Let me tell you, there was a lot more in that Ken Holland media availability than I expected there to be. Here's the key takeaways, with the full video embedded below.
Doughty, Kings Won't Sign Extension This Summer
The biggest storyline for sure was Holland’s statement that the Kings and defenseman Drew Doughty will not sign an extension this summer.
It sounds like this is something that came from multiple meetings between Holland and Doughty over the last month or so. Doughty expressed to Holland that he wants to be in Los Angeles and loves to be in Los Angeles and his desire is to end his career in Los Angeles. The plan here is that Doughty will play out the 2026-27 season with the Kings and the two sides will meet towards the end of the season and into next summer to determine what’s to come.
“He loves it here, he wants to be here and we both agreed that let’s see where he’s at, let’s see where the team’s at a year from now,” Holland said. “His desire is to finish as an LA King and only put on one team’s jersey. Certainly that’s something that I’d like to have happen but let’s see where he’s at and let’s see where we’re at.”
The sense I got, when Holland offered a follow-up, is that the Kings want to see where Doughty is at one year down the road and work on extending that player, rather than projecting that player. Holland said that he doesn’t want to overpay or underpay Doughty on any sort of an extension and to truly do that, you have to sign an extension next summer, not this summer. You're extending Drew Doughty in 2027 not 2026 and I think it makes sense to approach it that way.
“I’m not worred that he’s going to hit the open market, that he’s going to leave, so it’s an opportunity to play the season and at the appropriate time, whether it’s during the season or the end off the season, he and I will sit down and talk about where we’re going.”
Doughty has a seven-team no-trade list but the two sides agreed that isn’t necessary to submit it. There isn’t a trade coming here, nor will there be a new contract right now.
“Nothing is going to happen with Drew unless he and I sit down at some point in time and we both decide that something needs to happen. He's one of the great LA Kings. He’s earned the right to have a lot of say in what happens. I'm going to work with Drew. He's not worried about an extension, I’m not worried about an extension. Let’s just get more information about where things are at before we talk about going forward after the 26-27 season.”
Brandt Clarke Extension
While we’re talking about the right side of the blueline, Holland also spoke about Brandt Clarke’s five-year contract extension today.
“We were trying to find common ground to get a deal done. Brandt, he's a highly offensive player, going to be a highly offensive player. To this point in time, he’s had 33 points and now 40 points, so it made it a harder decision, a harder solution at seven and eight years. So, on a five-year deal, we get him done, we get him into the lineup and the next time he comes out, I know it'll be a [higher] cap, so there will be lots of money. he loves it here. I know he's excited to be here. We'll worry about the next contract in five years, but certainly we’re certainly excited to have him signed up.”
The Kings and Clarke were always going to come to terms on an extension. Personally, I thought it might take longer to do so, just considering the nature of the situation. Holland detailed why I thought it might take longer. Clarke’s upside remains tremendously high and if the two sides were looking at a seven or eight-year contract, as Holland alluded to, the Kings would have to pay for a lot of potential. You're looking probably closer to a 10 than a 7 on that contract because you'd be buying out UFA years and paying for who both sides expect Clarke to be at that point in time. The five-year term buys out one year of unrestricted free agency and locks in an important piece for five years. It also gives the Kings a better sense of their cap situation heading into July 1 and the rest of the summer as it comes down to trades.
With Clarke’s number known, the Kings know what they have and what they have to work with. Good signs all around there.
Blueline Makeup
On the rest of the blueline, Holland essentially boiled it down to the Kings now have six defensemen under contract so they would need to make a trade to move someone out before really making any sort of a noticeable change. Trade market has been active, Kings have had “lots of conversations” both on forwards and defensemen but have yet to make a deal minus the draft-day trade down.
I asked Holland if a center and adding some mobility to the blueline were still his top two offseason priorities and he agreed that that was “right" in thinking that way.
He added that defenseman Jacob Moverare likely would not be back as the team’s seventh defenseman and that’s a role that could possibly be filled by Angus Booth, who has developed nicely in Ontario. Also mentioned wanting to see how younger players like Jared Woolley and Kirill Kirsanov look at camp, compared to NHL players, one year later. I would like to see what Booth could possibly do in a third-pairing role, on a cost-effective deal, or perhaps as a fill-in option. He was arguably Ontario's best guy and didn't look out of place in his NHL debut.
To make any changes on the backend, the Kings always needed to both add and subtract. That was always known. Seems pretty clear that the Kings will continue to pursue trades at numerous positions, both incomings and outgoings, and there could be a player signed next week who comes in and competes with the current group of six. With Clarke re-signing and the above statements on Doughty, certainly narrows the focus a bit. We'll see what happens.
Down The Middle
At center, certainly a bit of a bomb that Peter Laviolette has spoken with Adrian Kempe about the possibility of playing center.
Holland also mentioned Alex Laferriere as a possibility at the center position as well as the potential of adding a player through free agency.
I'll reiterate what I said the other day, just with a twist to it. I personally thought that simply playing Laferriere at center and replacing him with a quality winger would be an easier and better option for the Kings than overpaying or overstretching at center. I can understand the logic behind making Kempe that player instead of Laferriere. Kempe was drafted at center and has played multiple seasons in the NHL at center. That tenure didn't work out - it's why he was moved in the first place - but that was five years ago. He's a different player now than he was then and a much better player. There is some risk involved if that's the direction the Kings choose to go, no doubt, because you're tempting with the most consistent thing the organization has - Adrian Kempe at RW1. However, there's also a ton of risk in overpaying via trade for a center, overpaying a free agent center or asking a third-line center to become a second-line center. If there was a perfect fit, the trade would already be done. Maybe that fit opens up tomorrow or after the draft or after free agency. If it does, the Kings should be active in making that happen. If not, I've said what I think the best Plan B is and that's to focus on getting the best players, regardless of ideal positions, versus try and stretch in another area.
There's a lot of time between now and September. Let's see how it plays out. Holland said that the Kings hope to speak with players in the unrestricted free agent class and that he will continue to look at upgrading the roster through trades. Those can all still happen. Suppose we shall see what comes of it.
Full Holland availability is embedded below for everything I missed. And there probably are a few. Didn't expect to have to change a story from Elton Hermansson to this at 9:30 PM.....but here we are! Will follow up with some additional Hermansson content tomorrow, likely after Day 2 comes to a close. Want to give the young man some time on the top of the site for the Insiders to comment.
