Thoughts on the LA Kings’ extension of Mikey Anderson

The deal keeps Anderson in Los Angeles until his early 30s and comes equipped with a modified no-trade clause after the third year.

I had been thinking about Anderson and what his next contract would look like really since the turn of the year. If we rewind to September 2022, Anderson and the Kings agreed to a one-year deal worth $1 million. This led many to believe that the two sides are kicking this can down the road a little bit for when the team will have more cap flexibility and be able to better take care of their shut-down defenseman.

The first name that came to mind when thinking of what Anderson’s contract would look like was Buffalo’s, Mattias Samuelsson. Samuelsson is also 23 years old and, like Anderson, known much more as a defensive defenseman than a point producer. To date, Samuelsson has amassed .20 points per game in his 92 NHL games. In 172 NHL games, Anderson has .19 points per game.

At the time of Samuelsson’s extension, he had played a fraction of the games that Anderson had (54 NHL games entering the 2022-23 season as compared to Anderson’s 117), but both were 23-year-old left-shot defensive defensemen. The comparison seemed to be reasonable.

In October 2022, the Sabres signed Samuelsson to a seven-year, $30 million ($4.285M AAV) contract. Given that, I had Anderson pegged at a minimum of $4.5 million, but given that he is an LA Kings draft pick, a current top-pair defenseman, and a potential future captain, this deal could get to as high as $5 million.

Needless to say, when the deal came in at $4.125 for Anderson, I thought this was a great get for the LA Kings.

The 23-year-old Minnesota native will never be confused for an offensive defenseman. Still, he is probably a little underrated in his contributions off the rush as well as his zone entries:

It’s often talked about how he is a “defensive defenseman,” but what does that mean exactly? He isn’t an immobile player who blocks shots and plays a bruising style. Sure, he can do those things too, but he excels at defending his own blue line.

That LA Kings logo in the top right “Brick Wall” quadrant? Yeah, that’s Mikey Anderson. There are few better when it comes to defending his own blue line.

Here are a few clips of him making life difficult for opposing forwards entering the LA zone (via InStat Hockey):

As you can see in the JFresh Hockey player card above, Anderson plays against some of the tougher competition in the league yet has maintained positive possession numbers. This work against top players was something that LA Kings GM Rob Blake noted as a strength.

“He’s risen to a real capable defender against top players, top offensive players in the league,” said Blake. “He skates really well, and he gives those guys a little bit of trouble…I think any time those top players are playing against tough defenders, it gets frustrating.”

It won’t be too surprising to see Anderson become a future captain of the LA Kings.

“He’s been vocal in that (secondary core) group right from day one, had a pedigree of being a captain in college, and you do see that come out, ” said Blake. “Real low-maintenance, shows up every day and a big part of our leadership moving forward.”

I also think there’s another level to his offensive game. He will never light up the score sheet, but given how well he skates and reads the play, I think there’s potential to see additional production. We’ve seen the Kings try to activate their defensemen in the offensive zone this season, and Anderson has also done that.

Anderson is already a contributor to the Kings’ transition game and offense off the rush; it wouldn’t be surprising to see that lead to some more points down the road. An example here is a situation where Anderson gains control of the puck in the neutral zone. After spinning off a check, Anderson is faced with plenty of pressure, and it would be very easy for him to simply dump this puck in the corner.

Instead, as you’ll see in this clip, Anderson holds the puck long enough to draw the St. Louis attacker to him and make a nice pass to Viktor Arvidsson to enter the offensive zone with possession:

This isn’t your traditional stay-at-home, risk-averse defensive defenseman. There’s a more modern-day defenseman in Anderson’s game.

Anderson’s smart, strong skating defensive style has undoubtedly helped Drew Doughty resurrect his career. Doughty has often praised Anderson’s game and has enjoyed having him as a partner. “It just shows Mikey’s character; he’s a real good teammate first and foremost,” Blake said when asked about Doughty’s praise for his partner. “I think Drew respects that. But (Anderson’s) also easy to play with because he does do that job every single night.”

Even if Anderson’s offense were to plateau, I think this is a very safe deal for the LA Kings. At worst, he’s a top-four defenseman who has shown he can handle playing against other teams’ top players. He is at an age where I’m not concerned about that part of his game falling off at all in the next handful of years. And if he adds a little more offense to his game, this deal will look even better.