Adrian Kempe might be a small step below William Nylander and Kyle Connor
The Chris Johnston Show: Chris Johnston on the Los Angeles Kings pending UFA forward Adrian Kempe, and where their talks are at.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“You know, Kempe and the Kings, for sure, have had a lot of discussions, and I think they’ve been described to me, kind of as productive discussions. They don’t necessarily see the world the same way. If they did, they probably have a contract signed at this point.
But I think you have a situation there where the Kings are losing, you know, on Anze Kopitar after the season. You know, they’re still in their competitive window. They’re trying to, they’re trying to take steps forward as an organization. And so I think letting go someone who’s scored goals at the rate that campaign has the last number of seasons for them. Kind of a unique player. You know, he kills penalties, scores goals at a pretty high rate. He’s actually pretty physical. If you look at his hit stats for an offensive player.
You know, I think it’s really for them getting to some kind of number that both sides can can get to, but with so much time before the summer, like, I guess any negotiation can break down, but it just feels like we’re going to end up with, with, with another player signing there.
And so, you know, I think that the relevant contracts from his side of things is, you know, he likes William Nylander’s $11.5 million dollar extension that he did a few years ago in Toronto. Then, Kyle Connor does the $12 million deal that he got in Winnipeg. Kempe’s numbers don’t quite reach the platform numbers those players had in terms of goals, but he’s certainly in the range. So, you know, if that contract gets done, it’s going to be a big one.
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