Los Angeles Kings star Adrian Kempe has been proving his worth to the entire organization in the last few games. And while he remains without a contract for next season, he’s only increasing his value and forcing GM Ken Holland to give him a bigger raise on his next deal.

On that note, there is an update on Kempe’s contract situation from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who believes the Kings can’t afford to lose a player of his calber.

His latest performances tell the story of how valuable he truly is to the franchise.

On Thursday night, Kempe had another big night, playing a key role in the Kings’ overtime win over the Dallas Stars. 

In the contest, Kempe recorded a primary assist on Cody Ceci’s 2-1 goal. More importantly, the Swedish right winger scored the game-winning goal in overtime and showcased a ‘horns down’ celebration in front of the Dallas crowd at American Airlines Center.

Kempe Plays Hero Again To Lift The Kings Past The Stars Kempe's heroics and timely saves seal another overtime triumph. The Kings battle hard, securing a crucial two points.

This is the second straight game in which Kempe scores an overtime-winner for the Kings. He did it on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues, while putting up a primary assist on the opening goal. 

In fact, in eight games so far this season, Kempe has five multi-point games, and they have been crucial points for the Kings.

Aside from his two game-winning goals this season, his other two goals also came at delicate times in a game.

Against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 13, Kempe scored a massive goal with under a minute remaining to tie the game at 3-3, after the Kings were trailing that contest 3-0 earlier on. Even against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 11, he gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.

Despite losing these games, Kempe gave his team a chance to win when they were up against the wall. He’s proven to show up in the big moments, and that certainly helps him financially.

Kempe is a pending UFA as this is the final season of his four-year, $5.5-million contract.

According to Friedman’s latest reports on negotiations between Kempe and the Kings, discussions should start up again soon after they were on pause shortly after the season began.

Kempe And Kings Looking To ‘Bridge The Gap’ In Contract Negotiations Adrian Kempe, who is one of the biggest names to be a UFA at the end of this season, is still without a contract extension.

In the latest edition of 32 Thoughts, Friedman said that before the season, the Kings were looking to sign Kempe for around $9 million in average annual value. However, there’s no denying that price has gone up since then, not only because of his recent play, but also from other extensions that have occurred around the Kings.

Left winger Kyle Connor signed for $12 million AAV with the Jets, left winger Kirill Kaprizov signed the richest contract in NHL history at $17 million AAV with the Wild. Even center Connor McDavid signed a two-year deal at $12.5 million per season with the Edmonton Oilers.

All those numbers insist that Kempe should receive something north of $10 million per season, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he surpassed the $11-million mark. 

It would be a shock if Holland and the Kings couldn’t get something done for a player of Kempe’s importance, who seemingly wants to stay in Los Angeles.

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