EL SEGUNDO –– The Kings have re-signed defenseman Alex Edler to a one-year contract worth $750,000 in base salary, with another $750,000 in potential incentives for games played, the team announced Tuesday.
Edler, 36, had spent his entire career with the Vancouver Canucks until last summer, when he became a free agent and signed a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. He rewarded the Kings by making 41 appearances in which he scored 19 points and skated to a career-best plus-18 rating.
Perseverance and toughness had been trademarks of Edler’s career, and that was certainly true in his first campaign with the Kings. In December, he sustained a broken left ankle that put his season in jeopardy. However, he returned ahead of schedule in March, pressing himself into duty as the Kings juggled personnel on a banged-up blue line. General Manager Rob Blake said Edler urged the coaching staff to reinsert him into the mix, even before he was near 100%, setting an example of character and passion for the rest of the roster.
“He was (out) four months, if you look at his ankle, there were two surgeries on both sides. He was coming back, but we really hadn’t progressed him to the point where we thought he was going to get into the lineup,” Blake said. “We had suffered multiple injuries on the back end. He went to Todd and he was the one that said he wanted to play.”
Internationally, Edler has represented Sweden, earning at least 30 total caps for the Tre Kronor and winning three medals: an Olympic silver and two World Championship golds.
With Edler returning next season alongside Drew Doughty and Sean Walker, who missed a combined 119 games due to injuries, the Kings could be even deeper than last season on defense despite the likely departures of Olli Maatta and Troy Stecher.
“He played great last season, so, yeah, it’s good for the team and for us young D-men that he’s back,” fellow Swedish defenseman Tobias Bjornfot said.
