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Kings’ Corey Perry Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Saturday: The Kings announced that Perry has undergone successful knee surgery and will be out for six to eight weeks.  That means that he will not be available to start the upcoming season and could ultimately miss more than a month if he winds up missing the longer end of that timeline.

Perry has $1.5MM in performance bonuses in his contract that are tied to games played.  However, he only needs to get 50 regular season games played to max out on those so this injury alone shouldn’t stop him from having a chance at earning the full amount of those bonuses.

Friday: According to the staff at Mayor’s Manor, new forward for the Los Angeles Kings, Corey Perry, was reportedly injured in an on-ice incident today at the Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo. The outlet suggests that Perry was taken off the ice in a wheelchair for further medical evaluation.

There’s little information regarding the injury, and it’s unknown at this point if Perry suffered the injury as a result of contact or not. The only information that Mayor’s Manor could provide was that the injury happened along the boards, not on open ice.

It would obviously be a significant blow to Perry and the Kings after the 41-year-old veteran signed a one-year, $2MM contract with Los Angeles at the beginning of the offseason, if he misses significant time due to the injury. Perry was expected to contribute in a bottom-six role, both for his offensive and leadership abilities.

Outside of his 14-year career with the Anaheim Ducks, which included a Stanley Cup ring in 2007 and a Hart Memorial and Maurice Richard Trophy in 2011, Perry’s career has become a point of fascination over the last few seasons. Perry has reached the Stanley Cup Finals five out of six times since signing with the Dallas Stars before the 2019-20 season, after being bought out by the Ducks, but lost each time.

Still, he’s been able to stay relevant and productive in the twilight years of his career. Split between the Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks, and Edmonton Oilers, Perry has scored 76 goals and 159 points in 404 games while averaging 12:51 of ice time per game. Throughout his past six playoff runs, the veteran winger has recorded 28 goals and 52 points in 119 games, averaging 13:17 per game.

Fortunately, the Kings have compiled enough depth, especially on the wing, to sustain such an injury. While Perry’s potential replacement may not have the same value, players like Akil Thomas, Andre Lee, Jeff Malott, or Taylor Ward could temporarily fulfill the role.

Adrian Kempe Discusses Contract Talks

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Kings forward Adrian Kempe is currently slated to be one of the top unrestricted free agents next summer if the two sides can’t reach a deal on an extension before then.  Speaking in a recent interview with Sirius XM (transcribed by Mayor’s Manor), the 28-year-old made it clear that he’d like to get something done sooner rather than later:

I would like to get it done as soon as possible, but I’m still not in a rush. I don’t want to rush anything. But I also don’t want to come around after Christmas, with the trade deadline starting to come up, and then I’m sitting there not knowing where we’re at or we’re not [close] on the terms of a contract. That, I wouldn’t be looking forward to. So, before Christmas would be great. Before camp would be great.

Kempe is coming off his second straight season of amassing at least 70 points, picking up 35 goals and 38 assists in 81 games.  After being more of a checker in the first few years of his career, he has become one of the more consistent scoring threats in the NHL, averaging 35 goals over the last four seasons.

That has him well-positioned to land a significant raise from the $5.5MM he will make in the final year of his deal, one that started back in 2022-23 and has become one of the better team-friendly contracts around the NHL.  David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period was the latest to suggest that Kempe’s camp was seeking a max-term eight-year extension worth $10MM per season with Los Angeles coming in at $9MM per year.  Meanwhile, AFP Analytics projected a seven-year, $64.225MM deal for Kempe earlier in the offseason, one that would carry an AAV of $9.175MM.

If that gap can’t be bridged within the first few months of the season, Kempe acknowledged that he wouldn’t exactly be comfortable heading into the trade deadline unsigned:

For me and the team, I don’t think it would be a good thing to do that. For me, I feel like, if I haven’t signed before the deadline, then you don’t know what’s going to happen.

Considering both Kempe and the Kings under new GM Ken Holland have publicly stated a willingness to get something done and Kempe’s discomfort with pushing talks deep into the season, this is a situation that should get resolved well before he gets close to testing the market.  And if he does somehow reach free agency, Kempe could very well wind up with a higher price tag than he’s asking for now, especially if few top names actually get there as is typically the case.

