Kings sign forward Liam Greentree to three-year, entry-level contract (AAV: $975,000)

The LA Kings have signed forward Liam Greentree to a three-year, entry-level contract, carrying an AAV of $975,000 at the NHL level.

Greentree was the team’s first-round pick last month at the 2024 NHL Draft. A player the Kings are excited to add into the system, Greentree was the first step towards restocking the cupboards of a prospect pool that has seen several players either graduate from prospect to NHL player or leave the organization via trade or other means. More on the team’s first selection in the first round since 2021 below.

Instant Analysis
No surprise here. NHL teams inking their first-round selections to entry-level contracts early in the process is a trend we’re seeing around the league and the Kings are on board with getting Greentree locked in.

With Greentree being a CHL player, his options for this and next season are either the NHL or the OHL. He is not eligible to play the full season in the AHL with the Ontario Reign. All signs would point to another OHL season with Windsor, where he is Team Captain and the best offensive player in the organization. Greentree posted strong offensive numbers last season on a team that didn’t have many other options and finished at the bottom of the standings. With a more experienced supporting cast, there could be even more to come as he enters his draft plus-one season. Another strong season with the Spitfires is a good path for Greentree, with hopes of either playing some playoff games in the OHL, or perhaps joining the Reign at the end of the season on an amateur try out as the icing on the cake.

As far as his contract goes, Greentree’s deal is eligible for an entry-level slide this and next season, assuming he plays in the OHL. So, if Greentree goes back to the Spitfires, he would get his signing bonus but his contract would still have three seasons remaining. The same process would take place if he plays in the OHL during the 2025-26 season. Greentree’s first year would only kick in if he plays in the NHL at 18 or 19 for 10+ games. Otherwise, his contract would simply slide back until his age-20 season, when he would be both NHL and AHL eligible.

Kings Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Yannetti on Liam Greentree
The way he puts up the points, there’s versatility to his offense and he’s a big body. He could play heavier more consistently – you can say with pretty much 95 percent of 17 year olds – but when he plays heavier, when he takes the puck to the net, whether he takes it out of the corner or drives the slot from the half wall or even off the rush, which is less so, when he takes a lane, he takes a lane. He has a high level skill and he also has a big frame so when he creates that depth with the puck, when he’s handling the puck in traffic, there’s a heaviness and a protection element that a smaller skill guy doesn’t have. So, he’s got the skill of a smaller guy and he’s got the body of a bigger guy and when he drives the net, there’s often incidental contact with the goalie, which is never a bad thing either. He’s got a wicked shot, he gets to the scoring areas, the hard areas, where his shot becomes even more dangerous, his shot is good enough to score just above the periphery, the home plate, if you think of where all the goals are scored in the NHL, he scores in the periphery as well but he isn’t just hanging out there. You throw in the fact that he’s a playmaker too, I think he had 90 points and the next closest guy on his team hit 66 and the next most is at 47. So, he’s not just producing points, he’s creating them. It’s not a slight against other guys, it’s just his supporting cast was quite a bit different than North Bay’s or London’s, so he’s creating it almost in its entirety.

From the team’s official release –

Selected by the Kings 26th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Greentree served as the Captain for the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Windsor Spitfires this past season, recording career highs in goals (36), assists (54), and points (90). Leading his team in all categories, Greentree finished the 2023-24 campaign among the top 20 players in the OHL in goals, assists, points, and points-per-game (1.41), earning OHL Third All-Star Team honors at the conclusion of the season.

The 6-2, 215-pound forward spent the last two seasons with Windsor, appearing in 125 OHL games and accumulating 135 points (61-74=135). In the 2022-23 campaign, Greentree’s 25 tallies were the most amongst OHL rookies and earned him a selection to the OHL First All-Rookie Team.

A native of Oshawa, ON, Greentree represented Canada at the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Under-18 World Junior Championship this past spring. Greentree’s four points (2-2=4) in seven games helped Canada capture their fifth gold medal in tournament history.