LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have signed forward Adrian Kempe to an eight-year, $85 million contract that carries an average annual value of $10.625 million, the team announced Monday.
Securing Kempe long-term was a top organizational priority for the Kings, particularly with captain Anže Kopitar expected to retire after this season. Negotiations had been ongoing for months, and sources say Kempe accepted slightly below what he could have commanded on the open market because of his strong belief that Los Angeles is where he can win his first Stanley Cup.
The new deal will keep the 29-year-old Swede under contract through the 2033-34 season. Drafted by the Kings in the first round in 2014, Kempe has spent his entire 10-year NHL career in Los Angeles.
Kempe has led the Kings in scoring each of the past two seasons and currently has six goals and 19 points in 19 games this year.
He had been widely regarded as the top unrestricted free agent who would have hit the market in the summer of 2026 had he not re-signed. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, and Martin Nečas all inked new deals with their clubs over the past two months.