Kings' Angus Booth Looking To Avoid Sophomore Slump

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  • One defensive prospect for the Los Angeles Kings is looking to avoid the dreaded “sophomore slump” this season. In an interview with Anthony Collazo of The Mayor’s Manor, prospect Angus Booth spoke about his mission to avoid the slump, saying, “I think you just don’t want to think about. The more you think about it, the more it could happen. So, I think you just focus on the moment. You practice, you play hard, you do what you’re going to do usually, and it should… it should be avoided.” The former fourth-round pick spent last season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, scoring two goals and 13 points in 50 games with a +6 rating.

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Kings In No Rush To Shop Brandt Clarke

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A front-office change in Los Angeles brought sweeping change to the Kings’ blue line this summer. With Hall-of-Fame executive Ken Holland at the helm, the club lost their top left-shot defender in Vladislav Gavrikov to the Rangers in free agency and also traded promising puck-moving righty Jordan Spence to the Senators for futures. Their replacements were a pair of declining but hardened top-four fixtures, Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin, on the open market.

But Brandt Clarke, the club’s eighth overall pick in 2021, remains with L.A. as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract. That’s despite reporting that the Kings were open to moving him at last season’s trade deadline in their pursuit of a forward upgrade. They ended up not making a move large enough to require parting ways with him, and of course, those ideations of a trade were under a previous regime.

The 22-year-old’s development has been handled in somewhat of a puzzling manner. The 6’2″ righty always faced a bit of an uphill battle as an OHLer who had his draft year completely upended due to COVID. While most of his peers ended up sitting on the sidelines for the entire season, he was high-end enough of a prospect to play pro hockey overseas. He was thus loaned to HC Nove Zamky of the Slovak Extraliga, where he logged 15 points in 26 games en route to becoming a top-10 selection by the Kings.

Clarke returned stateside and didn’t miss a beat, exploding offensively. He was arguably the best player in major junior hockey in 2022-23 aside from the draft-year phenom Connor Bedard, posting 61 points in just 31 games from the blue line for the Barrie Colts.

He also made his NHL debut that season, posting two assists in a nine-game trial. But as he made the jump to pro hockey full-time in 2023-24, that offensive outburst the prior season wasn’t enough to get him an extended runway in the NHL. He made 16 appearances for the Kings but ended up playing most of the campaign for AHL Ontario, where he clicked at nearly a point per game in his first real taste of high-level hockey and led the league in rookie assists.

That made Clarke essentially an undeniable piece for the Kings’ main roster. While he made the team out of camp and never looked back, he was still used rather sparingly, despite top righty Drew Doughty missing a good portion of the season due to an ankle injury.

Concerns about his individual defensive acumen limited his playing time to just 16:17 per game, although he was still relatively involved physically with 121 blocks. He churned out five goals and 33 points in 78 games – fine production for that limited usage – and posted good possession numbers in sheltered minutes with a +13 rating and 54.0 CF% and 54.2 xGF% at even strength.

As he enters a contract year, there should be more opportunities for him. Even if he doesn’t necessarily slot in above Ceci on the team’s depth chart, he should get the additional power-play minutes that Spence is vacating and, realistically, his general mobility should make him a candidate to leapfrog the newcomer and begin the season as L.A.’s No. 2 option on the right side behind Doughty.

That roster math, plus a new braintrust in place, has likely bought him some time to make a lasting impression on the Kings’ brass. While general manager Ken Holland told RG’s James Murphy that Clarke is “a really talented guy with a bright future,” he neither committed to a change of scenery nor long-term belief. “Now we’ve got to figure out where it’s going. I think the best way is to…I mean, I know him, but I don’t know him. Do you know what I mean?” Holland said.

Kings’ Liam Greentree Fully Recovered From Wrist Surgery

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Although he’s not expected to crack the Los Angeles Kings’ roster out of training camp, prospect Liam Greentree has reportedly fully recovered from his offseason wrist surgery. In an update from David Hofreiter of the Mayor’s Manor, Greentree will participate in the Kings’ upcoming rookie camp.

