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Player Discussion: Drew Doughty Thread

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Ziggy Stardust

Ziggy Stardust

Master Debater
Jul 25, 2002
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Since a hot topic surrounding the team will be Drew Doughty, why not dedicate a thread specifically regarding Doughty and the potential contract (and trade?) talks, with the Kings officially being able to sit down and negotiate an extension with Drew Doughty starting on July 1, 2018 at 9:00 A.M. PST.

To kick things off, here's an article from Sportsnet discussing the Kings' top priority this summer:

Drew Doughty at heart of Kings' challenging off-season - Sportsnet.ca
It’s hard to imagine general manager Rob Blake maintaining this same core of players when the game has changed so dramatically since they were last successful.

But any transformation in Los Angeles is greatly complicated by a payroll that has many of these players locked into long-term deals.

Kopitar, 30, is due another $60 million over the next six years. Thirty-three-year-olds Brown and Carter have four more seasons at $5.9 and $5.3 million, respectively. Defenceman Dion Phaneuf, 33, is owed three years at $7 million.

Superstar defenceman Drew Doughty, however, is an unrestricted free agent after next season, when he will be 29.

Pointless in his three games against Vegas, Doughty got a lot of attention the last 10 days for something he said back in December when he promised after a loss to the Knights that there’s no way the Kings would finish behind them in the standings. They did, and were second-best again in the playoffs.

But what people will repeatedly bring up between now and July 1, 2019 is what Doughty told The Athletic in November. He said he was already thinking about his next contract and figured he and Ottawa Senator Erik Karlsson "deserve quite a bit more" than the $9 million per year Nashville Predator P.K. Subban makes as the NHL’s top-paid defenceman.

If you’re the Kings and in transition, are you going to pay Doughty, say, $100 million for eight more seasons? Or are you going to speed the transformation of your roster by getting a bundle of assets in return for the best defenceman in the game?

Doughty is a dynamic, world-class player. He is not the problem in Los Angeles. But there don’t appear to be many solutions available to Blake.

In his final game this season for Ottawa – a year before he becomes a UFA – Karlsson quietly collected a puck to keep. You know, in case the Senators trade him this summer to address their own myriad of problems.

Doughty couldn’t get the game puck here Tuesday. The winning team, the better, faster team, collected it and took it home to Las Vegas.
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I think they need to explore both,

They need to set a price they are comfortable with, whatever it may be,

It's gotta fill up a minimum of two holes, with players that are young enough to stick around, between Kempe and Toffoli age, along with prospect/picks etc,

They also have to negotiate in good faith and see what his asking price is, they have to know by the end of July I feel, if he is coming back or not, then they can do more in regard to trading/shopping him
 
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I definitely agree with that sentiment. If he makes it clear he isn't interested in re-signing and makes his intentions clear that he'll pursue the free agent route, then shopping him this off-season may maximize his return, especially with teams who want him for a full-season and feel confident he can re-sign with them.

Of course, I prefer they retain Doughty, but the ball is in his court here.
 
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SFKingshomer said:
Trade for his boy Simmonds and convince them both to take team friendly discounts. I know, wishful thinking.
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The last person I want to see the Kings get is Simmons. He is a great player but no way in the world do I want to be the team giving him his next contract. The only guys I would sign long term at his age would be the superstars (Kopi/Doughty) type players. No chance Doughty takes a friendly deal regardless of where he signs, the man will get paid huge and should.
 
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I love DD. Great guy to watch, still young and very decorated. If he is a King for life I am happy.

If he wants to leave then I know we will be reimbursed dearly to start a rebuild as some want or to help retool.

Blake has made no long term signings as he is keeping the wallet open for Doughty. I love our core which includes Doughty but I hate our depth.

I am taken back to the Lubomir Visnovsky trade that landed us Greene and Stoll. I was pissed at the trade but that trade built our depth.

Now Doughty is a whole new ballgame but would an unsigned Drew land us Kadri and Rielly in a trade?

Yes both are no superstars but both are really good players. Kadri is a 30 goal scorer signed long term at 4.5 mil a year and is only 27 while Rielly is signed long term at 5 mil a year and is 24.

That is 9.5 mil on 2 great players and possibly 1.5 to 2.5 mil a year cheaper then the contract Doughty will command.

Now if we go back to the original DL days in which we build goalie out with great defence and solid centers we go after Tavares. Expensive yes, but only 27 and one hell of a player.

