The Los Angeles Kings have enough real questions heading toward the 2026-27 season without dragging Adrian Kempe’s contract into the pile.
That’s why The Hockey Writers’ choice to label Kempe’s new eight-year extension as the worst deal on the Kings’ roster feels so off base. The bigger issue in Los Angeles is the team’s direction, not the player who has become its most dependable offensive threat.
Kempe has earned that status the hard way. Over the past few seasons, he’s put together back-to-back 35-goal, 70-point regular seasons for the Kings since the 2024-25 season, and he’s been one of their most reliable power-play producers as well. Last year, he followed that up with a 36-goal, 73-point regular season.
That kind of output matters, especially when a franchise is trying to keep a contender’s core intact. The Kings’ front office made Kempe a priority this past regular season, and the result was a long-term deal that pays him just north of $10.5 million in average annual value for the next eight years.
The criticism from The Hockey Writers centered on the broader picture in Los Angeles. After five straight first-round postseason exits, there’s obvious uncertainty about how long the Kings’ competitive window can stay open in the Western Conference. The concern, in their view, is whether paying Kempe into his 30s makes sense if the team’s future gets murky.
But that argument runs into a simple problem: Kempe hasn’t even played a game under the contract yet. The extension begins this upcoming season, so calling it the worst contract on the roster before it officially kicks in is a strange move.
There’s also the salary-cap angle. With the NHL cap rising and expected to keep climbing, a deal at Kempe’s number may look far more manageable as the years go on.
None of that means the back half of the contract is guaranteed to age perfectly. Eight years is a long commitment, and the Kings are taking on the usual risk that comes with locking in a star deep into the future.
But that’s the point. Teams need elite players to build around, and the Kings chose to keep one of theirs from reaching unrestricted free agency this summer. If the franchise eventually has to reckon with a rebuild, that’s a front-office problem for another day.
It’s not a reason to pretend Kempe’s extension is a mistake before it has even started.
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