Kings sign forward Arthur Kaliyev to one-year contract (AAV: $825,000)

The Kings have signed forward Arthur Kaliyev to a one-year contract. The deal carries an AAV of $825,000 at the NHL level and runs through the end of the 2024-25 season. Kaliyev will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the coming season. The contract is a one-way deal, which would carry the same salary at the NHL and AHL levels.

Instant Analysis
The final offseason question to be answered has finally been answered. Kaliyev signs a one-year contract with the Kings and is expected to be on the ice for Day 1 of training camp on Thursday. Kaliyev is in Los Angeles and has joined up with the team for captain’s skates over the last few days, with the deal now in place. All signs point towards him being on the ice with everyone else for main camp tomorrow morning.

As far as the player, it has to be assumed that there is a clean slate this fall. We’ve all heard what’s been said throughout the second half of last season but to carry over last season into this season would make this situation untenable. For Kaliyev, he had a lot of success early last season but found himself well out of the picture by the time the season progressed into the playoffs. There were reports of a trade request in January and recent reports suggest it has not gone away. Still, this is a player with potential and ability. The player has to do what is asked of him both on the ice and off, fitting with the group as a whole. The organization has to put him in the best position to do those things. It’s a shared burden there and it will be interesting to see where Kaliyev ultimately slots in for these first four days of camp, where the Kings will have a bigger group with multiple practices and scrimmages to evaluate.

Kaliyev is an offensively-driven player who contributes on the power play and has decent underlying metrics, although his role last season led to a less reliable sample size. There is something there for sure, although a player needs to have the full trust of those around him in order to contribute each and every day. That wasn’t there last season, for one reason or another. If those issues can be resolved, though, this is a player who could “disrupt” the plan in place. I use disrupt positively here. If Kaliyev plays to his potential, he could change the plan by staking his claim somewhere in the lineup that might currently be held by someone else. Same can be said for a Samuel Fagemo, or an Alex Turcotte or an Akil Thomas. If they can deliver, there are spots to be taken and changed.

What the Kaliyev contract also does is complicate the roster puzzle a bit. We all know that training camp is rarely scot-free. As we saw last season, when Kaliyev himself was suspended and Viktor Arvidsson suffered a long-term injury, the plan can change rather abruptly. If the plan doesn’t change, though, and everything goes as it is expected to, the Kings have at least 24 players for 23 spots, which is one too many, if not more. If you look at 14 forwards, including Kaliyev, and 8-10 defensemen who all are expected to play in the NHL this season, the only player who does not require waivers to be assigned to the AHL is Brandt Clarke. that doesn’t take into account the potential for a training camp surprise, which could further muddy up the picture. The Kings have stated that they expect Clarke in the NHL, so someone has to be the odd man out, if not multiple players. I see a world where the Kings carry eight defensemen as a possibility, too. I suppose that is what training camp is for, but barring an injury or a trade, there is not a world where everyone can stick around with the main club. To be determined on that front.

From the team’s official release –

The LA Kings have signed forward Arthur Kaliyev to a one-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $825,000 through the 2024-25 season.

Kaliyev, 23, skated in 51 games for the Kings last season, posting seven goals and 15 points (7-8=15) as part of his third straight 15-point season. He also skated in his 150th career NHL game on Nov. 16 against Florida.

Originally selected by the Kings in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Kaliyev has tallied 35 goals and 36 assists for 71 total points over 188 career regular-season contests. The 6-2, 210-pound winger’s best individual season came in 2022-23, where he tallied 28 points (13-15=28) in 56 games played. Kaliyev also skated in 40 games for the Ontario Reign, the Kings’ affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), during the 2020-21 season and notching 31 points (14-17=31).

Prior to turning pro, the Tashkent, Uzbekistan native led the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with 44 goals and 54 assists for 98 points in 57 games in the 2019-20 campaign. Kaliyev finished fifth in the OHL in points, tied for sixth in goals, third in power-play points (16-25=41) and tied for third in power-play goals. He also received the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy for the league’s top-scoring right winger and was a finalist for the Red Tilson Trophy for Most Outstanding Player of the Year.

In three seasons with the Bulldogs (2017-20), Kaliyev recorded 248 points (126-122=248) in 192 games, setting the record for most points in team history on Feb. 1, 2020. He also became the first player in Hamilton’s history to record a 100-point season in 2018-19 with 102 points (51-51=102) in 67 games. Kaliyev also totaled 13 points (4-9=13) in 25 career postseason games with Hamilton, capped by an OHL Championship in 2018.

Internationally, Kaliyev represented the United States at both the 2020 and 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championships. Over a combined 12 games, Kaliyev registered seven goals and seven assists for 14 total points (7-7=14) and helped Team U.S.A. to a gold medal victory in 2021.