At this point in the offseason, it's a good time to reflect on the cap situation and projected roster for the Los Angeles Kings and new head coach Peter Laviolette going into the upcoming 2026-27 season.
In the past few days, The Athletic has been breaking down the best and worst NHL contracts this offseason. And on July 29, The Athletic officially released its full breakdown of the NHL contract efficiency rankings going into the upcoming 2026-27 season.
The Kings remained in the middle of the pack in the league, but the evaluation still highlighted many positive moves that general manager Ken Holland made this offseason while raising questions about one of the franchise's biggest recent contract extensions from this past season.
Brandt Clarke's extension already looks like a bargain
Earlier this offseason, the Kings and Holland signed defenseman Brandt Clarke to a five-year contract worth around $7.4 million in average annual value. This was a great move by Holland and the Kings to get Clarke signed to a long-term contract in restricted free agency, especially with how the market moved in the weeks following the news of his deal with Los Angeles.
Clarke signed his contract with the Kings for around the same salary range in average annual value as other young defensemen like Simon Nemec and Pavel Mintyukov. Among defensemen who signed long-term contract extensions this offseason, Clarke was the only player making under $8 million in average annual value coming off a 40-point season.
The long-term value that the Kings are getting from signing a foundational piece of the franchise like Clarke to a five-year deal is immense.
The Athletic isn't sold on Adrian Kempe's new contract
However, not every contract the Kings and Holland have signed recently received rave reviews from The Athletic this offseason. The Athletic questioned whether the $10.6 million deal that Kempe signed for eight years with the Kings this past season was really worth it.
The concern pointed out by The Athletic is that Kempe is paid like an elite star winger into his mid-30s. Yet, the Kings are betting the league's rapidly increasing salary cap will make that cap hit look much more reasonable over the life of Kempe's contract.
Kempe has become one of the Kings' most consistent scorers. He's had back-to-back 35-goal and 70-point seasons for the Kings, and he was named the Team MVP this past regular season. He's a very valuable long-term cornerstone for the Kings' franchise, and getting paid just north of $10 million in average annual value with the salary cap expected to continue to rise isn't bad value for either party involved.
Other moves that Holland made this offseason, like signing veteran winger Mats Zuccarello and getting creative by signing proven veterans to short-term deals, have shifted the outlook and the optimism surrounding the Kings' roster situation late this summer.
The Kings have managed to improve cap flexibility without giving up contender status in the Pacific Division or sacrificing future assets.
Just because the Kings ranked 19th on this list doesn't mean that the organization has a bad collection of contracts this offseason. Instead, it shows a roster that is still in transition following a busy offseason for the front office. If Clarke continues his rise on the blue line and Kempe justifies his contract extension in the next few seasons, the Kings could climb higher on future editions of these rankings.
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