Kings sign forward Samuel Fagemo to one-year contract extension (AAV: $775,000)

The LA Kings have announced a one-year contract extension today with forward Samuel Fagemo.

Fagemo’s contract is a one-year, two-way contract extension, carrying an AAV of $775,000 at the NHL level. Fagemo is at the point in his career where he could be approaching Group 6 unrestricted free agency at the end of this deal, depending on the number of games he plays, so this could be his last contract under team control. His AHL salary will be a nice raise off of what his two-way deal carried last season and his NHL salary is at the league minimum, which increases NHL opportunities.

More on Fagemo below.

Instant Analysis
On Fagemo, his status is a little bit more complicated than say Alex Turcotte, who re-signed with the Kings over the weekend.

At the AHL level, Fagemo did things this past season that no one else does. Like, no one. Fagemo scored 43 goals from 50 games played as a 23-year-old. The last time a player under 25 scored 40+ goals in the AHL, by my research, was the 2006-07 season. Those players did it in 65+ games. It took Fagemo 50. At the AHL level, Fagemo is a dangerous goalscorer, one of the most dangerous in the league. To produce at that level, at his age, is nearly unheard of. That’s the AHL though.

Fagemo is now 24-years-old and is approaching a tipping point in some ways at the NHL level. At some point, he’s got to translate that production to the NHL level in order to stick. Not 43 goals from 50 games translate but we’ve got to find out the type of NHL player Fagemo can be. He’s a scorer with the Reign, who plays in the top six and on the left side of the umbrella on the top power play as the primary shooting option. Can he be a productive NHL player without all of those luxuries? Can he find other ways to contribute? Can he produce to the point of where he is put into those positions with the Kings? These are all questions we don’t know the answer to. Fagemo has had looks but they’ve generally been limited at the NHL level, both with the Kings and during his short stint with the Nashville Predators.

In terms of outlook, at least right now, this could be his best chance to stick around. There have been opportunities in past seasons, surrounding injuries or performance, for Fagemo to stick with the big club. He’s never made himself indispensable but he’s also never had a ton of rope to work with. The Kings have said there will be opportunities for younger players this season and Fagemo is on a shortlist along with Turcotte and Akil Thomas up front for the first cracks at those looks up front. I like what Fagemo brings and would love to see some of it translate. No better opportunity than September for him to showcase it and he’ll have to do that to make the jump to the NHL level.

Fagemo is the third of the three forwards mentioned as NHL roster candidates to sign an extension this summer, along with Turcotte and Thomas. The Kings have six forwards signed who will factor in for sure at the NHL level and Quinton Byfield left to sign, plus players like Blake Lizotte, Carl Grundstrom and Arthur Kaliyev who are RFA’s. Early days yet, but there should be opportunities during camp for players like Fagemo. Up to him to seize it.

From the team’s official release –

The LA Kings have signed forward Samuel Fagemo to one-year contract extension with an average annual value (AAV) of $775,000 through the 2024-25 campaign.

Fagemo, 24, registered a career-high 43 goals and 62 points (43-19=62) in 50 games for the Ontario Reign last season, including a league-leading 19 power-play goals, 10 game-winning goals and a 1.24 points-per-game pace (min. GP: 20). It marked the most power-play goals scored in a single season in the AHL since the 2016-17 campaign (Chris Terry w/ St. John’s). Fagemo’s 43 goals, 19 power-play goals and 10 game-winning goals are also the most scored in each respective category in a single season in Ontario’s franchise history. Fagemo skated in eight NHL games last season, including four with the Nashville Predators and an additional four with the Kings after being re-acquired on Nov. 11.

The 6-0, 200-pound forward notched points in 36 of his 50 games played with Ontario, including 12 multi-goal performances and added a pair of goals and five points (2-3=5) in eight Calder Cup Playoff contests. With his efforts, Fagemo was selected to the AHL Second All-Star Team at the conclusion of the regular-season. He also earned AHL Player of the Week honors for the period ending March 11, 2024, after notching five goals and an assist (5-1=6) in two games.

Selected by the Kings in the second round (50th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Fagemo has registered 156 points (103-53=156) in 201 career AHL games with Ontario. Since his AHL debut on Feb. 6, 2021, Fagemo’s 103 goals are the most in the league over that span. He’s added four points (3-1=4) in 21 career NHL games between the Kings and Predators, including his first career NHL goal on Dec. 3, 2022, against Carolina.

The Goteborg, Sweden native has represented his home country in three IIHF events, including two IIHF World Junior Championships (2020 – bronze, 2019) and one IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship (2018 – bronze). In 19 appearances, he’s produced 16 points (8-8=16) with eight PIM and a plus-six rating and finished as the leading point-scorer (13 points; 8-5=13) in seven tournament games at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.