The Los Angeles Kings are ushering in a new era while saying goodbye to an old one in 2025-26. Ken Holland is the new general manager, overhauling their blue line and looking for improvements in the postseason. Meanwhile, Anze Kopitar is retiring after spending his entire career in the City of Angels. The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun predicts that Kings forward Adrian Kempe, who is set to be a free agent, will sign a massive contract extension.
“As I wrote last week, an AAV in the $11 million to $12 million range probably makes sense here on a long-term deal,” LeBrun reported. “The urgency to extend Kempe is magnified by the reality of losing the great Anze Kopitar after this season. The Kings, however, were not taken by surprise by their captain’s announcement before the season that 2025-26 would be it.”
Kempe is one of the best free agents left in the 2026 class after a flurry of extensions before the season. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, and Kyle Connor are off the board with those extensions. Kings president, Luc Robitaille, said that those deals don't change anything for the Kempe negotiations.
“I think we were all expecting all these guys to sign,” Robitaille said, per LeBrun. “Great players will always find a way. Teams understand how it is. One guy took a lot less (McDavid), but everyone else seemed to sign to what their value is, their production. Maybe Jack Eichel took a little less. But that’s the way our game is.”
The Kings should do everything in their power to re-sign Kempe before July 1. If he leaves as Kopitar retires, Holland's plan will look incomplete and questionable. A $12 million payday would be a $6.5 million raise for Kempe, and Kopitar's $7 million cap hit is coming off the books. They can afford this deal and should not let him walk for any price.
