Last season, the Los Angeles Kings recorded 105 points (48 wins, 25 losses, nine overtime losses) and earned home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. But in the end, all that gave them was a first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, the team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final out of the West in 2024 and was out for blood in 2025. The Kings ended up losing in six games, and now, the future of their star player, Adrian Kempe, is now in considerable doubt.
Kempe is in the final year of the four-year, $22 million contract that he signed back in 2022, and his emergence into the Kings' most dangerous offensive threat has made him that much more valuable to the Kings franchise. Alas, there remains a gap between the two sides in their contract extension negotiation talks, with Kempe reportedly asking for $1 to $2 million more per annum than the Kings are willing to give.
The Kings' star right winger, who's best known as “Juice”, made one thing clear: while he's not in a hurry to sign a new contract, he prefers to get it done as early as possible so he has one fewer thing to mind as the season progresses.
“I would like to get it done as soon as possible, but I don’t want to rush anything. But I also don’t want to come around after Christmas and the (trade) deadline’s coming up and I’m sitting there not knowing where we’re at or we’re not on terms. Before Christmas would be great, before camp would be great,” Kempe said at the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour in Las Vegas, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
An eight-year extension worth a total of around $80 to $88 million (according to rumors, Kempe is looking for $10 to $11 million per year over eight years) is not a joke of a commitment, so the Kings will want to take their time with making this big of a decision. But there's a balance to be had, that's for certain.
Adrian Kempe and the Kings look to finish unresolved business
The Kings have been very good over the past four seasons, with Kempe being an instrumental part of their success being their primary goal scorer on the right wing. To lose him by being cheap would be frustrating for Kings fans.
They have unresolved business anyway in the postseason; they haven't made it past the first round from 2022 to 2025, with the Oilers stopping them every season, and they would want to put an end to that frustrating trend in 2026.
