Does Doughty have the worst contract in the NHL?

[Lt Dan]

So then they become an Edmonton Oilers style rebuild with no insulation from quality vets, that's so what. Leaving sentimentality aside, even.

We also heard that after Chicago had to break down their 2010 squad and guess what? Every prominent team in the 2010s wasn't 'mercenary' with their decisions.

The COVID world may force it, but IMO you're confusing "sentimentality" for "keeping and paying excellent, borderline-irreplaceable players." There's trading the middle class and then there's trading a guy you'll spend the next two decades trying to replace just because he's a year or two out of the 'ideal' curve.

 

[kilowatt]

Just a friendly reminder that if we were to move Kopitar and Doughty for futures, Gabe Vilardi with 10 games of NHL experience becomes our first line center and Matt Roy becomes our number one defenseman. We might not win a game next season with that roster.

 

[Docgonzo]

Just a friendly reminder that if we were to move Kopitar and Doughty for futures, Gabe Vilardi with 10 games of NHL experience becomes our first line center and Matt Roy becomes our number one defenseman. We might not win a game next season with that roster.

No no no we just sign Vets until the kids are ready, it’s so easy to replace players. I mean look at how easy we replaced Vonyov, Stoll and Fraser. And I remember hearing Stoll and Fraser were incredibly easy to replace.

 

[Yog S'loth]

The contract is pretty terrible, yes, and will look worse and worse over time.

I still vote Carey Price as the worst contract in the league, though.

Even among defensemen only, Karlsson's deal is way worse.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The contract is pretty terrible, yes, and will look worse and worse over time.

I still vote Carey Price as the worst contract in the league, though.

Even among defensemen only, Karlsson's deal is way worse.

Be careful, you'll get drawn and quartered when outsiders find this post via search.

But even loving Doughty I'll fully admit--and I think most did at the time--that it would be an overpayment on most years, maybe evening out at some point (remember when his 7 million deal looked insane then was gold by the end?), but you've gotta pay your guys. If he plays like he can, he's worth it; if here plays like a 'mere mortal' #1, he's overpaid by 1-2 million, but that's fine based on how many teams are desperate for #1 d-men (Look at the Leafs' eternal search, or Trouba getting 8 million) vs. market value.

 

[Stephen]

With that contract he’s sort of locked into LA whether both parties want it or not.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

With that contract he’s sort of locked into LA whether both parties want it or not.

I think if someone really wanted him they could make it work but it's sort of a moot point anyway., at least if you believe what both Drew and the organization say.

People say this all the time about the 9m+ contracts across the board but I'm not buying it, I think it's more to do with teams just don't trade players they give that kind of value to anyway, but I guess you're right in that it's sort of chicken-and-egg anyway.

And LA has Monopoly money cap space for the forseeable future so meh.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Trying to imagine this team without Drew eating all those minutes.

 

[kilowatt]

The contract is pretty terrible, yes, and will look worse and worse over time.

I still vote Carey Price as the worst contract in the league, though.

Even among defensemen only, Karlsson's deal is way worse.

Be careful, you'll get drawn and quartered when outsiders find this post via search.

I'd rather have Doughty than Karlsson, Burns, or Vlasic. I'd take Doughty over OEL too. Shea Weber is 35 and has six more years on his contract or did everyone just forget about him? There are worse contracts than Doughty. Drew's contract (and Karlsson's) looks bad because of COVID, but these contracts will continue to rise, no question.

 

[Anguyen92]

Shea Weber's contract looks worst than Doughty on paper due to the penalties that may incur in the event Weber decides to retire before the contract ends. I believe it's Nashville that takes a massive cap hit penalty since they were the ones that drafted it?

 

[KINGS17]

I think if someone really wanted him they could make it work but it's sort of a moot point anyway., at least if you believe what both Drew and the organization say.

People say this all the time about the 9m+ contracts across the board but I'm not buying it, I think it's more to do with teams just don't trade players they give that kind of value to anyway, but I guess you're right in that it's sort of chicken-and-egg anyway.

