Kings re-sign Adrian Kempe to 8-year, $85-million deal: AP

Associated Press

Greg Beecham

Published November 16, 2025 • 1 minute read

Los Angeles Kings right winger Adrian Kempe gestures after scoring a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. Photo by Jesse Alche /AP Photo

LOS ANGELES — Forward Adrian Kempe has signed an eight-year, $85 million contract to remain with the Los Angeles Kings, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

Advertisement 2

Contents of the article

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the Kings have not announced a deal for the 29-year-old Kempe, who was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The deal runs through the 2033-34 season and has an average annual value of $10.625 million.

Contents of the article

Kempe has been the Kings' most reliable forward over the last four seasons, making the All-Star Game in 2022 and leading Los Angeles to four straight playoff appearances. The Swedish right winger has 200 goals and 220 assists in a 10-year career spent entirely with Los Angeles, where he was drafted 29th overall in 2014.

Kempe scored a career-high 41 goals in 2022-23 and has four straight 25-goal seasons. He leads the Kings with six goals and 13 assists in 19 games this season while being a strong contributor on special teams.

Advertisement 3

Contents of the article

Kempe is also on Sweden's initial roster for the 2026 Olympics.

Re-signing Kempe has been a top priority for new Kings general manager Ken Holland, who has said he wants to maintain a core of leadership and talent when longtime captain Anze Kopitar retires next year. But negotiations with Kempe stretched from the summer into the start of the season, leading to increased speculation that Kempe would hit the open market next year.

Instead, Kempe joins a list of potential 2026 free agents who have re-signed with their teams in the last two months. Connor McDavid, Martin Necas, Jack Eichel and Kirill Kaprizov have recently joined their teams.

The Kings (10-5-4) bounced back from a slow start to the season with four straight wins in their current six-game road trip. They play in Washington on Monday.