LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 02: Adrian Kempe #9 of the Los Angeles Kings forechecks during a 3-2 Kings win over the Montreal Canadiens at Crypto.com Arena on March 02, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Outside of Los Angeles, if you were to ask the average NHL fan who some of the best Swedish players in the league were, the names you’d get would be Mika Zibanejad, Erik Karlsson, Elias Pettersson, and Victor Hedman.
Consequently, Adrian Kempe can get lost amongst the names of some of the countries’ elite talent, even though he is just four goals shy of hitting the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career.
Right now, Kempe has 36 goals and is on pace to lead the Kings’ in the category for the second consecutive season after setting a career-high with 35 tallies in 2021-22. Historically, he’s never led his country in goals during the regular season but is looking to join the list along with Hall of Famers like Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson, and Daniel Sedin.
Even though he will most likely come up short of the country’s single-season record of 50, set by Hakan Loob in 1987-88, he should join the short list of 40-goal scorers from his home country.
Although the Los Angeles sports market is one of the country’s largest, Kempe only gets an opportunity to play in front of a national audience if the Kings visit the east coast. Unfortunately, that lack of exposure leaves many fans to believe that some of the best Swedish players are on top contending teams in the Eastern Conference, overlooking a guy who is having his best season in the NHL.
Originally a first-round draft pick (29th overall) in 2004, Kempe took his time developing, staying in Sweden, and putting the work in at the AHL level before turning into a mainstay in the Kings’ lineup for the 2017-18 season.
Despite the slow starts and low goal totals that defined the first few years of his career, Kempe found a new gear in 2021-22, surpassing the 20 and 30 goal plateaus and collecting a career-best 54 points with a minus-2 rating, the lowest in three campaigns.
After finishing each season as a minus player, he worked on his game and currently leads the team in the category with a plus-22, significantly raising his career totals from minus-32 to minus-10. Although he has yet to erase all the negative numbers off his resume, he’s changed his career trajectory with outstanding numbers, 112 points, over the last 153 games.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 02: Adrian Kempe, #9 of the Los Angeles Kings, forechecks during a 3-2 Kings win over the Montreal Canadiens at Crypto.com Arena on March 02, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
As the NHL regular season winds down, Kempe ranks in the top five in several significant statistical categories among Kings and Swedish-born players, including goals, plus/minus, even strength goals, powerplay goals, shorthanded goals, shorthanded points, and game-winning goals.
Additionally, he’s in the top 10 in points, penalty minutes, even strength points, overtime goals, shots, and shooting percentage.
Although the Kings’ offensive attack runs with contributions from various players like Anze Kopitar, Kevin Fiala, Viktor Arvidsson, and Gabriel Vilardi, Kempe is undoubtedly one of the centerpieces of any game plan coach Todd McLellan draws up.
Kempe slides into the ninth spot, behind Joel Eriksson Ek and ahead of Rickard Rakell, when we look at where his 58 points rank amongst Swedish-born players in 2022-23.
Interestingly, out of the players in the top 10, his contract ($5.4 MM) ranks sixth behind Karlsson ($11 MM), Zibanejad ($8.5 MM), Pettersson ($7.3 MM), Nylander ($6.9 MM), and Rasmus Dahlin ($6.0 MM).
Furthermore, Kempe is wrapping up the first year of his latest contract extension, which runs out at the end of the 2025-26 season. Although he is not the highest-paid player on the Kings’ roster, he is one of their best offensive threats, a bargain at $5.4 million.
Conversely, since the start of 2021-22, Kempe has constantly ranked amongst the best players on his team and those from his home country despite the recognition he deserves.
Even though he’s playing in the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States, he will end up having one of the season’s quietest 40-goal campaigns. Consequently, it is a shame that so many fans outside of the LA area continue to miss his performances night in and night out.
