The Los Angeles Kings locked up forward Quinton Byfield with a five-year, $31.25 million contract extension ($6.25 million average annual value) that takes him through the 2028-29 season.Byfield, 21, was the second overall pick of the 2020 draft and has played parts of four seasons for the Kings, but 2023-24 was his breakout year. In 80 games, he set career highs of goals (20), assists (35), points (55), plus-minus (plus-19), penalty minutes (42), hits (66) and takeaways (46).Byfield was the third player in franchise history to score 20 goals at age 21 or younger, and he contributed to the power play with six goals and 14 points.

The Montreal Canadiens traded up to the 21st pick in Friday night's 2024 NHL Draft in a deal with the Los Angeles Kings.The Kings received the 26th selection in the first round as well as picks in the second (57th) and seventh rounds (198th).The Canadiens now have 10 total picks in the draft, while the Kings have six.

The Washington Capitals acquired forward Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper on Wednesday.Dubois, who turns 26 on June 24, was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and has 342 points (145 goals, 197 assists) in 516 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Winnipeg Jets and Kings.In his lone season with Los Angeles in 2023-24, Dubois posted 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) and 70 penalty minutes while playing all 82 games."We are thrilled to announce the addition of Pierre-Luc to the Caps organization," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. "This acquisition brings in a talented 25-year-old with immense potential to become a top-tier center in the NHL. With his size, exceptional skating, and high hockey IQ, we are confident he will thrive in our organization with increased responsibility and opportunity."We also thank Darcy for his valuable contributions to our organization on and off the ice and wish him the best in Los Angeles."

The Los Angeles Kings removed the interim tag and named Jim Hiller as the club's 30th head coach in franchise history on Wednesday.Multiple media outlets reported Hiller agreed to a multi-year contract.The Kings fired Todd McLellan on Feb. 2 and tabbed Hiller as the team's interim head coach. Under Hiller's watch, the Kings finished the regular season on a 21-12-1 run before falling in five games to the Edmonton Oilers in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.Los Angeles was 23-15-10 under McLellan this season.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice as the host Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Los Angeles Kings with a 4-3 victory on Wednesday in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.Evander Kane and Zach Hyman also scored and goalie Stuart Skinner made 18 saves for the Oilers, who dispatched the Kings in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive year.Edmonton's Evan Bouchard collected three assists while Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins both netted two helpers.The Oilers will face either the Vancouver Canucks or Nashville Predators in the Western Conference semifinals. Vancouver leads that best-of-seven series 3-2.Alex Laferriere, Blake Lizotte and Adrian Kempe replied for the Kings. Goalie David Rittich stopped 22 shots and Matt Roy notched two assists.With his team trailing 2-1, Draisaitl netted a power-play goal -- Edmonton's ninth of the series -- to tie the score 2-2 at 7:44 of the second period. Rittich appeared to make a diving glove save, but a review showed his glove ended up going behind the line when he caught the puck.Draisaitl produced his second of the night and fifth of the series at 12:21 of the middle period. His quick shot from the bottom of the right circle seconds after a power play expired gave Edmonton the lead for good.Hyman made it 4-2 with another goal right after an expired Kings penalty, his seventh of the playoffs. Bouchard's point shot deflected off a couple of players, the last one being Hyman before going into the net with 52.9 seconds remaining in the middle frame.

The Los Angeles Kings are essentially trying to match their latest performance when they hit the road for Wednesday's do-or-die meeting with the host Edmonton Oilers.However, they will be seeking a different result as they attempt to stay alive in a Western Conference first-round playoff series.Los Angeles trails 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, but it may have at least found a template for success during Sunday's 1-0 setback.The Kings were the better team in many ways. They surrendered only 13 shots on goal -- holding Connor McDavid to just one and Leon Draisaitl to two -- while firing 33 on the other net. In addition, Los Angeles often had momentum, limited turnovers and showed an effective forecheck.The lone blemish? Evan Bouchard's power-play goal in the second period."It's the kind of game you have to replicate every single game," Kings forward Phillip Danault said. "That's the only way you can win against Edmonton right now. We have to play the same exact way."But it's not all good vibrations for Los Angeles, which has scored only one goal in the past two games and is on the verge of being eliminated by the Oilers for the third consecutive year. Still, the Kings have some reasons to believe a comeback is possible."We played as well as we did in a long, long time," Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller said. "What do we do, we just go and play that game again. ... We've got a game that can beat them going back into Edmonton."The Oilers, with the opportunity to reach the second round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season, return to Edmonton with a chance to clinch the series on home ice.However, they are well aware that a performance similar to Sunday's likely won't be enough to get them past the Kings once again.

Stuart Skinner made 33 saves for the visiting Edmonton Oilers in a 1-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series on Sunday night.Edmonton has a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 5 on Wednesday night in Edmonton. The Oilers will try to eliminate the Kings in the first round for the third straight season.Evan Bouchard scored a power-play goal and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl earned the assists for Edmonton. McDavid has 10 points in the series (one goal, nine assists) and Draisaitl has eight points (three goals, five assists).Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller elected to start David Rittich in goal for the first time in the series after Cam Talbot posted a 5.30 goals-against average and .861 save percentage through the first three games.Rittich finished with 12 saves in his first playoff start in nearly two years and just the second of his eight-year NHL career.Edmonton, which was limited to four shots on goal in the first period, went on the first power play of the game after Kings defenseman Andreas Englund was called for holding Ryan McLeod at 10:46 of the second period.The Oilers set up their offense in the Los Angeles zone and McDavid weaved through the high slot before sliding a pass from the top of the left circle to Draisaitl in the right circle.