Oilers ready to take swing at $11M forward in free agency, says insider
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Reports continue to circulate concerning Edmonton's interest in acquiring Los Angeles King's star and pending-free agent Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings.
High-scoring star set to become UFA July 1, 2026
Kempe is in year 2 of a 2-year deal, with a cap hit of $5.5M. Given his value, however, he will command upwards of $11M AAV on his next deal. Yet, talks between the Kings and Kempe's camp reportedly began in the summer, with Los Angeles initially targeting a figure below $9 million, and have stalled.
As the salary cap continues to rise, those early numbers are no longer close to what Kempe's camp believes is fair value. If talks between Kempe and LA continue to falter, teams like Edmonton are expected to monitor the situation closely.
Speaking on the Oilersnation podcast on October 15, Pagnotta had this to say:
I don't know if L.A. has made up any significant ground in terms of bridging the financial gap. And that's one of the reasons they put a pause in the negotiations for the time being With the changing of the landscape, they've got to figure that out from the L.A. side of things, and understand that it's gonna cost you a lot to keep this guy.
There are teams like Edmonton and others that are quasi-lurking in the weeds just curious as to where this is gonna go There are gonna be a number of potential suitors that are gonna go after this guy The Kings and (GM) Kenny Holland have to accept the fact that his contract's likely gonna be in the 11s.
There are teams like Edmonton and others that are quasi-lurking in the weeds just curious as to where this is gonna go There are gonna be a number of potential suitors that are gonna go after this guy The Kings and (GM) Kenny Holland have to accept the fact that his contract's likely gonna be in the 11s.
The Oilers have also been linked to Buffalo's Alex Tuch, a player not unlike Kempe in terms of his scoring ability. Kempe, however, combines elite finishing with responsible two-way play, which would immediately bolster Edmonton's top-6 forward core.
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