October 14, 2025 | 12:42pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

KINGS WON’T RUSH INTO CLARKE NEGOTIATIONS

Brandt Clarke, defenceman

The Los Angeles Kings have two key members of their roster playing on expiring contracts, one who is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer and another who is eligible to become a restricted free agent.

While the Kings have been in ongoing negotiations with star forward Adrian Kempe’s camp since the off-season – and those discussions have been paused for the time being, as TFP’s David Pagnotta first reported last week – talks with young defenceman Brandt Clarke have not yet picked up.

During last week’s DFO Rundown Insider Edition episode with Irfaan Gaffar and Pagnotta, the duo discussed Los Angeles and Clarke’s camp’s decision to be patient with negotiations.

“Brandt Clarke is in an interesting little position,” Pagnotta said. “I know there’s so much attention being put towards the other guys that are expiring deals after entry-level, but both sides are kind of taking this slow.

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“There were conversations in the off-season with (Kings GM) Ken Holland about where things are at with Clarke’s future and then they spoke again at the start of the (training camp) and I think the consensus was, 'let’s just take it slow, let’s see where things are at, let’s see how the season develops and then we’ll get into negotiations.' I don’t think they’re against having a conversation in the middle of the season, I don’t think that’s a deterrent; the focus is just on the season – let’s see how he continues to develop, let’s see if he takes that game to the next level because I do anticipate them giving more responsibility to Brandt Clarke, but they view him as a huge piece of their future and we’ll see kind of when they get serious about those conversations.”

The Kings are off to a modest 1-2-1 start to the 2025-26 campaign and Clarke has picked up one goal and goal assist in their first four games.

With the likes of New Jersey’s Luke Hughes (seven-year) and Anaheim’s Jackson LaCombe (eight-years) signing for big-ticket, $9 million AAV contracts this month, and Montreal inking Luke Hughes to an eight- year extension worth an $8.85 million AAV on Monday, Clarke’s performance this season will surely determine how large of a deal he secures once negotiations get underway.

While a bridge deal is possible, the Kings currently have $70.275 million committed to next season’s salary cap, which was originally projected to hit $104 million but could climb to $107 million or $108 million.