The Los Angeles Kings signed Mikey Anderson to an eight year extension yesterday, with a cap hit of $4.125M. The deal includes a modified no trade clause beginning in 2026/27 (10 team no trade list). Let’s take a closer look.
The Player: Mikey Anderson
Anderson has developed into a good shutdown defenseman. He’s playing big minutes for the Kings and sits among the top 25% of NHL forwards in 5v5 xGA/60. His positive impact is almost entirely derived from his defensive prowess, with very limited offensive production.
Anderson will be 24 when his deal kicks in next season, nearing the early part of his prime years. It would be unreasonable to expect a lot of development in the coming seasons. More likely, Anderson is what he is at this point. He’s a good shutdown defenseman with limited offensive impact, providing a net impact equivalent to a second pair defenseman. The eight year term stretches across the entirety of his prime seasons and his impact should be fairly stable throughout.
The Team: Los Angeles Kings
The Kings are working their way out of their rebuild, supplementing their homegrown talent with a number of high profile acquisitions over the past couple of seasons. Their prospect pool ranks 4th in the Hockey Prospecting model, so there is plenty of upcoming talent to continue to build with over the coming years.
Possibly the hardest part of the rebuild lies ahead for the Kings. As their young players complete their entry level deals, the cap will become a bigger challenge as strong performers look for raises. The Kings will have to decide which of those players they will keep and which they will have to move on from to allow players on more efficient contracts to fill out the lineup.
The Verdict
The $4.125M cap hit is very reasonable for a player of Anderson’s impact. At roughly 5% of the cap next season, it’s not highly efficient spending by the Kings but it’s also not an overpay. The 8 year term stretches over his prime years, so locking him up for that duration comes with reasonably low risk that he won’t perform to expectations.
If there’s a drawback to the deal, it’s the length. While we expect Anderson’s impact to be stable through his prime, the 8 year term does limit flexibility for the Kings. Simply because he’s one of the first defense prospects to come out of the rebuild doesn’t mean he should necessarily be a cornerstone for the next decade.
With the likes of Brandt Clarke, Helge Grans, and Jordan Spence (among others) also knocking on the door, the Kings could be in a difficult spot if they decide they want to move on from Anderson in favor of a younger defenseman sometime in the next 5-6 years. Anderson may be nearly un-tradable given the remaining term on his deal (see Jacob Chychrun saga), possibly forcing the Kings hand in another direction.
Historical player data from Natural Stat Trick. Contract data from CapFriendly.
