LOS ANGELES—Four restricted free agents, all of whom played with the Ontario Reign (the Kings’ AHL affiliate) last season, closed one year deals with Los Angeles on Friday, July 14. Forwards Justin Auger and Andrew Crescenzi and defensemen Zachary Leslie and Kurtis MacDermid all signed one-year contract extensions with an average annual value (AAV) listed at $650,000.
Auger, 23, hails from Kitchener, Ontario, standing at 6 feet and 6 inches tall and weighing 233 pounds. The right winger, originally selected by the Kings in 2013 as the 103rd overall draft pick, played in 61 regular-season games with the Reign last season. He collected 20 points (11 goals and nine assists) along with 58 penalty minutes. Auger also appeared in all five of the Reign’s postseason games and added three more points (two goals and one assist), six penalty minutes, and a plus-2 rating. He tied for first on the Reign in goals and ranked third in points.
With three AHL seasons and 199 regular-season games under his belt, Auger holds 85 points (43 goals and 42 assists), 174 penalty minutes, and a plus-30 rating. He has skated in 37 post season games, 19 of which were with the Manchester Monarchs (the Kings’ then-AHL affiliate), who won the 2015 Calder Cup.
Thornhill, Ontario-born Crescenzi, 24, is 6 feet and 5 inches tall and weighs 207 pounds. Los Angeles sent right winger Brandon Kozun to Toronto and in turn received Crescenzi on January 22, 2014. The center skated in 56 games with Ontario last season and posted 15 points (seven goals and eight assists) and 57 penalty minutes before sustaining an injury. As a result, he was absent for the postseason.
Crescenzi played in 240 regular-season AHL games to date. He has tallied 58 points (22 goals and 36 assists) and 231 penalty minutes. With Auger, he helped lead the Monarchs to their 2015 Calder Cup win.
Leslie, 23, stands 6 feet and 1 inch tall, weighs 182 pounds, and is a native of Ottawa, Ontario. He was selected by Los Angeles as the 178th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. Leslie appeared in 65 games last season with the Reign and posted 23 points (five goals and 18 assists) and 29 penalty minutes. In Ontario’s five postseason games he added eight penalty minutes, and a plus-1 rating.
In 95 regular-season AHL games to date (which constitute two seasons), Leslie has 28 points (five goals and 23 assists) and 42 penalty minutes. In eight career postseason games, he has one point, eight penalty minutes, and a plus-1 rating.
The 6 foot and 5 inch tall, 239 pound MacDermid hails from Sauble Beach, Ontario. He was signed by Los Angeles on September 12, 2012 as an unrestricted free agent. This past season, he made 58 regular-season appearances with the Reign and collected 20 points (six goals and 14 assists), 135 penalty minutes, and a plus-11 rating. He played in all five postseason games with Ontario, with no additional goals, four penalty minutes, and a plus-4 rating.
MacDermid has made a total of 114 regular-season AHL appearances and has posted 36 points (10 goals and 26 assists), 256 penalty minutes, and a plus-35 rating. In 18 postseason games, he has collected three points (two goals and one assists) and 16 penalty minutes.
In addition to Auger, Crescenzi, Leslie, and MacDermid, the Kings closed one year extensions with defensemen Kevin Gravel and Paul LaDue and forward Michael Mersch. They have also signed forward Jonny Brodzinski to a two-year extension.
