly earlier than coaching camp, Kempe mentioned he wished one thing finished as quickly as potential and all but set the Christmas break as a drop-dead date for talks. Sunday’s information marks a seemingly important concession from Kempe’s camp, which was eyeing a match to the $11.5M common annual worth that Martin Necas landed in his extension with the Colorado Avalanche a couple of weeks in the past.
Even with the eight-figure dedication, the Kings nonetheless boast $23.1M in cap area for subsequent season, per PuckPedia. That’s with seven open roster spots. The contract can be one of many few really long-term ones left on the Kings’ books. Solely Mikey Anderson, whose deal expires following the 2030-31 season, is underneath contract previous the tip of the last decade.
