Kempe And Kings Looking To ‘Bridge The Gap’ In Contract Negotiations

Adrian Kempe, who is one of the biggest names to be a UFA at the end of this season, is still without a contract extension.

Kempe currently earns a $5.5-million cap hit, but it’s expected that the Swedish right winger will receive a healthy increase in salary on his next deal. This is his final season of his four-year, $5.5-million contract that he signed in the 2022 off-season.

The Los Angeles Kings and GM Ken Holland are under some pressure to bang out a new contract for Kempe, the team’s leading scorer after the first four games of the season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided the latest reports during The Fan hockey Show about the negotiations between the Kings’ front office and Kempe’s representation.

Friedman said that there was a pause in negotiations between the two parties, but talks should start up again soon.

According to the Sportsnet insider, there was a bit of a gap between Kempe and the Kings. In terms of money and average annual value, it seemed that Los Angeles was at the $9 million AAV mark, while the player was around the $10 million AAV area.

However, since then, the Winnipeg Jets signed left winger Kyle Connor, the Edmonton Oilers signed center Connor McDavid, and the Minnesota Wild signed Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history.

With all that to consider, it’s understandable that the asking price has gone up in the meantime. 

Furthermore, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported earlier in the month that Toronto Maple Leafs right winger William Nylander is a contract comparable to Kempe’s situation.

Nylander currently earns $11.5 million against the salary cap, and that will continue for the next seven seasons, including this campaign.

Despite the current gap between the team and player, Friedman said he believes that Kempe wants to remain a member of the Kings.

Kings 2025-26 Player Preview: Adrian KempeAs the 2025-26 season approaches, one thing that will continue to follow the Los Angeles Kings around, until it is completed, is the pending contract situation for star forward, Adrian Kempe.

With that said, Kempe holds all the leverage in these negotiations as one of the most important players on the Kings’ roster. 

The 29-year-old has led Los Angeles in scoring for the last two seasons. In addition, he’s scored 35-plus goals in three of the last four campaigns, including a 41-goal season in 2022-23.

It’s tough to say that the Kings are a better team without Kempe in the lineup, and that leads Friedman to believe that it’s in Holland’s best interest to get this deal done on the first chance he gets.