The forward, who turns 23 on Sept. 13, was a restricted free agent. He had 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 81 games last season.
"He's played a certain role with our organization, with our team," Kings president Luc Robitaille said, "and I think this year he sensed that he's got probably a little more of an offensive role he's going to have to fulfill, and that's going to really give him a chance to probably create and get more chances. Usually goals come with chances. And he's been doing really good at checking and so forth, and we're looking for him to help on the other side, too, as a player."
Selected by the Kings with the No. 29 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, Kempe has 71 points (30 goals, 41 assists) in 187 games through three seasons. Robitaille said Kempe, despite his youth, will have the opportunity to play a leadership role with Los Angeles.
"He's part of everything that we're doing, and I think that [Kings general manager Rob Blake] has always talked about that we want guys ... coming in playing with pace and so forth," Robitaille said. "So he's got all the attributes that Rob has talked about.
"We need guys like that, that come in and have the great attitude. He works hard every day. Even though he's only 22, he's going to be helping some of our young guys coming in the next couple of years."
NHL.com independent correspondent Dan Greenspan contributed to this report
