One of the biggest moves that general manager Ken Holland and the Los Angeles Kings made this summer was signing young defenseman Brandt Clarke to a lengthy contract extension in restricted free agency.
The Kings and Holland signed Clarke to a five-year contract worth around $7.4 million in average annual value (through the end of the 2030-31 season).
Clarke has steadily developed into one of the NHL's most potent young defensemen in this past couple of seasons. And while another step forward is expected for Clarke in the upcoming 2026-27 season, here's a bold prediction: he won't just improve, he'll emerge as one of the league's elite defensemen and become a Norris Trophy finalist.
Everything is lining up for Brandt Clarke to take another leap
The 23-year-old defenseman Clarke is coming off a career-best 40-point season for the Kings this past year. Not only did Clarke emerge as a top offensive producer from the blue line for the Kings this past season, but he also showed great durability and reliability by playing all 82 games in the regular season.
Los Angeles signing Clarke to a five-year contract extension this offseason signals that the franchise views him as a cornerstone on the blue line going into the future. He's expected to have a bigger role on the blue line for the Kings this upcoming season, and Clarke has said he is ready to "push the envelope" for the defensive core.
"Maybe we haven’t been around as long as some of the other guys, but we haven’t done enough winning in the past couple years and that’s not up to par. That’s not what we want. We want to push the envelope, we want to be a contender. I think we’re ready to turn the page, all of us, and take another step. We know our older guys are going to be dialed in and still want to win so badly. I think we have a really good crew coming back here and I’m looking forward to September."Brandt Clarke
A larger role could unlock another level offensively
It's not out of the question to expect Clarke to come into a bigger role offensively and on special teams on the power play for the Kings this upcoming season. Clarke has scored multiple power play goals in each of the last two seasons while continuing to take on a larger role with the man advantage on special teams.
Clarke played a career-high of over 180 minutes on special teams on the power play unit for the Kings this past season. I'd only expect his role with the power play unit to grow more in 2026-27.
Another way that we should expect Clarke's role to grow with the team this upcoming season is with his total ice time per game. Despite being one of the most effective and offensively potent weapons on the blue line for the Kings last season, Clarke ranked third among the team's defensemen in average ice time per game.
New head coach Peter Laviolette and staff are likely to be willing to give Clarke a much bigger role and more freedom on the blue line to drive the play offensively.
There's also the natural transition for Clarke to get more ice time and a bigger role offensively from the blue line as veteran defenseman Drew Doughty's career starts to wind down for the Kings. If all the stars align for Clarke this upcoming season with the Kings, it's not unrealistic to expect him to reach double-digit goals and over 50 total points.
But with a truly magnificent season, Clarke has the potential to reach the 15-goal mark and at least 60 total points in the regular season. Paired with potentially solid defensive play, those numbers would hypothetically put Clarke in the Norris Trophy conversation.
As we approach a new era for the Kings franchise after the retirement of Anze Kopitar and with Doughty entering the final year of his current contract, Los Angeles is starting to transition to a younger core to build the team's foundation. Younger players like Clarke and center Quinton Byfield are starting to become the foundation of the franchise going into the future.
Contending for the Norris Trophy could still be a year or two away, especially with the insane number of elite defensemen across the NHL competing for the award. But if Clarke builds on last season, and embraces a larger role on the blue line, don't be surprised if his offensive numbers continue to improve and his name is in the mix as a finalist for the Norris Trophy when award season arrives.
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