Why Adrian Kempe took less money to stay with the Kings
This story first appeared on hockeysverige.se and has been translated from Swedish to English.
The Los Angeles Kings chose to go all-in on their Swedish star.
Adrian Kempe recently signed an eight-year contract with a $10.625 million cap hit per year. An eight-year deal that will be the real big contract of his career.
But he could have made even more money.
We’ve already seen big raises for many players this season. Before Kempe signed over the weekend, he was the top unrestricted free agent on the board.
“I haven’t been too involved in the contract talks and all of that,” Kempe said. “Of course, I could have waited a little longer and gotten a bit more. In my case, I’m very happy here and my family is very happy here. I never had any thought of moving anywhere else, but at the same time you want to have a deal that’s fair for me. They want a deal that’s fair for the team.”
Throughout the fall, it’s been a major topic of discussion in North America what number Adrian Kempe would land on. There was even talk about whether he would surpass Elias Pettersson ($11.6 million AAV) and become the highest-paid Swede in the NHL.
But in the end, they agreed on a contract that, at the moment, seems to benefit both sides.
“It maybe took a little longer than many people thought it would. But when that contract was put on the table, I was very happy to take it.”
The Kings will also lose, among others, Anze Kopitar after the season. Ensuring the team could remain competitive going forward was a factor in the Swede’s decision not to push his salary to the maximum.
“You want to build for the future as well, and we want to be able to bring in more good players,” Kempe remarked. “Especially when we’re going to lose some now, or we’re going to lose a big player after this season. Then we build from there. I’m happy and I think it was a fair contract for me and for the team. That’s what felt best in the end.”
Media reports have also indicated that Kempe lowered his salary demands. He doesn’t want to go into too much detail about how the negotiations unfolded.
“My goal was to find a fair deal for me and for the team. At the same time, you have to look at how the salary cap rises and what other players are signing for. Then you simply have to trust your agent and what they think. They bring out a bunch of numbers and then the team’s GM brings out a bunch of numbers. Then you compare and find a solution.”
The new contract is at least a significant raise from the $5.5 million he’s earning this season. Only Drew Doughty makes more ($11 million) than Kempe on his new deal with the Kings.
“The solution we landed on, when I talked to my agent, they felt it was a fair deal,” Kempe said. “Then, of course, it’s up to me whether I want to take it or if I don’t think it’s okay and want to continue the negotiations. In my case, it felt fair. But you never know — maybe in the future I’ll be underpaid, but then that’s fine.”
Kempe has recorded 19 points in 20 games so far this season.
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