NHL Rumors: How Can the Los Angeles Kings Not Extend Adrian Kempe?

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

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

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Friedman: “So I understand Kempe, the negotiations were on hold. I understand they were supposed to resume at the end of October. This, I believe, was the plan.”

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Again, you know, I was watching Kempe, and on Thursday night he played a role in the time, in the second goal for the Kings, and then Byfield set up 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 that’s how it happened, I think they were about $9 million in the beginning. I understand things have changed, that’s number one. Number two, I think they wanted to see if they could get a shot at (Connor) McDavid. That doesn’t happen. My understanding is that the Kings were one of the teams that, if Marner had gone to market, they were willing to go to Toronto and face them on July 1st. That clearly didn’t happen. The Golden Knights took that off the board.

So I realized that the Kings wanted to step up to the plate. And they wanted to step up to the plate with a Vladdy Guerrero bat. They wanted to make some big swings. Well, okay, is there anyone else that’s better than what you already have? Is there anyone you think you can reasonably get that is better than what you already have?

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

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But I imagine if you don’t keep this guy and he walks, how are you going to make yourself better? That doesn’t mean you’re moving away from eleven billion dollars. But overall, the general picture is: if he’s not there, and he clearly wants to be a king, how do you make yourself better?

Bukauskas: “Hard to do. Is a guy who, I mean, routinely, I knew 28 a few years ago, but last year 35, 41, 35. Those aren’t the easiest to find.”

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

Bukauskas: “If you already have them in house, if, as you say, you want to be there, as long as the numbers are right. It’s a tough call. It’s not entirely, you know, (Kirill) Kaprizov, Minnesota, has to do what they have to do to keep them there. But for LA, that would be a hard sell to the rest of the fan base, we didn’t feel like we could take advantage of all the options to make it happen. That is a big piece of not just the now, but also where they hope to continue to go here.”

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Friedman: “Yes. Like Ken Holland wasn’t hired to do the rebuilding.”

Bukauskas: “No, no, no, that is, these are not rebuilding moves. They are not rebuilding moves.”

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