{"id":473548,"date":"2025-08-24T09:26:43","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T13:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=473548"},"modified":"2025-08-24T09:26:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T13:26:43","slug":"nhl-rumours-next-deal-for-los-angeles-kings-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/08\/24\/nhl-rumours-next-deal-for-los-angeles-kings-star\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Next Deal for Los Angeles Kings Star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for another round of NHL rumours. The off-season continues to drag on, but there&#8217;s still plenty to talk about. Teams aren&#8217;t just thinking about the upcoming season. They&#8217;re also trying to plan ahead for at least the next few seasons. A number of big-ticket players are eligible to get themselves some <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/08\/18\/nhl-rumours-update-on-talks-between-connor-mcdavid-and-edmonton-oilers\/\" target=\"_self\">massive contract extensions<\/a>. General managers have to navigate the rising salary cap and likely rising contract values.<\/p>\n<p>One player that&#8217;s in line for a contract extensions is a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/07\/19\/los-angeles-kings-summer-series-franchise-defining-moments\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Kings<\/a> star. This edition of NHL rumours looks at what that star player&#8217;s contract might look like.<\/p>\n<p>All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.<\/p>\n<h2>NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n<h3>What Next Contract for Los Angeles Kings Star Could Look Like<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: Eric Stephens of The Athletic <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6564170\/2025\/08\/20\/kings-offseason-kempe-byfield-kopitar\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hosted a recent edition of his mailbag<\/a> where he took reader questions. The subject of what the next contract may look like for forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kempead01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adrian Kempe<\/a> may look like.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Dropped a Kings mailbag this morning. Readers had questions. And concerns. And full-throated gripes. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoKingsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GoKingsGo<\/a><a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XKQSWJUhrR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/XKQSWJUhrR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/icemancometh\/status\/1958232597873807644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:<\/em> Kempe is in the final year of a contract that sees him getting a very team-friendly $5.5 million salary. It&#8217;s likely the Swedish standout is going to get a hefty raise. The 28-year-old winger has become more than just a goal-scorer, as he&#8217;s worked hard to improve his defensive game. Kempe isn&#8217;t likely to get Selke Trophy votes, but is more than serviceable at his end of the ice.<\/p>\n<p>Kempe is just one of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/08\/24\/nhl-rumours-vegas-golden-knights-superstar-offseason-contract-extension-talks\/\" target=\"_self\">a number of players<\/a> that are eligible to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/07\/13\/nhl-rumours-latest-on-extension-talks-with-minnesota-wild-star\/\" target=\"_self\">become free agents<\/a> on July 1. We could see some names like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcdavco01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor McDavid<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kapriki01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kirill Kaprizov<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/e\/eicheja01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jack Eichel<\/a> hit the market if they don&#8217;t sign extensions. However, it&#8217;s hard to see any of these players hit get to free agency.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s always a worry that a player like Kempe will explore his options and move onto a different team. However, Stephens points out that chances are low that Kempe will leave Southern California. Kings General Manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hollake01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ken Holland<\/a> also said he&#8217;d love to keep Kempe.<\/p>\n<p>The veteran winger loves Los Angeles according to Stephens. However, it&#8217;s likely that Kempe wants to get his well-deserved raise after that last team-friendly deal.<\/p>\n<h4>What It Means<\/h4>\n<p>Stephens then gets to work on projected what the next deal will look like. The Kings could<a  href=\"https:\/\/puckpedia.com\/team\/los-angeles-kings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> have more room<\/a> if captain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kopitan01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anze Kopitar<\/a> does decide to retire at the end of the campaign. Kopitar has a $7 million AAV and a good chunk of that could be used for Kempe&#8217;s next deal.<\/p>\n<p>The Kings do have to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/08\/22\/nhl-rumours-los-angeles-kings-defender-could-be-trade-target\/\" target=\"_self\">figure out<\/a> what to do with players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/clarkbr02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandt Clarke<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuzmean01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrei Kuzmenko<\/a>. However, Kempe will be getting that well-deserved pay raise.<\/p>\n<p>Stephens then projects what the next deal could look like. He uses <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/08\/22\/florida-panthers-will-be-without-star-until-january\/\" target=\"_self\">Florida Panthers<\/a> forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/reinhsa01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-24_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sam Reinhart<\/a> as a good comparable player. Reinhart recently signed an eight-year deal with an $8.625 million cap hit. Kempe will likely get something with a bigger cap number to account for the rising cap figures.<\/p>\n<p>The Athletic&#8217;s writer suggest something along eight years and $8.84 million per season is a good starting point. Stephens adds that the number could go up to $9 million to account for the new cap. However, Stephens will delve deeper into that number unless the two sides agree to a deal before that.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main photo by: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for another round of NHL rumours. The off-season continues to drag on, but there&#8217;s still plenty to talk about. Teams aren&#8217;t just thinking about the upcoming season. They&#8217;re also trying to plan ahead for at least the next few seasons. A number of big-ticket players are eligible to get themselves some massive contract [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":451058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,4547,34,4548,4321],"tags":[2253,571,7166,217],"class_list":["post-473548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kings","category-hockey","category-news","category-nhl","category-rumours","tag-adrian-kempe","tag-ken-holland","tag-los-angeles-kings-rumours","tag-sam-reinhart"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473548"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473549,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473548\/revisions\/473549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}