And LA has Monopoly money cap space for the forseeable future so meh.

Up until the time the salary cap hasn't gone up that much and the Kings land on "Byfield Boardwalk" with three hotels on it.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Up until the time the salary cap hasn't gone up that much and the Kings land on "Byfield Boardwalk" with three hotels on it.

Shea Weber got traded mid 30s with the specter of a GIANT recapture penalty and with at the time worse play than Doughty.

Let's cross that bridge when we get there but everything points to there's no way this contract actively causes any actual problems.

 

[Bandit]

Trying to imagine this team without Drew eating all those minutes.

Try to imagine this team without Drew eating all those donuts.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

hmmm, a little harsh don't ya think?

All that from a few minute clip? And I think you were watching Brownie in the clip, not Drew.

And coffee should be out?? LOL

Doughty's fitness concerns were always there. Ever since he was drafted he's been known to eat whatever and whenever.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

"Doughty simply doesn’t push play anymore. Some might argue it’s because the team around him stinks, and that’s fair."

It's more than fair, that's the story.

So because the team sucks Drew should sick too. I'm ok with that if he only cashes the same amount of check as the amount of effort he gives

 

[Docgonzo]

Up until the time the salary cap hasn't gone up that much and the Kings land on "Byfield Boardwalk" with three hotels on it.

Yeah but that’ll be 23-24 and the Kings only have Kopitar, Doughty and Walker on the books for then right now. Quick will be gone and Brown and Carter come off the season before. Then Kopitar the season after.

 

[Statto]

So what? The Kings miss the playoffs or become a lottery team? That happened anyways, just years too late.

I’m ok with fans being sentimental about players, but I don’t agree with it because it leads to bad teams.

I’m sure the next excuse people will bring up is no one would tear down a team in its prime. I’m confident that going forward, you will see teams more mercenary with their player decisions.

How would losing either help at this point? Please explain.

We are under the cap, they are not blocking any players from a development standpoint and they provide good experience to lead the kids. People talk about Doughty being a bad example but Yanetti recently talked about his intangibles being high... so I don’t buy that argument and never did.

Losing Doughty and/or Kopitar does nothing to help us we need quality veterans to nurture to transition to the new generation and will be relevant once we start competing again.

 

[LAKings88]

Drew is a stud defenseman. That is all.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

Drew is a stud defenseman. That is all.

Donald Trump. Is that you ?

 

[Matt13]

More Athletic love from Dom this morning from Dom ranking the Kings at 30th with contract efficiency.


The former class of the league finds itself at the bottom in recent seasons and it’s precisely because the players they paid to deliver big value aren’t living up to their end of the bargain. Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are the team’s two best players but are being paid eight figures to deliver elite value, something they haven’t done the past two seasons. That’s the team’s biggest issue and it leads to both players being among the league’s worst contracts. In fact, Doughty’s was ranked as the worst, with little hope he can turn things around.
Having a projected negative surplus value of $59 million is tough to manage and as long as Doughty fails to deliver, the Kings will likely stay near the bottom of this list. Matt Roy’s deal is nice, though.

 

[KINGS17]

Yeah but that’ll be 23-24 and the Kings only have Kopitar, Doughty and Walker on the books for then right now. Quick will be gone and Brown and Carter come off the season before. Then Kopitar the season after.

Is a contract not that bad simply because it doesn't totally screw up a rebuild and expires before the team needs the money for the players they draft? I think this thinking is short-sighted, and revisionist history.

Practically everyone here said when these deals were signed the Kings would still be competitive and needed only to reload. Eight years of Kopitar and Doughty at over $160 million in cap hit, and how many playoff wins will the Kings have to show for it? It's possible the Kings won't even win a playoff series before their contracts are done.

I will stick by my original assessment which I made years ago. Kopitar, Carter, Doughty; they all should have been moved out for younger players and picks. It would have been better for the players (unless they don't mind losing and living on the beach), and the team would be much further along in the rebuilding process.

