Ken Holland has some contracts that he still has to work out for players with the Los Angeles with the most pressing being Alex Laferriere because he is a restricted free agent. However, the most important is obviously Adrian Kempe, who is entering the final year of his contract and will be a restricted free agent after the season.
There is another player who could get a new deal this summer, and that is former Top 10 pick Brandt Clarke. He is coming off his first full season in the NHL and would lead the Kings' defensemen in points with 33.
The Kings have lost key defensemen the past two summers in free agency in Matt Roy and Vladislav Gavrikov. They also traded away Jordan Spence, which was an indication that they are fully committed to Clarke and having an expanded role.
LA Kings can't wait to sign Brandt Clarke to an extension
One of the lessons the organization should have learned is that they can't wait on these extensions. They had reportedly been talking about an extension with Gavrikov all the way back around the trade deadline, but as the days went by and a deal didn't get done, it only increased the chances he would leave.
Now Clarke isn't in the same position as Gavrikov, as he will be a restricted free agent which does help the Kings some. However, there is still a chance that he could leave if another team offers the right contract.
That is why the Kings should look at what they did with Mikey Anderson and do the same for Brandt Clarke by getting a long-term deal done now. Anderson would sign an eight-year deal during the 2022-23 season and had just over 100 career games entering that season.
It was certainly a risk committing to an eight-year deal to a player who was still an unknown but the contract now is one of the best bargains in all of hockey with an AAV of only $4.125 million.
Brandt Clarke is another player that is worth the risk in terms of signing him to a long-term deal while still somewhat unproven. However, if they can sign him to a reasonable AAV, maybe in the $6 or $7 million range, in a few years fans could be talking about that contract the way they talk about Anderson's.