Report: Los Angeles Kings Extend Star Forward

Los Angeles Kings and Adrian Kempe Agree to Contract Extension

Kempe has only played for the Kings in his 10-year NHL career. The 29-year-old has six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 19 games this season. He is averaging 19 minutes and 18 seconds of ice time so far this campaign. Kempe has a Corsi for of 57.3 and a relative Corsi of 6.2.

The Kramfors, Sweden native, has 200 goals and 220 assists for 420 points in 649 career games. Los Angeles originally drafted Kempe in the first round, 29th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Kempe has also represented his native Sweden on the international level. He won a gold medal at the 2018 IIHF World Championships for his home country. The winger was also part of the bronze-medal Swedish squad at the 2024 Worlds. He was also named one of the first six players for Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

What It Means

Another big name has been taken off the 2026 free agent board. Players like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and Kirill Kaprizov have already signed contract extensions. Kempe’s deal has taken another big name off the market.

With captain Anze Kopitar retiring at the end of the season, Kempe will seemingly become the face of the franchise. Kempe has yet to hoist a Stanley Cup, but he’s been an important part of a club that consistently makes the postseason.

The attention now turns to players like Artemi Panarin, who is seemingly the biggest unrestricted free agent name left on the board. July 1 could be a massive anticlimax.