The Los Angeles Kings started the 2025-26 NHL season in a negative way. An update has emerged regarding the future of one of their stars.
The Kings lost 3-4 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. They have a record of 1-3-2, placing themselves in sixth position in the Pacific Division with only four points after six games.
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Jim Hiller’s team will try to get back on the winning track on Tuesday when they face the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles team has received big and good news about the future of Adrian Kempe.
LA Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) is recognized as the second star of the night after game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena.
LA Kings Get Positive Update on Adrian Kempe’s Future
Kempe, 29, entered the fourth and final year of his deal with the Kings for a total value of $22 million. According to David Pagnotta, the Swede wants to stay in LA.
The aforementioned reporter was recently with Steve Kouleas and Craig Button on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio, talking mainly about the future of Rangers’ Artemi Panarin.
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While explaining the situation of the 33-year-old Russian, he gave a strong statement about Kempe.
“There’s another chance he’s going to be one of the top-tier guys (Artemi Panarin), if not the top guy in his free agent pool next July, because we know that (Adrian) Kempe wants to stay in LA,” Pagnotta said.
The insider also assured that, although negotiations for a contract extension are on pause, they will eventually resume. “And those talks are still on pause for the time being, but they will reconvene.”
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Recently, Pagnotta pointed out that Kempe’s demands could be around $11 million annually and even cited the Edmonton Oilers as one of the NHL teams that are keeping an eye on the Swede’s situation.
“There are teams like Edmonton and others that are quasi-lurking in the weeds, just curious as to where this is gonna go. (…) The Kings and (GM) Kenny Holland have to accept the fact that his contract’s likely gonna be in the 11s,” Pagnotta said.
However, the insider’s most recent and already mentioned update on Kempe is great news for the LA Kings.
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Related: David Pagnotta Names the Key to Artemi Panarin Staying with the Rangers
Related: Isaac Howard Among 4 Oilers Players at Risk of Being Traded
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Oct 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the NHL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.