Kings sign defenseman Jacob Moverare to two-year contract extension (AAV: $775,000)

The moves keep coming, Insiders!

The LA Kings have signed defenseman Jacob Moverare to a two-year contract extension, carrying an AAV of $775,000 at the NHL level. Moverare’s contract extension with the club runs through the end of the 2025-26 season.

Tuna!

First things first, it’s nice to see a good guy get rewarded. Moverare has been that type of person from day one. Never met a man who smiles more regularly. He’s also developed into a pretty effective defenseman for the Kings, who knows exactly who he is as a player. Nice to see a player get an extension and the team lock in a depth player at a very manageable rate.

Instant Analysis –
Understandably, a bit of an interesting 24 hours regarding Jacob Moverare.

It was reported that Moverare was placed on waivers earlier today, with his ultimate fate known by the Kings come tomorrow at 11 AM Pacific. Now, the Kings have announced that Moverare signs a two-year contract extension with the club, at a league-minimum salary cap hit over the next two seasons.

What we know about right now is the player signing the contract. And it’s a low-risk move for a low-risk player. Not sure if that sounds particularly complementary, but I can assure you that it is meant in the most complimentary way. To explain, I’ll use this quote from Anze Kopitar, about Moverare, after his first game back with the Kings in Edmonton in late-February –

“Mo was really good, very solid on the backend and definitely no disrespect, but usually when you don’t notice a guy like that, it’s a good thing. He wasn’t very noticeable, but made a couple of big plays and a couple of big blocks……I think he did a really good job.”

When Moverare is on his game, you don’t notice him a heck of a lot, because he’s not making many mistakes. His defensive-zone awareness is high level and he is committed to playing his own game. Kings Director of Scouting Mark Yannetti told me that he felt draft-eligible Jacob Moverare had the best hockey sense in his draft class, an elite trait that led to the Kings selecting him in the fourth round. Sometimes you might see a player of Moverare’s style try to play outside of their skin, but Moverare plays within himself as effectively as most players I have seen. He takes care of his own end first. He’s defensively responsible, with a good stick, he’s willing to block shots, doesn’t shy away from taking a hit to make a play and can effectively penalty kill. Anything he delivers offensively is a bonus and he’s capable of making smart passes that allow the game to flow when he’s involved.

For those reasons, it makes sense for the Kings to extend that player at a cap hit that makes a lot of sense for a team that expects to be tight to the salary cap for the foreseeable future. Moverare’s cap hit going forward will be just shy of $775,000. For a player who has shown he can be an effective third pairing defenseman, a player who has shown he can slot into spot-start duty alongside Drew Doughty or Matt Roy in the Top-4 and a player who comes at a cap hit that would be a non-issue as a potential seventh defenseman, the signing makes perfect sense.

As for today’s series of events regarding Moverare, that’s an answer that we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to dive into. Moverare is on waivers as of this writing and we’ll learn whether or not he gets claimed tomorrow at 11 AM, before the Kings take on the Ottawa Senators.

MO!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/plBdmuhOgC

— LA Kings (@LAKings) September 24, 2023

From the team’s official release –

Moverare, 25, has split the 2023-24 campaign between the Kings and the Ontario Reign, the club’s primary American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. Moverare made his season debut with the Kings on Dec. 13, 2023 against Winnipeg and has skated in 10 games with the Kings since, averaging 15:02 minutes of time-on-ice (TOI). The 6-3, 210-pound defenseman has two goals and 16 assists for 18 points (2-16=18) with a team-high plus-16 rating in 34 games played with the Reign.

Originally selected in the fourth round (112th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Moverare is in his fourth professional season in North America. In 152 career regular-season games with the Reign, Moverare has compiled 69 points (10-59=69) with a plus-17 rating and added one point (0-1=1) in three career Calder Cup Playoff games. Since being drafted, the blueliner has suited up in 31 career games with the Kings over parts of three seasons since making his NHL debut on January 6, 2022. In that span, Moverare has notched two points (0-2=2) with a +1 rating and 15:50 min. of TOI.

Prior to the Kings organization, Moverare spent five seasons between the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Liiga, and Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In two years with the Mississauga Steelheads (OHL), Moverare registered 53 points (5-48=53) in 95 games and served as an assistant captain his second season (2017-18). In 2016-17, Moverare contributed seven points (2-5=7) during the Steelheads’ 20-game playoff run.

Before Mississauga, he played two seasons with the HV71 organization where made his SHL debut in 2015-16. Moverare returned to the SHL on loan to Frölunda HC in 2018, tallying 26 points (11-15=26) in 93 regular season contests for Frölunda over the next two seasons (2018-20) and scored six points (3-3=6) over 16 playoff games to help capture the 2019 SHL Championship.

The Östersund, Sweden native has represented his country in several international tournaments, winning two silver medals at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship (where he served as assistant captain) and the 2016 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship. Across international play, Moverare has posted five points (1-4=5) in 14 contests.