According to a team announcement, the Los Angeles Kings have signed forward Quinton Byfield to a five-year, $31.25M contract. The deal will pay the former second pick of the 2020 NHL Draft an AAV of $6.25M and will end after the 2028-29 NHL season.
The deal comes as a mid-term agreement between Byfield and the Kings organization which likely gave both sides a little of what they wanted. The Kings will buy up the rest of Byfield’s RFA eligibility and one year of unrestricted free agency at a reasonable price tag while Byfield has set himself up for a long-term agreement heading into his age-27 season.
The first three years of Byfield’s career did not go as planned as the young center scored eight goals and 33 points in 99 games. Despite the modest production on the scoresheet, Byfield showed an ability to be a physical player at a young age, maturity in the dot with a faceoff percentage of 45 as well as above-average production in terms of defensive and possession metrics. One of the biggest counterarguments to Byfield’s lack of scoring during the early stages of his career centered around his usage by Los Angeles as he only averaged 13:21 of time per game.
Finally averaging more than 15 minutes a night and thrust into a role in the team’s top six — Byfield had a breakout campaign this past season. The young forward scored 20 goals and 55 points in 80 games while primarily playing next to Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. Playing well in the Kings’ defensively sound system, Byfield also achieved a CorsiFor percentage of 59.4 during the 2023-24 season as well as a 93.2 percent on-ice save percentage in all situations.
With Kopitar potentially entering the last two years of his career, Byfield may begin to challenge for a center position. Nevertheless, Byfield should continue to be a factor in the team’s top six and will likely continue on the team’s top line. After securing the first 20-goal campaign of his young career — Byfield could become a 30-goal player rather quickly on this new contract.
