There’s already a lot of pressure on the Los Angeles Kings to improve upon their disappointing finish to last season, and there might be even more after Drew Doughty told The Hockey News he’s open to leaving the franchise as a free agent in 2019 if it’s not “going in the right direction.”
Doughty has two years left on the eight-year, $56 million contract he signed with the Kings in 2011. He’s been a leader on two Stanley Cup-winning teams in Los Angeles, and won the 2016 Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL. Teams would surely line up to try to sign the 27-year-old if he hits the open market in two years.
It’s rare for a player of Doughty’s caliber to hit unrestricted free agency, but he says he’s open to it if the Kings aren’t positioned to win.
“My first love will always be L.A.,” he said. “It’s one of the best organizations in all of sports, not just hockey. It’s unbelievable. They treat us first-class, and it’s a good place to play. Living in Los Angeles, you can’t beat it. I’d love to re-sign in L.A. But if our team isn’t going in the right direction ... I want to win Cups. I don’t give a s*** where I play. I just want to win Cups, and that’s the bottom line.”
On Tuesday, Doughty tried to clarify those comments to NHL.com, saying that he didn’t intend to indicate he would leave Los Angeles if the team wasn’t good enough. When asked whether they were designed to put pressure on management, he said, “I know people read it like that ... That's not entirely how I meant it.”
The Kings fired coach Darryl Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi this offseason after missing the 2017 playoffs. The team was dominant in terms of shot attempt efficiency, leading the league in 5-on-5 Corsi, but struggled with a lack of speed and finishing ability. Despite having the second-highest shot attempt rate in the league, they were 25th in goals.
Doughty sounds excited about new coach John Stevens, who was hired by GM Rob Blake. He noted that Sutter wasn’t always the easiest coach to approach with concerns or suggestions, and changing the status quo is the right thing to do.
“Darryl’s an awesome coach, and I absolutely love him,” Doughty said. “He’s awesome for me. He taught me a lot of things as well. But if there is a problem with the team, or if you had a problem with Darryl, you’d be intimidated to go knock on his door and say, ‘Hey Darryl, I don’t like this or I don’t like that.’”
The moves mean there’s a lot of pressure on the Kings to rebound in 2017-18, but now we can add another layer to the situation. We’ll likely forget Doughty ever said this if the team comes together again, but with just two years left on his contract, the dynamic in Los Angeles will be worth watching if the team doesn’t take a step forward.
Doughty could command a massive contract on the open market in 2019, when the cap will likely be higher than its current $75 million figure. Other big names like Erik Karlsson, Artemi Panarin, Tyler Seguin, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are potential UFAs that summer, but it’s fair to assume a lot of them will get extensions.
The same goes for Doughty, but the Kings will have to position themselves as a contender to keep him from considering greener pastures.