The Shocking Case Behind Why the Kings Might Let Adrian Kempe Walk—Could It Upend Their Future?

You know, when you watch a player like Adrian Kempe light up the ice night after night, it’s hard not to wonder — just how on earth could the Los Angeles Kings let him slip away? Seriously, the team’s front office is staring down what might be one of those rare crossroads where extending Kempe isn’t just a good move; it might be absolutely crucial. I mean, think about it: scoring talent like his doesn’t grow on trees, and in a league where the biggest swings are made with a Vladdy Guerrero-style bat, you have to ask yourself, “Who else out there can bring what Kempe does — consistently — and wants to stay in LA?” Sure, the numbers might make negotiations tricky, and yeah, they paused talks to explore other blockbuster options that haven’t panned out. But at the end of the day, turning their backs on a player of Kempe’s caliber could leave a glaring hole in a lineup that’s not exactly overflowing with scoring firepower. You dig into it, and it starts to smell like the Kings just can’t afford to walk away from this deal. How do you build a better roster if you lose your dependable goal scorer and your guy clearly wants to stick around? Tough questions with no easy answers… yet the answer might be staring them right in the face. LEARN MORE

The Los Angeles Kings may be in a situation where they cannot afford to not extend Adrian Kempe

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Putting the Spotlight on the Hockey World episode on the Los Angeles Kings and Adrian Kempe contract situation. How can the Kings not extend Kempe?

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Friedman: “So I understand Kempe, the negotiations were on a pause. I understand they’re supposed to pick up at the end of October. This, I believe, was the plan.

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Again, you know, I watched Kempe, and on Thursday night, he played a role in the time, in the second goal for the Kings, and then Byfield set him up for the overtime winner. And I just look at this, and I say, how are the Kings not going to do this?

It is. I understand it’s gone like, I think in the beginning they were in like the $9 million range. I understand that things are changed, that’s number one. Number two, I think they wanted to see if they could get their shot at (Connor) McDavid. That’s not happening. I understand the Kings were one of the teams that, if Marner had gone to market, they were prepared to go to Toronto and meet with them on July 1st. That obviously didn’t happen. The Golden Knights took that off the board.

So I recognized that the Kings wanted to step to the plate. And they wanted to step up to the plate with a Vladdy Guerrero bat. They wanted to take some big swings. Well, okay, is there anybody left who’s better than what you’ve already got? Is there anybody you can, you think you can reasonably get who’s better than what you already got?

Now, if people want to argue with me and say, Kempe is not on the level of players like Marner or whatever, fine, you can make that argument. But you operate with what you’ve got. And is it more than they wanted to pay him, initially? Yes, absolutely. But you look at them and you imagine them without, and I think he wants to stay. So the Kings have some help there.

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But I’m just imagining if you don’t keep this guy and he walks, how are you going to make yourself better? Now that doesn’t mean you go and you off from eleventy billion dollars. But overall, the overall picture is, if he’s not there, and clearly he wants to be a King, how are you making yourself better?”

Bukauskas: “Tough to do. Is a guy that’s, I mean, routinely, I know 28 a couple years ago, but 35, 41, 35 last year. Those aren’t the easiest to find.”

Friedman: “No. Scoring is the hardest thing to get, the hardest.”

Bukauskas: “When you already have them in house, when, as you say, wants to be there, so long as the numbers add up. It’s, it’s a tough one. It’s not quite, you know, (Kirill) Kaprizov, Minnesota, got to do what they got to do to keep them there. But for LA, that would be a tough sell to the rest of the fan base, of going, we didn’t feel we could exercise all options in getting it done. That’s a big piece of, not only the now, but where they hope to keep going here.”

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Friedman: “Yeah. Like Ken Holland wasn’t hired to rebuild.”

Bukauskas: “No, no, no, that’s, those are not rebuilding moves. They’re not rebuilding moves.”

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