Continuing the seasons in review series with a look at Brandt Clarke’s second full season at the NHL level. His usage and impact on the team took a substantial step forward in Year 2, showcasing some of the promise he offers the Kings organization, though there is still more to come in terms of his overall development.
Brandt Clarke
LAK Statline – 82 games played, 8 goals 32 assists, +11 rating, 63 penalty minutes
LAK Playoff Statline – 4 games played, 0 goals, 1 assist, -5 rating, 0 penalty minutes
NHL Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 54.3% (+3.2%), SCF% – 52.9% (+0.9%), HDCF% – 52.9% (-0.4%)
Trending Up – You’d probably expect an offensive lead here and we’ll get to that, but one of my favorite statistics for Clarke is that he ranked this in the NHL in blocked shots this past season. Not third on the Kings, third in the NHL. When you look only at 5-on-5 situations, Clarke led the NHL with 170 blocked shots. Not led the Kings, led the NHl. Only one other player in the league was even over 150. Now, blocked shots alone isn’t always a good metric, if it is an accumulated stat from being caved into the defensive zone, however the Kings controlled nearly 55 percent of shot attempts with Clarke on the ice, the best clip on the Los Angeles blueline. That’s a really impressive combination, especially for a player who profiles as an offensive blueliner.
Now, offensively, Clarke posted his first 40-point season offensively, as he led all Kings defensemen in goals, assists and points. He was given a substantially larger role this season, with his time on ice increasing by more than three and a half minutes from the 2024-25 season. Looking specifically in 5-on-5 situations, Clarke had 18 primary assists, with only four defensemen around the NHL collecting more, three when you break it onto a per/60 basis. He was responsible for 35 percent of his team’s goals from the backend and 30 percent of points.
Lastly, while the Kings as a whole had trouble moving the puck from the blueline, Clarke did not. He ranked just outside the NHL’s Top-10 in controlled zone entries (11th), excelling particularly via carrying the puck into the offensive zone with possession. In terms of exiting the defensive zone with possession, Clarke was also one of the NHL’s best, both in terms of quality and quantity. These are arbitrary numbers, but per SportLOGIQ only nine defensemen around the league had at least 340 controlled zone exits, with a successful play after on at least 84 percent of those instances. Clarke is one of them, along with these players – Matthew Schaefer, Jackson Lacombe, Rasmus Dahlin, Lane Hutson, Zach Werenski, Roman Josi, Cale Makar, Jake Sanderson. Not bad company, eh?
Trending Down – The big one here for Clarke is that he did not translate a lot of his regular-season numbers into the playoffs. Clarke had just one point in the series, a secondary assist in Game 1. No Kings player was on the ice for more 5-on-5 goals against in the Round 1 series against Colorado than Clarke, despite the fact that no Kings player started more shifts in the offensive zone than Clarke in that series and despite rarely logging the MacKinnon matchup. The Kings needed a lot of things to go their way to have a chance against Colorado and one of those things was for Clarke to deliver at both ends of the ice. Ultimately, he wasn’t able to, despite having offensive-zone start and offensive-zone faceoff percentages of 77 and 85 percent respectively.
I also think that for Clarke to truly take the next step offensively, he’ll need to contribute more with his shot going forward. Of his eight goals, only four came in 5-on-5 situations and only three goals total, at all strengths, came from the point. Per NHL Edge data, Clarke’s hardest shot recorded this season and his average shot speed were below the league average for defensemen, well below on the average front. No Kings defenseman has his shot blocked more than Clarke. He contributes offensively in a number of different ways, but at the end of the day, to quarterback an effective power play in the NHL, he will have to find a way to contribute more in that area.
2026-27 Status – Clarke is a restricted free agent this summer and he represents the biggest internal decision the Kings need to make. He is eligible to sign an extension of up to eight years, but his deal could really fall anywhere between one and eight seasons. Thinking aloud, Clarke might be personally incentivized to take a shorter-term deal, to take advantage of a rising cap and his own rising development. If he excels, his number in say two seasons could be an eight-figure AAV. He said in his exit interview that he wants to be here long term, though that does not have to be on one contract. Pros and cons to both ways, but sorting out Clarke’s future is an important decision for the organization this summer.
