The LA Kings have signed forward Arthur Kaliyev to a one-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $825,000 through the 2024-25 season.
Kaliyev, 23, skated in 51 games for the Kings last season, posting seven goals and 15 points (7-8=15) as part of his third straight 15-point season. He also skated in his 150th career NHL game on Nov. 16 against Florida.
Originally selected by the Kings in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Kaliyev has tallied 35 goals and 36 assists for 71 total points over 188 career regular-season contests. The 6-2, 210-pound winger’s best individual season came in 2022-23, where he tallied 28 points (13-15=28) in 56 games played. Kaliyev also skated in 40 games for the Ontario Reign, the Kings’ affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), during the 2020-21 season and notching 31 points (14-17=31).
Prior to turning pro, the Tashkent, Uzbekistan native led the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with 44 goals and 54 assists for 98 points in 57 games in the 2019-20 campaign. Kaliyev finished fifth in the OHL in points, tied for sixth in goals, third in power-play points (16-25=41) and tied for third in power-play goals. He also received the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy for the league's top-scoring right winger and was a finalist for the Red Tilson Trophy for Most Outstanding Player of the Year.
In three seasons with the Bulldogs (2017-20), Kaliyev recorded 248 points (126-122=248) in 192 games, setting the record for most points in team history on Feb. 1, 2020. He also became the first player in Hamilton's history to record a 100-point season in 2018-19 with 102 points (51-51=102) in 67 games. Kaliyev also totaled 13 points (4-9=13) in 25 career postseason games with Hamilton, capped by an OHL Championship in 2018.
Internationally, Kaliyev represented the United States at both the 2020 and 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championships. Over a combined 12 games, Kaliyev registered seven goals and seven assists for 14 total points (7-7=14) and helped Team U.S.A. to a gold medal victory in 2021.