After recording 36 goals and 90 points in 64 games for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires during the 2023-24 season, the Kings selected Greentree with the 26th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. Suiting up for the Spitfires again last year, Greentree set new career-highs with 49 goals and 119 points in 64 games with an impressive +55 rating.

He added on to his exceptional 2024-25 performance with a solid postseason run, scoring 14 goals and 24 points in 11 games. Unfortunately, the Spitfires were eliminated in the second round of the OHL playoffs.

Regardless of the solid campaign, it’s been several months since Greentree has played at full speed, considering he missed the Kings’ development camp earlier in the summer. Meanwhile, he was held out of the Spitfires’ first preseason contest last night, although he’s expected to feature in at least one exhibition before heading to Los Angeles for rookie camp.

He’ll be an interesting player to watch in the upcoming season. He has very little left to prove in the OHL, but isn’t old enough to play for the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign (unless the current rules are unexpectedly amended before the start of the season). Instead of getting a nine-game tryout with the Kings to start the season, it may be best to wait toward the back of the season to get Greentree into Los Angeles’ nine remaining games before participating in the playoffs, if they qualify.

Kings, Adrian Kempe Seemingly Not Far Apart On Extension Negotiations

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  • Playing out the final year of one of the team-friendliest contracts in the league, Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings is eligible for an extension. Given that the Kings could be in the final year with franchise legend Anže Kopitar, Los Angeles should be prioritizing Kempe’s extension. In a minor update on the negotiations, Pagnotta notes that Kempe is seeking an eight-year, $80MM extension, while the Kings have countered with an eight-year, $72MM offer. Given that the two sides are only $1MM apart on AAV, it should be a bridgeable gap, meaning an agreement shouldn’t be too far away.

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Could Armia Be The Best Value Signing For The Kings?

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  • As part of their July 1st spending spree, the Kings added winger Joel Armia on a two-year, $5MM contract. Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider wonders if the 32-year-old might wind up as their best value signing.  It’s expected that he’ll line up on the fourth line at even strength which means his playing time and production might drop from a year ago (14:18 and 29 points) but his ability to kill penalties should take some of the pressure off their top-line penalty killers from a year ago, freeing them up to focus a bit more on their offense.

Anže Kopitar May Retire After 2025-26 Season

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In a recent interview with Jaime Maggio from Sports Central LA, Anže Kopitar, long-time star of the Los Angeles Kings, suggested that his upcoming 20th season in the NHL might be his last. He will be playing out the final year of a two-year, $14 million contract with the Kings this season.

The Jesenice, Slovenia native will certainly leave his mark on the franchise if he decides to hang up his skates after the 2025-26 season. He debuted for the Kings during the 2006-07 season and has been a major factor in them winning their only two Stanley Cup championships in franchise history.

He’s unlikely to pass Luc Robitaille as the organizational goal leader, but Kopitar is already the franchise leader in games played and assists. Furthermore, once he scores his 30th point this upcoming season, he’ll become the Kings’ franchise leader in points, passing Marcel Dionne. At any rate, Los Angeles would have a huge hole at center heading into the 2026-27 campaign if Kopitar does retire.

[SOURCE LINK]

A Look At How Kings Operated On Draft Night

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  • Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider provides an inside look at how the Kings operated during the draft. At one point, they looked into a trade-up scenario from their original slot of 24 before moving down which was their original plan leading into the night.  However, with just two of their preferred selections on the board when they dealt down to 31, they looked at trading back up after moving down to ensure they’d get Henry Brzustewicz.  However, they ultimately were able to get him as planned where they were.  Dooley’s piece also discusses their activity on the second day, including the trade of defenseman Jordan Spence to Ottawa.

Keaton Mastrodonato Signed To AHL Deal

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  • The Kings have added some extra minor-league depth as their AHL affiliate in Ontario announced the signing of forward Keaton Mastrodonato to a one-year deal. The 24-year-old has two full professional seasons under his belt, split between the AHL and ECHL levels.  Last season, Mastrodonato was held off the scoresheet in the 13 games with AHL Colorado but was quite productive with ECHL Utah, tallying 19 goals and 30 assists in 53 outings with the Grizzlies.

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