Los Angeles Kings sign Quinton Byfield to five-year contract with $6.25 million AAV
The Los Angeles Kings have signed winger Quinton Byfield to a five-year contract with a $6.25 million cap hit, according to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli.
#LAKings sign Quinton Byfield: 5 years x $6.25 million.
Byfield gets $31.25 million in security, plus a mid-term deal to cash in bigger next time around. Intriguing deal for both sides. Eight years would have been quite expensive.
Byfield was a restricted free agent after the conclusion of his three-year, entry-level contract with a $894,167 cap hit. He receives a raise of more than $5.3 million per year, with his new contract having the highest AAV of his career. With this new contract, the Kings lock him up until he’s 27 years old at 7.1% of the 2024-25 salary cap.
Byfield’s contract comes with signing bonuses of $5.5, $3 and $1.5 million in the first three years of his contract, with the final two years not including signing bonuses. He will have salaries of $6.275, $7, $5.5, $6.25, and $6.225 million over the course of the contract. He also gets a 10-team no-trade clause in the final year of the deal.
With his new deal, Byfield will be tied for the 81st-highest cap hit among forwards next season. He shares a cap hit with Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and Chandler Stephenson.
Byfield had a breakout season with the Kings in 2023-24, with 20 goals and 35 assists for 55 points in 80 games. That blows his previous career highs out of the water, as he had just 22 points in 2022-23.
Byfield also had 4 assists in 5 games in the postseason as the Kings were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers.
Byfield was the Kings’ second-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, jumping to the pro leagues right away as he was unable to play in the OHL due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the league for the season. He’s spent the past four seasons between the AHL and NHL, establishing more of a consistent NHL role in 2021-22.
After Byfield’s signing, the Kings still have Arthur Kaliyev, Jordan Spence and Erik Portillo as their remaining restricted free agents to re-sign with just under $3 million in salary cap space to do so. The Kings have made a few notable additions this offseason, like acquiring Tanner Jeannot from the Tampa Bay Lightning and signing Warren Foegele and Joel Edmundson in free agency.