During his end-of-season exit interview, Alex Laferriere made one thing pretty clear. He loves being with the Kings. As he became a restricted free agent in the summer, it was his desire to remain with the organization for the foreseeable future.
“I love it here and want to be here as long as possible.”
Late last week, Laferriere took the next step towards making that a reality as he signed a three-year contract extension that keeps him with the Kings organization through the end of the 2027-28 season.
I said it when Laferriere first signed and I’ll say it again. Three years is a win/win term for both player and club.
For the Kings, Laferriere will still be a restricted free agent at the end of his contract, which means that he won’t be able to test the open market, outside of the possibility of an offer sheet. Even so, that would come with a right of first refusal and draft pick compensation if it ever got to that point. The team control is huge here, with a player the organization really likes and wants to keep around, just as much as he has said he wants to be here himself. I think the term was important on that front from the team’s perspective, with the three years also keeping the cap hit to a manageable number right now of $4.1 million.
For Laferriere, he earns a sizable raise on his entry-level contract and his salary is more in line with what the going rate is for a player of his role. It also sets him up to sign a long-term deal in three years’ time, when the salary cap will be substantially higher than it is today, with the NHL already committing to cap increases for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. That sets Laferriere up to cash in down the road, after what he hopes are three seasons with the Kings of continuing to prove his worth.
“There was definitely a lot of talk about different years, different numbers and stuff like that but I think three years for me puts me in the best position for my career and it gives me a little bit extra time before that next contract,” Laferriere said. “I think with the layout of our team, you don’t know what’s going to happen and giving myself three years to make a bigger impact on the team and solidify myself in a bigger role just seemed like the right thing to do.”
I liked the way he put it.
Laferriere took a big step forward this past season, as he finished just one goal shy of scoring 20 for the first time in the NHL. He was good but his potential is greater than that. Laferriere should be a lock for 20 goals in most seasons, certainly, but he brings a ton of intangibles to his game that are appreciated, on top of the versatility of playing just about anywhere in the lineup and analytics that project very favorably, not just with the Kings but around the NHL.