With a middle of Kopitar, Tavares and Kadri we have the luxury of moving Carter to Wing or trade him for another RHD to slot behind Rielly. We have Vilardi coming up that may fit better at wing as well as Kempe who may be a better fit at wing and out of the dot.

Again I am not pushing to move Doughty, I have read a lot about trading him for picks and prospects but I haven't read a lot about trading him for established players for a retool.

Let's be honest, due to contracts and or us needing to put a product on the ice Kopitar, Quick, Brown and Phaneuf are going nowhere. Kopitar and Quick were the only stars that showed up in the playoffs and I think they can still be at the top of their games for years to come. If Doughty has to be traded I would love to see a trade like above to address star quality depth.

Maybe I am not thinking clear after last nights punch in the face but I still believe in some of this team.
 
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Great thread, but the issue is very simple and doesn't require too much analysis. You can't negotiate a favorable deal with Doughty. If you want to keep him, you have to give him a blank check and exactly what he wants. Because if the Kings don't give him that money, he will get it elsewhere.

The question is whether Doughty wants to stay. If after offering him what he wants money-wise, he says he needs to think about it, you move him in the summer. We cannot risk being in a Tavares situation and lose him for nothing. The longer it drags on, the more Doughty's value drops and the more drama there will be during the 2018-2019 season.

If we can get a young NHL ready top 6 forward, a 1st round pick, and a young top 4 defenseman, I would be okay with trading Doughty after he says he needs to think about it. Getting a haul like that, however, will require doing a sign and trade.
 
I don't think Doughty will have a quick answer for the Kings. Remember what happened last time. Kings will re-sign him or lose him for nothing.
 
If Doughty doesn’t re-sign, then what are we even doing here? At that point, you trade Carter, Kopitar, Muzzin, Martinez, Pearson, Toffoli, and have Trevor Lewis center your top line for a few years.
 
I'm not convinced Doughty would get the massive return that people are hoping for. No matter how great he is, his contract situation limits his value.

The "sign and trade" thing is something fans on message boards talk about, but it rarely happens in real life.
 
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Kings should trade Doughty and start the rebuild. The time is now, and his value will never be higher.

And I say this as a Kings fan who has Drew Doughty as their number one favorite player in the league.
 
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SFKingshomer said:
I don't get athletes. "I want to win multiple championships but I also want to be the highest paid player".
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He also wants to bang beautiful, exotic women he doesn't even know. He just wants it all. That just comes with the territory.
 
This whole thing reminds me of the Ship of Theseus and it makes me sad. At some point, the Kings won’t have anyone left that played during the cup. Losing Richards, Williams, and Stoll was a real bummer. Losing Doughty? Man, I don’t know how to feel about that.
 
johnjm22 said:
We're always arguing on this board, but I think this is one thing we all agree on. If it looks like Doughty won't re-sign, you have to trade him ASAP.
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Has to he done before the season starts too. Every day closer to July 1, 2019 his value goes down.

I don't think trading Doughty signifies a total rebuild either. Depends what you get back. If you get back a legit top 4 dman and a legit top 6 forward then they might be even better than now. Muzzin, Martinez, Phaneuf, and Voynov plus whatever dman you get back is a damn solid top 5. Obviously you don't have that dynamic, elite, Norris level guy but still have 5 solid, solid pieces. Not to mention what should be 2 time Selke winner Kopitar.
 
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Another consideration is that I believe keeping just Drew, never mind Drew and Kopi, practically ensures we never get a lottery pick.

Better start hitting home runs at pick 5-10.
 
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Raccoon Jesus said:
Another consideration is that I believe keeping just Drew, never mind Drew and Kopi, practically ensures we never get a lottery pick.

Better start hitting home runs at pick 5-10.
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Which brings up another point... How strong can we assume the next draft will be? Fine if you get a lot of picks for someone like Doughty, but if it's a weak draft, it's all dust in the wind.
 
I think Blake has to decide if he’s going to take care of the situation over the summer or let it drag into next season. Personally if Doughty doesn’t resign this summer I would look into moving him to Toronto for Nylander/Marner, whichever Toronto would want to give us
 
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lexlavender said:
Kings should trade Doughty and start the rebuild. The time is now, and his value will never be higher.

And I say this as a Kings fan who has Drew Doughty as their number one favorite player in the league.
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I agree, this core hasn't done shit in 4 years, and we think 1-2 players will magically change that? Just blow it up and get all you can now.
 
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