The Los Angeles Kings have 11 unrestricted free agents this offseason but those aren't the only players looking for new contracts over the next few months. In addition to those 11 players, they have four players that are restricted free agents.
As a restricted free agent, the Kings must make a qualifying offer to these players otherwise they become unrestricted free agents and can sign with any team. More than likely, the Kings will offer qualifying offer to all four players and in that scenario they are offered a one-year deal that the player can decide to sign or get an offer sheet from another NHL team.
If they do sign an offer sheet, then the Kings will have the decision to match or let the player join the other team. In that scenario, the Kings would receive draft compensation from the team they signed with.
While the Kings only need to offer a one-year deal in the qualifying offer, they could continue to negotiate a longer-term deal and one player in particularly probably will fall into that category.
Who are the restricted free agents for the Los Angeles Kings in 2025 offseason?
The Kings have four players who could be restricted free agents, and the most notable is Alex Laferriere. The forward just completed his second season in the NHL and improved almost across the board from his rookie season.
He is a player that is the most likely to get an offer sheet from another NHL team but it is hard to imagine there is a team that signs him to a new contract that the Kings wouldn't match.
The three other restricted free agents the Kings have this offseason include Martin Chromiak, Cole Krygier, and Jack Studnicka. For these three players, who spent almost all of last season with the Ontario Reign, the negotiations should be pretty straightforward, as the Kings are likely to extend qualifying offers, and it is hard to imagine NHL teams signing them to offer sheets at this point in their careers.