Kings center Quinton Byfield, former NFL linebacker Dhani Jones and political pundit Tucker Carlson share a proclivity for bowties, and after signing a five-year contract extension worth $31.5 million on Monday, Byfield also joined them in the eight-figure career earnings club.
Byfield’s new deal could pay for quite an array of neckwear.
“The bowtie collection’s looking pretty good, I just added a new one to the collection the other day,” Byfield said. “I haven’t really figured out what I need yet or what I’m going to do with the first spending, but it’s definitely going to be something with my parents and my family since they helped me get here. We’ll enjoy it together.”
Byfield said there were “a couple deals on the line” and, as his agent David Gagner and the Kings explored possibilities, a term near the middle of the eight-year maximum made more and more sense “for both sides.”
Since July 1, Byfield has been a restricted free agent, which meant other teams could approach him with offer sheets, albeit at the cost of their financial investment as well as potential draft compensation to the Kings, who had the option to match any sheet. Yet that was moot, first because the Kings left enough salary cap space to match just about any reasonable offer and second because Byfield indicated the talks were effectively unilateral.
“It was just the Kings. There was no other team involved,” he shared. “This is where I want to be and spend the rest of my career.”
Now, Byfield is under contract until 2029. His deal runs through what would have been his first year of eligibility for unrestricted free agency. The Kings slid the first year of his entry-level contract, which cost them in the end since his breakout campaign came in his fourth season after being drafted after some early struggles. The even heftier bill could arrive in five years, when Byfield will be 26 and at his physical peak with open-market dollars beckoning or at least pushing up his price to re-sign.
Yet the short-term flexibility offered by a $6.25 million cap hit instead of the weightier projections for an eight-year pact will offer the Kings key wiggle room as they look to re-sign defenseman Jordan Spence and goalie Erik Portillo as well as turn over stones to improve their forward corps.
Captain Anze Kopitar took a pay cut from $10 million annually to $7 million in each of the next two seasons, which he said might be his final forays. Alternate captain Drew Doughty also has heavy mileage on his odometer, making the coming campaigns critical for the Kings’ leadership group and the organization as a whole.
Byfield was reverent of Kopitar when asked about possibly filling his skates down the line.
“If I can just follow along those footsteps as much as I can, I think we’re going to be heading down the right track,” Byfield said.
Now, 2024-25 will also be significant for Byfield as he returns to his natural position of center full-time, seeks to expand his responsibility even further than he did in a breakout effort last year and anticipates having new linemates.
Byfield might start the season with new addition Warren Foegele and the ever-creative Kevin Fiala. He knew Foegele from the Toronto area – their hometowns are about 15 miles apart – and offseason training, while he spent some time on Fiala’s line last year as the Kings routinely tossed their forward groupings into a blender.
“(Fiala) is such a dynamic player offensively, just the way he can control a game with his speed and his vision. The plays he makes, not many guys can do it,” Byfield said. “We can be really effective together and change the game quite a bit.”
Another familiar face to Byfield will be Jim Hiller, an assistant coach with the Kings for a season and a half before assuming the head coach position in February. Byfield said Hiller had always been supportive of him, even as an assistant who clipped videos for him and checked in regularly. After Hiller was promoted, Byfield was counted on to play more minutes and even carry a line, something General Manager Rob Blake remarked after the season.
That was in stark contrast to the role in which he became a regular, as a recovery-oriented winger in the top trio with the more prolific Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. Now, Byfield will be a pivot again, with higher individual expectations.
“I feel like playing wing, there’s a lot more stationary movements – up and down, along the walls – but as the center ice man you’re down low supporting a lot, you’re coming with your speed, you get more puck touches, there’s a lot more going into that area,” Byfield said.
Byfield was also asked about his standing as a pioneer and exemplar, having become the highest draft selection for a Black player in NHL history when he was taken second overall in 2020. As Byfield moves from question mark to exclamation point among the players that punctuate the Kings’ roster, he has a chance to become a prominent Black star in an overwhelmingly white sport, something he said he’d considered by not yet prioritized in a fledgling career where he sought to first establish himself as a prominent pro.
Joining Byfield in the NHL soon will be a pair of Afro-Canadian lottery picks, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Cayden Lindstrom and Utah Hockey Club’s first draft selection Tij Iginla, the son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla.
“Byfield is the new Jarome Iginla hope. Jarome Iginla was a big-time player and he inspired many young minorities to play hockey,” said former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque, who is of Haitian descent. “Byfield has that superstar quality that he could get to that level and, being that skilled, he could encourage other young minorities to pursue and play hockey.”
Iginla made history by becoming the NHL’s only Black scoring champion, leading the league in points once and goals twice. He was voted its most outstanding player by his peers and in addition to his on-ice exploits, Iginla was honored for his leadership and community service.
While Byfield, who signed his contract with his Beagle, Dudley, in his lap, might have some rungs to climb before he stands eye to eye with Igina, Laraque said Byfield appeared poised to make his own mark.
“Jarome fought, he did everything,” Laraque said. “But, in terms of stardom, Jarome was an elite player and Quinton could get to that stardom. He has that potential to be one of the top scorers in the NHL for years to come.”
