Joel Edmundson leaves Maple Leafs to chase the bag in Los Angeles

The free agent window has opened with a bang this year as the league has gone into full-throttle mode. Among the many moves that have headlined a busy day so far, the Los Angeles Kings have signed the former Leafs defenseman in Edmundson to a 4-year deal worth $3.8 million dollars per season.

Edmundson was acquired by the Maple Leafs ahead of the trade deadline this past season from the Washington Capitals for a third round pick in 2024 and a fifth round pick in 2025, while retaining 50% of his salary.

He suited up for 9 regular season games where he went without a point, was a plus-3, averaged 17:48 TOI, put up 16 shot blocks and delivered 21 hits. In 7 post-season contests he recorded an assist, averaged 18:40 TOI, blocked 12 shots and contributed 22 hits in a very rough series.

The 9-year NHL veteran will bring about leadership, experience, and shot blocking prowess to a bruising Kings team who just lost Matt Roy to the Washington Capitals.

Edmundson has 530 games under his belt, 110 points, 18:30 ATOI, 1000 hits, and 838 blocked shots.

As for the Maple Leafs, they addressed their back-end issues by signing both Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson earlier today, with more moves to potentially come.

Source for Joel Edmundson's statistics: Hockey-Reference
Joel Edmundson