 

[KINGS17]

So then they become an Edmonton Oilers style rebuild with no insulation from quality vets, that's so what. Leaving sentimentality aside, even.

We also heard that after Chicago had to break down their 2010 squad and guess what? Every prominent team in the 2010s wasn't 'mercenary' with their decisions.

The COVID world may force it, but IMO you're confusing "sentimentality" for "keeping and paying excellent, borderline-irreplaceable players." There's trading the middle class and then there's trading a guy you'll spend the next two decades trying to replace just because he's a year or two out of the 'ideal' curve.

Define "quality". In my mind guys like O'Donnell, Handzus, and Modry were some of the quality vets the Kings had during the last rebuilding period.

So, instead of taking the next 20 years to replace Doughty, it will only take 16 years because the Kings gave him an 8-year deal. Mind you Doughty likely won't do jack for making the team a winner in his last 2-4 years of his deal, but at least his spot on the roster didn't have to be replaced.

 

[Lt Dan]

More Athletic love from Dom this morning from Dom ranking the Kings at 30th with contract efficiency.


The former class of the league finds itself at the bottom in recent seasons and it’s precisely because the players they paid to deliver big value aren’t living up to their end of the bargain. Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are the team’s two best players but are being paid eight figures to deliver elite value, something they haven’t done the past two seasons. That’s the team’s biggest issue and it leads to both players being among the league’s worst contracts. In fact, Doughty’s was ranked as the worst, with little hope he can turn things around.
Having a projected negative surplus value of $59 million is tough to manage and as long as Doughty fails to deliver, the Kings will likely stay near the bottom of this list. Matt Roy’s deal is nice, though.

Sounds to me like we need to find Dom and

 

[Docgonzo]

Is a contract not that bad simply because it doesn't totally screw up a rebuild and expires before the team needs the money for the players they draft? I think this thinking is short-sighted, and revisionist history.

Practically everyone here said when these deals were signed the Kings would still be competitive and needed only to reload. Eight years of Kopitar and Doughty at over $160 million in cap hit, and how many playoff wins will the Kings have to show for it? It's possible the Kings won't even win a playoff series before their contracts are done.

I will stick by my original assessment which I made years ago. Kopitar, Carter, Doughty; they all should have been moved out for younger players and picks. It would have been better for the players (unless they don't mind losing and living on the beach), and the team would be much further along in the rebuilding process.

The two teams in the NHL with the most young talent, Oilers and Leafs, have either never made it past the first round or won 1 series total. The only team with decent young talent that has done much are the Canucks and we’ll have to see if it was a blip or not.

All the recent Stanley Cup finals have all be veteran teams with some young talent. They last cup team that was majorly young was 2010 Blackhawks.

So maybe we’d be further in the rebuild if we traded away Kopitar, Doughty and Carter earlier but would our prospect depth be that much better? Or would they be failing because our prospects be thrown to the wolves because we don’t have any better options.

 

[KINGS17]

The two teams in the NHL with the most young talent, Oilers and Leafs, have either never made it past the first round or won 1 series total. The only team with decent young talent that has done much are the Canucks and we’ll have to see if it was a blip or not.

All the recent Stanley Cup finals have all be veteran teams with some young talent. They last cup team that was majorly young was 2010 Blackhawks.

So maybe we’d be further in the rebuild if we traded away Kopitar, Doughty and Carter earlier but would our prospect depth be that much better? Or would they be failing because our prospects be thrown to the wolves because we don’t have any better options.

Never did I say throw the prospects to the wolves. You have guys like Handzus, O'Donnell, and Modry to keep the wolves at bay.

There has been much debate here about Ryan Smyth here as well. Smyth may not have been the perfect LA King, but I still believe he was a player who aided in the development of Kopitar. So, if Kopitar wasn't here would I put another rookie on his wing? No, I would find a veteran and overpay on a short-term deal.