Alex Iafallo signs four-year, $16 million extension with Kings

Call Him Alextension!

The Kings announced today that they have signed forward Alex Iafallo to a four-year contract extension, worth a total of $16 million, with an AAV of $4.0 million per season.

Iafallo’s name was one of the most discussed around the league entering today’s trade deadline, both in terms of potentially negotiating an extension, as well as a possible trade. The preference for the team was always to extend the pending unrestricted free agent, and Iafallo’s new contract cements his place amongst the team’s secondary core and as a part of the team’s plan moving forward in returning to contention.

During the 2020-21 season, Iafallo ranks third on the team in goals (11) and tied for third on the team in points (25), as he’s skated as a part of the Kings’ top forward line with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. From 266 career NHL games, all played with the LA Kings, Iafallo has amassed 126 points (52-74-126), including 25 from 39 games played so far this season.

Iafallo has improved over the course of each of his four seasons in the NHL, after he made the jump straight from NCAA hockey to NHL hockey in 2017. Iafallo has increased his points-per-game in each season with the Kings, moving from 0.33 to 0.40 to 0.61 to 0.64, where he currently sits.

There’s a lot of talk about what Alex Iafallo is not, but not enough talk about what Alex Iafallo is – very, very consistent. Iafallo has skated in 39 games so far this season, and here’s how his season has broken down by thirds.

First 13 Games – 9 Points
Second 13 Games – 8 Points
Third 13 Games – 8 Points

You can hardly get more consistent than that, and we will have a feature story on Iafallo’s consistency, both in terms of production and night-to-night performance, coming on LAKI later this week. Just had to wait for that extension to be completed.

Iafallo’s cap hit feels like a pretty fair number for both player and team. His deal rewards him now for the progress he has made, and also takes him through age 31, which conceivably gives him another opportunity to earn a larger-scale contract, perhaps with a higher salary cap. It’s also a good figure for the Kings, who have one of the NHL’s most flexible salary cap situations over the span of Iafallo’s four-year contract.

The only cap hits on the books longer than Iafallo are defenseman Drew Doughty and the buyout hit of Mike Richards. The Kings have several higher-level contracts that expire between now and then, as well as a large chunk of additional buyout / retained cap hits coming off the books. Not to mention, the organization will expect to have several players on entry-level contracts coming into the fold over the course of those four seasons, which account for a roster spot but with significantly lower cost.

It would be hard to find too many issues with this deal, in terms of either the length or the cap hit. Sure feels like a win-win here.

Expect General Manager Rob Blake to speak with the media later today, and we’ll have updates here on LA Kings Insider regarding the Iafallo extension, the Carter trade, and any potential moves made between now and then.