It’s been a confusing start to the 2025-26 season for the Los Angeles Kings, and one that you could classify as almost the opposite of last season so far. After a very tough first handful of games, they have found ways to come out on top in four straight games, taking their road game to a whole other level. There are mixed feelings about how the Kings’ season is going 19 games later, with some uncertainty about how this roster will fare after 82 games, but there’s no doubt they’re headed in the right direction.
The good, the bad, and the uncertainty continue as we head into the latest edition of LA Kings Notebook.
Kings lock up Kempe with massive expansion
Yesterday afternoon, Sportsnet’s NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the Kings and Adrian Kempe had agreed to an extension. This came after weeks without any progress or even discussions about it, as both sides agreed to put a pause on any further discourse about Kempe’s future in Los Angeles.
This morning, the Kings officially announced that their superstar winger was in it for the long haul. Kempe and the Kings agreed to an eight-year extension at an average annual value of $10.65 million.
The deal was a long time coming, something that has been a major topic around the Kings since the summer. For a long time it felt like it would be done before the season started, but with the cap going up and the market changing after the tricky Kirill Kaprizov and Connor McDavid deal came in and lopsided the deal again, it makes sense why both sides took the time they did.
The question was more about what the deal would look like, as opposed to whether Kempe would actually re-sign with the Kings, and considering his value to the team, along with where the cap is and is going now, this deal feels like a win for both parties.
“I’m very happy, it feels good […] As soon as you get the phone call that everything has been approved, you get very excited. I’m very happy, proud of myself and grateful for my teammates, fans, everyone who has been there, and I’m excited to be here for another 8,” Kempe said. “This is my home and this is where I want to be.”
There was talk that the Kings wouldn’t be able to keep Kempe if they offered him anything lower than $11 million AAV, and based on where the market is right now, there’s no doubt he could have gotten a contract in that $11-12 million range had he hit the open market.
Here’s the breakdown of the eight-year extension.
Kempe contract:
26-27: $1 million salary, $11 million signing bonus
27-28: $1 million salary, $11 million SB
28-29: $1 million salary, $11 SB
29-30: $2.5 million salary, $9.5 million SB
30-31: $9.75 million salary
31-32: $9.75 million salary
32-33: $8.75 million salary
33-34: $8.75 million salary
SB total: $42.5 million
Salary total: $42.5 million
AAV: $10.625 million— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 17, 2025
Selected 29th overall by the Kings in 2014, Kempe is a homegrown talent currently in his 10th season as a member of the Kings and has achieved a plethora of milestones during his time in LA. More than 400 points and 200 goals scored in 649 gameshas continued his elite production this season, producing at a point-per-game pace with a team-leading 19 points.
Doughty can’t escape an injury bug
Drew Doughty’s luck when it comes to injuries over the past two seasons has been terrible. The 35-year-old defender suffered another setback on Saturday in Ottawa.
Doughty suffered the injury during the second period against the Senators, during which he was hit on the left side of his foot by a shot from Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven. He did not return.
Earlier today, it was confirmed by Kings insider Zach Dooley that Doughty would be sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and that this was unrelated to the major ankle injury he suffered in preseason last year. Good news there.
The Kings will find themselves in a familiar situation from last season; the only difference is that the two individuals they relied on are no longer there. It will be interesting to see how this new Kings D-core responds to the loss of their veteran teammate.
“We’ve been through it before […] someone else has to step up, probably other players expect more minutes. The nice thing about it is it’s week to week, not month to month,” head coach Jim Hiller said. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
With Jacob Moverare the next man up, questions arise about how the Kings will position their defensive group over the next two weeks. As of now, Hiller opts to elevate Brian Dumoulin to Mikey Anderson’s right, while Cody Ceci and Moverare will pair up. Brandt Clarke and Joel Edmundson have been the Kings’ best backend duo to date, giving them a level of familiarity and stability that Hiller will likely want to rely on and increase their minutes. Things could change depending on how this new formation stacks up against the Washington Capitals.
Moverare, who has played just one game so far this season, is no stranger to filling in when guys go down and there is some relief among the Kings that he is the next man up.
“He always comes back from the time he’s been out, he’s in good shape, he’s a good guy, he’s fun, the players enjoy being around him, and when you put him on the ice, he can get the job done,” Hiller said. “It fits perfectly […] he is there when he is called upon.”
Deja’Vu for Kuzmenko
Trends continue to repeat themselves for Andrei Kuzmenko, who is now suffering the same fate in Vancouver, Calgary and Los Angeles.
The past few weeks have seen Kuzmenko slowly decline in the lineup along with his ice time, eventually to the point where he became a healthy scratch. He was taken off the first power play unit, before being put back on a few games later in a sort of final “prove yourself” scenario before being removed from the lineup entirely. The 29-year-old saw his average ice time quickly drop from around 15-16 minutes per night to around seven minutes for two consecutive games before being scratched.
What most thought would be a one-off to give Kuzmenko a chance to reset turned into something more when he was listed as a scratch for the second game in a row. The Kings are playing some of their best hockey of the season right now, and that could make Hiller hesitant to willingly make a change.
“Kuzy was such an important addition to our team last year and brought us so much, both 5-on-5 and on the power play, and this year it probably hasn’t gone as well as he or we expected,” Hiller said. “It’s not a lack of effort, and it’s not that he hasn’t played well […] we have a lot of experienced guys now, so that makes it a difficult choice. He’ll be back, I can’t tell you exactly when, and I expect him to be a big part of our team before it’s over.
Kuzmenkos The start of the season has not gone the way the Kings envisioned after fitting in so well when acquired at the trade deadline last season. Regardless of what the Kings envisioned for the Russian winger when they re-signed him to a one-year extension, it would be incorrect to say there wasn’t a decent chance of that happening.
Kuzmenko had a fantastic rookie season with the Canucks, finishing with 39 goals and over 70 points. The following season, production dipped, and he essentially became such a liability for former Canucks coach Rick Tocchet that he was relegated to the press box and eventually dealt to the Calgary Flames. Kuzmenko’s start in Calgary was also quite good, where he had 25 points in 29 games to end the 2023-24 season.
The following year, Kuzmenko played himself out of the lineup again and was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. There wasn’t enough sample size for Flyers Kuzy, who was only able to play seven games before joining the Kings. The same story has been repeated since Kuzmenko’s NHL career began, and that trend played a big role in the Kings’ decision to bring him back for just one year.
Kuzmenko isn’t done in LA yet, and as Hiller said, he will return to the lineup. He is still very effective in certain areas; the problem is that it is ineffective in more ways than one. If he doesn’t take the power play to new heights or push it to new heights, the impact he makes won’t be enough to keep him in the lineup. In the 17 games Kuzmenko has played, most of which were alongside Kempe on the first line, he has scored just three goals and seven points.
For a player who was seen as the team’s biggest asset in terms of offensive production, Kuzmenko’s start to the 2025-26 season has been fairly disappointing.
The Kings are rolling and are now looking to get their fifth straight win and their seventh straight win tonight in DC against the Capitals.
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