The Los Angeles Kings confirmed that defenseman Brandt Clarke signed a five-year, $37 million contract extension on Friday, June 26, to continue his stay with the franchise.

The deal, boasting the average annual value (AAV) of $7.4 million, was agreed upon between the Kings and Clarke, with just days remaining to his pending restricted free agency (RFA).

“WE HAVE A SIGNING TO ANNOUNCE!!!!!” read the caption of the post from the LA Kings on their official X account, announcing the contract extension of Clarke.

Notably, the 23-year-old Canadian was set to enter RFA on July 1 this year after his three-year, entry-level contract with the Kings ran out at the end of last season. This contract was worth $2.59 million, averaging $863,334 per year.

Prior to the NHL Trade Deadline earlier this year on March 6, Kings GM Ken Holland held “a number of conversations” with Clarke’s representatives for a new contract. It didn’t yield any result before both parties halted it to focus on making the Stanley Cup Playoffs during the 2025-26 season.

Once Los Angeles lost 4-0 to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs on April 26, the new round of conversations apparently began during the offseason. About two months later, the Kings announced re-signing Clarke on a new deal on Friday.

The contract is set to feature the last four years of the RFA status before he becomes an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in the summer of 2031.

Brandt Clarke’s NHL career in numbers with the Los Angeles Kings

Brandt Clarke got selected as the No. 8 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. It took him over a year before the Kings handed him his debut on October 13, 2022, against the Seattle Kraken.

The breakout season for Clarke with the Kings came in 2024-25 after he improved his game with multiple stints with the Barrie Colts in the OHL and the Ontario Reign in the AHL. He recorded 33 points (5G / 28A) and 121 blocked shots in 78 regular-season games two seasons prior, before contributing two goals in six Stanley Cup Playoff games.

In the 2025-26 season, Clarke registered career-high stats across the board after playing all 82 games.

He managed to achieve 40 points (8G / 32A) and 185 blocked shots before scoring an assist in four playoff games against the Colorado Avalanche. Those 185 blocked shots put the defenseman in third place on the list among all the skaters in the NHL for the season.

Moreover, the overall numbers for the Nepean, Ontario, native in the Kings colours read: 81 points (15G / 66A) and 341 blocked shots in 185 regular season games.

Is Brandt Clarke going to continue the upward trajectory in his NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings? Share with us your thoughts in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Yash Kotak