Adrian Kempe’s extension with the Los Angeles Kings remains unresolved as market benchmarks shift. Kings offered under $9 million; peers now push around $9M, with several players reaching $11–11.5M. Kempe, homegrown and potentially captain material, wants to stay and sign long-term, but the Kings face a tight window to avoid a distractive holdout. With Kopitar aging and Byfield rising, the value of keeping Kempe in place is underscored, while the system lacks a ready-made 35-goal replacement.

The chatter places other market references front and center—Luke Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, and Kyle Connor as ledger lines for salary inflation—while Gavrikov and Roy departed last year, emphasizing the need for a stable core. The Sabres’ playoff drought and LA’s own internal pipeline are threads in the wider NHL cap narrative. Kempe’s decision is framed not just as a contract, but as a farsighted bet on the Kings’ future core.

Connor McDavid remains No. 1 as ESPN’s NHL Rank for 2025-26 signals another season of premium production. Colorado’s Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon sit just behind, with Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov close by and Andrei Vasilevskiy anchoring the goalie corps. Florida Panthers crack the top 100 with six entries even as Aleksander Barkov is sidelined, underscoring depth as a strategic edge in fantasy and betting.

The Panthers’ depth highlights how injuries and schedule can reshape a draft—top stars carry value, but steady contributors on a Cup-contending team can swing formats. Edmonton, Dallas and Tampa Bay surface as powerhouses in both offense and goaltending, signaling where to lean in early rounds and how to mix stars with reliable two-way players across positions.