The Kings agreed to contract extensions with three players Friday, each with an annual average value of the NHL league minimum of $775,000.
Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot signed a pact with a two-year term, while forwards Samuel Fagemo and Tyler Madden inked one-year deals. Bjornfot’s is a one-way contract, whereas Fagemo and Madden will continue to be two-way players with greater flexibility to pass between the NHL and American Hockey League.
Bjornfot, 22, has the strongest chance to start the upcoming season with a firm slot in the Kings’ lineup, not only due to the commitment shown by the organization but because he is at once the most experienced and most needed player among the group. Though Jacob Moverare and newly signed Andreas Englund also give coach Todd McLellan left-shooting options for the third defensive pairing, and prospect Brandt Clarke has experience on the left side as a right shot, Bjornfot may well have the inside track.
A 2019 first-round pick, Bjornfot has logged 116 NHL games, including 10 last season. The departure of veteran Alex Edler, as well as a slew of trades that sent away Sean Durzi, Sean Walker and Helge Grans, have opened up opportunities on the blue line.
Up front, Fagemo, a sniping winger, and Madden, a versatile skater capable of playing center or wing, could also challenge for time and will likely be counted upon by the big club at some point during the season. They are both 23 years old.
Madden, a former third-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks and the son of former New Jersey Devils forward John Madden, has yet to make his NHL debut. He has become an AHL regular since leaving Northeastern University in 2020.
Fagemo has three points in 13 NHL games, having enjoyed a cup of coffee with the parent club in each of the past two seasons. He was beat out for a roster spot in training camp last year by Gabe Vilardi, who was the centerpiece of the package that brought center Pierre-Luc Dubois from Winnipeg. Fagemo has piled up 50 goals over the past two seasons in the minors and should figure into a robust competition for the spots flanking center Blake Lizotte on the fourth line.