Do you guys remember Drew Doughty?
He used to play for the Kings.
I guess the Kings have been having some trouble signing him or something? I haven't heard much about it. I tried talking to Rudy about it but he just started shaking and crying so instead I went and got some tacos.
Since Teemu Selanne finally announced his return to the Ducks, the Doughty thing is the biggest unresolved issue for the California NHL teams. I figured somebody should talk about it on this blog, so I sought out some of the top insider sources for the LA Kings for their thoughts on the issue.
First up we have long-time Kings reporter "TMagz" with his thoughts on Doughty's comparable contracts:
Weber…$7.5 mill, Chara…..$6.9 mill, Lindstrom $6.2 mil DD…. $7 + milll. DD DOES NOT even belong in the same breath as these players!!
That's a good point, TMagz. Drew Doughty is certainly no Lindstrom.
Next up we have prominent NHL salary commentator "Dave" with his thoughts on what Drew is worth:
He is a great talent, but he’s only 21, he digressed last year
I'm not sure what Drew's tendency to "Leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing" last season has to do with how much he should be paid. I guess it could be annoying if he does it a lot. Like you'll be trying to talk to him about how to defend a 2 on 1 and he'll keep going off on tangents about Zambonis and those new triple-stuffed Oreos....yeah that would get on my nerves.
Now for a detailed statistical breakdown from stat-head "Running Man":
The Kings I believe were 5-2 without him last year. That is not a bad record!
Wow, that's amazing! That's a 71 percent victory rate! Over a full season that would mean about 58 wins. Holy cow, the Kings would have to be idiots to re-sign Drew, even if he was willing to play for like five bucks an hour.
Finally, some closing thoughts from respected reporter "gene" on Doughty's attitude:
Trade his butt and get someone or someone and draft choises for him. He is all about himself not a team player.
Well said.
As a Sharks fan, I think I can comment on the Drew Doughty situation as a fair and totally impartial outsider. I firmly believe that the right move for the Kings is to not sign Drew Doughty at all.
After spending the early part of the off-season pulling off quality trades that have significantly improved the scoring ability of the Kings, the rational course of action now is to let your superstar #1 defenseman sit out the season. It's only fair. After all, very few teams in the league are good at offense AND defense, so why should the Kings suddenly excel at both? Think of the other teams - poor unfortunate souls like the Edmonton Oilers, who suck so badly at both scoring and preventing goals. What about them?
Besides, what's the worst that can happen? Sure on the surface it may look like the Kings would be shooting themselves in the foot in the worst possible way, after working so hard to put together a team that, on paper at least, looks like the best Kings' squad in a decade. It may SEEM like the team would have to be crazy to let Doughty sit out the season and expose such a huge hole in their lineup. But!
But, as many Kings' reporters will be happy to tell you, the Kings are loaded with defensive prospects. They have like a dozen guys in the system that are ready to be number one NHL defensemen today, but Drew Doughty has been standing in their way, obstructing their development like the selfish digressing fatso he is. The team will be fine.
In fact, they already have a guy in the lineup who is ready to take over as the team's top blueliner.
So, in conclusion, please don't sign Drew Doughty.
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