Free agent Warren Foegele signs three-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings

The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings made an unofficial swap on the first day of free agency.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Kings have signed winger Warren Foegele to a three-year contract in the mid-$3 million range. Though the details of the contract aren’t yet confirmed, Foegele’s new deal will see him earn a pay raise following the most productive season of his career.

The report about Foegele came just a few hours after news broke that the Oilers had signed winger Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year contract worth $4 million annually. Arvidsson had spent the last three seasons with the Kings and will likely fill a similar middle-six role to the one Foegele played with the Oilers. Once Arvidsson signed, it became pretty much inevitable that Foegele would be on his way out.

Foegele was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft and he scored 35 goals and 68 points in 200 games over parts of four seasons with the club. The Oilers acquired Foegele from Carolina ahead of the 2021-22 season in exchange for defenceman Ethan Bear and signed him to a three-year contract worth $2.75 million annually.

Over three years in Edmonton, Foegele scored 45 goals and 90 points in 231 regular-season games and he added five goals and 12 points in 47 playoff games. The speedy winger set new career-highs with 20 goals and 41 points for the Oilers in 2023-24 and chipped in with three goals during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Foegele is the second unrestricted free agent to leave the Oilers on July 1, as Sam Carrick inked a three-year deal earlier in the day with the New York Rangers. The Oilers have re-signed two of their UFAs, goaltender Calvin Pickard and winger Connor Brown, while Adam Henrique, Corey Perry, Sam Gagner, Mattias Janmark, and Vincent Desharnais are among those currently on the open market.