LA Kings: What Alexis Lafreniere’s entry-level contract means for Quinton Byfield

Now that Alexis Lafreniere has signed his three-year entry-level contract let’s projects what Quinton Byfield will get from the LA Kings.

Alexis Lafreniere was the consensus number one overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Just days after being drafted, he’s already signed his three-year entry-level contract. What does that mean for LA Kings‘ second overall pick, Quinton Byfield?

Using the numbers in the NHL’s CBA approved on July 10, 2020, we can get a sense of what Byfield’s ELC might look like.

• Base salary + Signing Bonus = $925,000 (all three years)
• Sched “A” Bonus: $800,000 (all three years)
• Sched “B” Bonus: $1.8M (all three years)
• Minor League Compensation: $80,000 (all three years)

Contract Total: $10.8M

Lafreniere is the number one overall pick, and the pay should reflect the status. The primary difference between the two contracts is the Schedule “A” and “B” Bonuses. The CBA states that this particular bonus may not exceed $212,500 per individual bonus and $850,000 in total for “A” and $2M in aggregate total for “B.”

Lafreniere is getting the maximum here, so I have Byfield with less at $800,000 and $1.8M, respectively. Otherwise, the rest of the numbers are the same. I could see the Kings being closer to Lafreniere’s Schedule “A” Bonus, but they won’t match it. So a contract between $10.8M and $11M would seem reasonable.

Also, given that last year’s second overall pick Kaapo Kakko‘s ELC was $10.7M, the primary difference is the minor league compensation increased from $70,000 to $80,000. So, $10.8M would likely be the floor.