It is hard to believe but of all the players the Los Angeles Kings signed in free agency, defenseman Cody Ceci received the biggest contract at 4 years for $18 million. There was clearly a need for the Kings on defense after trading Jordan Spence and Vladislav Gavrikov left in free agency, and it makes sense for Los Angeles to go out and find some defensemen.
However, Cody Ceci doesn't feel like the right answer to address the need but it seemed inevitable that the Kings were going to sign him. General manager Ken Holland knows him from his time with the Edmonton Oilers when he signed him to a four-year deal in 2022.
Reason to love the signing of Cody Ceci: He brings veteran presence to the third pair
It was pretty hard to find a reason this signing makes sense for the LA Kings, and the biggest positive is that it adds experience to that third pair on defense. On the third pair, he shouldn't be expected to average close to his 20 minutes per game, but he gives Jim Hiller someone who he can trust more than Spence, in his view, who was closer to 14 minutes last season.
The Kings have to believe that they can get the most out of Ceci because he didn't look good last season, especially in the playoffs. Maybe by having him on the third pair, it takes some pressure off him and he can be a reliable third-pair defenseman.
Reasons to hate the signing of Cody Ceci: Contract
If we believe the premise that the Kings view Ceci as a good third-pair defenseman, then the contract makes almost no sense. The four-year deal worth $18 million is actually more than the contract Holland signed Ceci to with the Oilers, which was a four-year deal worth $13 million.
According to Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, Ceci has a 1% probability of positive value and had a market value of only $1 million per year.
Cody Ceci was once better than his underlying numbers gave him credit for given the difficulty of his minutes, but at his age those days are likely over.
— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn) July 1, 2025
It's possible Ceci bounces back in a strong defensive system, but this looks like a tough bet to make. pic.twitter.com/P9mRHMfV4p
Maybe the Kings believe he can return to the level he played in 2023-24 and that certainly would be best case scenario. However, it is hard to imagine giving out this contract on the hope that he returns to form.
It is certainly going to be interesting how this contract is viewed in a few seasons for Cody Ceci because expectations are very low.