Brandt Clarke will be back in silver and black next season, as the Kings checked one of the biggest boxes of their offseason to-do list by signing the emergent star defenseman to a five-year pact worth $7.4 million annually.
Clarke, 23, was the third of three consecutive lottery picks for the Kings between 2019 and 2021, when he was selected eighth overall.
Clarke dominated lower levels of competition, winning gold at the U18 and U20 levels with Team Canada, putting up nearly two points per game from the blue line in his final stretch as a junior player, chasing a point-per-game pace in the AHL and showing flashes of brilliance at the top level.
Yet the Kings took a heavily measured approach to his development, even after he showed he could be a difference-maker.
In 2023-2024, he was left in the minors during the playoffs while the Kings limped through five offensively anemic games with a defense corps that featured career minor-leaguer Andreas Englund. In 2024-2025, he was deployed selectively overall and healthy scratched at times.
But last season, Clarke’s role grew and grew. He led all Kings skaters in primary assists and blocked shots. He also led Kings defensemen in goals, expected goals, assists, takeaways, power-play points and overall scoring, in addition to having the best on-ice/off-ice goal differential on the roster.
Kings general manager Ken Holland had said that he wanted to get Clarke signed ahead of July 1, when he would have become a non-arbitration-eligible restricted free agent after the expiration of his three-year, entry-level contract.
That prioritization served two purposes – to obviate any potential offer sheets and, as Holland said, give the Kings a clear idea of the cap space they have to work with in free agency.
Per PuckPedia, the Kings now have just under $11 million in cap space ahead of Wednesday’s free-agent sweepstakes.
With new coach Peter Laviolette running the show, Clarke should feature even more prominently given his savvy on breakouts, his ability to transport the puck, his playmaking and the fit those elements offer to Laviolette’s system. Holland also alluded to some changes on defense, while the Kings are also very much in the market for a top-six center after the retirement of Anže Kopitar.