The headlines and discussions have been swirling in various reports and fan and media circles in the past few months about what the Los Angeles Kings will do with standout winger Adrian Kempe's contract situation.
Contract negotiations are still ongoing between the Los Angeles Kings and Adrian Kempe
Recent reports have indicated that the Kings and Kempe and his camp are still pretty far apart in contract negotiations early this regular season in the fall. It doesn't sound like the Kings and Kempe are on track to get a deal done at least by the turn of the calendar year in the next couple of months.
This all comes while the winger market asking price has been going way up in the past couple of months. In the last few weeks alone, standout wingers around the NHL, such as the Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov, Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid, and Colorado Avalanche's Martin Necas each got well north of $10 million in average annual value in their recent contract extensions.
Kempe is in the final year of his four-year contract, worth $5.5 million in average annual value.
It would make sense that the Kings would want to lock down Kempe for a long-term contract extension, given that he was drafted and developed by this organization in LA over the past decade or so. But it sounds like the two sides are pretty far off in terms of the actual amount in average annual value for the Kings and Kempe going into next offseason in the summer of 2026 before free agency.
If the Kings did decide to look at a trade with Kempe involved, if they're not able to get a contract negotiation successfully done with him and his camp, there have been some trade pitches that have circled around the media landscape early this week.
The Hockey Writers pitched a pretty outlandish trade idea that would involve the Kings sending Kempe to the Pacific Division rival Edmonton Oilers for a return that includes Adam Henrique and a 2027 first-round draft pick, among a few other pieces included in the deal.
Here's what THW pitched for a potential hypothetical trade deal between the Kings and Oilers involving Kempe in the mix.
I am still firmly of the belief that the Kings and Kempe will find an agreement for a contract extension before next offseason and the 2026 free agent cycle in the league. The Kings will need to find a way to sign Kempe to a contract extension, unless the team wants to shift directions and trade a hometown developed star forward.
LA hasn't dished out a star player of Kempe's caliber in a long time on the trade market in the NHL. That said, if the only option that it comes to is trading Kempe, that is better than losing him for nothing on free agency next offseason.