The Los Angeles Kings, rumored to be involved in a trade for one defenseman, signed a long-term extension with another. Mikey Anderson inked an eight-year deal that will kick in next season and keep him under contract through 2030-31. Moving forward, he will carry an average annual value of $4.125M.
Kings general manager Rob Blake had this to say:
"We’re excited to have a player of Mikey Anderson’s caliber signed to the Kings long-term. Mikey has not only developed into a trusted, shut-down player on the ice, but a well-respected individual in the room that we envision continuing to grow into our leadership core."
Anderson, 23, has quickly become one of the most reliable defensive defensemen in the league. Despite his relatively small frame, he plays a physical, risk-free brand of hockey and is almost always found latched on to the other team’s best, frustrating them at every turn.
Selected in the fourth round in 2017, he not only became a star at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but his leadership skills quickly shone through, making him the captain of the U.S. World Junior team that won silver in 2019. He won a national championship a few months later, his second in as many years, and then transition to professional hockey.
It only took him half a minor league season before showing he was ready for the NHL, and he’s never looked back. Anderson has 33 points in 172 regular-season games and now averages close to 22 minutes a night for the Kings.
Defense-first defensemen rarely get huge paydays, but this is a significant commitment from Los Angeles nonetheless. Anderson’s current contract was just a one-year, $1M deal that he signed in September as a bridge, but he’ll never have to negotiate as a restricted free agent again.
With the suspected cap increase, this could quickly turn into quite the bargain for the Kings. Anderson already sits as the 74th-highest cap hit among defenders for next season, a number that will continue to go down as more players sign new deals.
Even if more offense never comes, Anderson’s strong defensive play should make this a reasonable bet for the Kings to make.
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