Could Drew Doughty Follow Jonathan Quick’s Path Out of Los Angeles?
“The Mayor” Jon Hoven joined Sirius XM NHL Network Radio on Saturday, July 4th, for the season finale of TFP Hotstove with Dennis Bernstein, Dave Pagnotta, and Ryan Paton. There, he was asked about Drew Doughty and the complications now that Brandt Clarke has signed his new five-year extension. Could there be another Jonathan Quick scenario playing out in Los Angeles this season?
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: The Los Angeles Kings and Drew Doughty
Dave Pagnotta: “Now let’s talk about two guys on that blue line as we cycle back on that D Core, Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke. Clarke gets his new contract, gets it signed before July 1, so good move. How do you see his usage increasing, and how do you see Drew’s changing?”
John Hoven: “ I have said this when it comes to Dought. I’ve said this as many times as I possibly can on as many shows, podcasts, etc. I think the situation with Drew Doughty is a very volatile one. I know everybody’s trying to play nice publicly and saying everything’s fine; we want him to retire a King, and he wants to retire a King.
This is a situation that just screams Jonathan Quick 2.0. You have a player who’s probably not coming back to Los Angeles beyond this year, but he wants to continue to play and plans on playing for at least three or four more years, and there’s money in the marketplace that will pay him.
Drew Doughty is still a very serviceable defenseman. You can argue he’s not a top pair guy anymore, but put him on a second pair or a third pair, limit his minutes, the hockey IQ is off the charts, it has been since he was a teenager He’s a hockey savant, while he might not know a lot about a lot of other things, he knows everything about hockey, and he’s the type of guy that teams like to have, both in their locker room, i.e. Team Canada, recently and out there on the ice in big moments.
Is it down to the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators for Claude Giroux?
That’s also an issue because you need to let the reins loose when it comes to Brandt Clarke. Brandt Clarke should be the number one defenseman on this team. He should be on the top pair. He should be playing on the penalty kill, as well as playing offensively on the power play. He should be anchoring the top power play.
If you look at the underlying metrics last year, Brant Clark was the Kings best defenseman. Period. There’s no argument about it. Every metric will tell you; the eye test will tell you all that; all the stats and advanced numbers will tell you he made everybody he played with better. He was their best defenseman, and you have to let him go.”
NHLRumors.com Note: The Los Angeles Kings have seen Brant Clarke take over as the number one defenseman on the blueline. He was rewarded with a five-year extension before free agency. However, questions remain about the future of defenseman Drew Doughty. Doughty is entering the final year of his current contract, which pays him $11 million a season.
Kings GM Ken Holland has stated he will talk about an extension with Doughty after the season. This was a similar plan to the one with Jonathan Quick. Quick was then traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets and later to the Vegas Golden Knights, where he won his third Stanley Cup.
NHL Rumors: How Will the Los Angeles Kings Replace Drew Doughty
Doughty, like Quick, is a Kings legend. The 2012 group of Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Doughty, and Quick will be talked about for bringing two Stanley Cups to Los Angeles, but it is time for a new era for the Kings. But is there a scenario where they trade him similar to Quick?
Doughty wants to play for a couple more seasons, but if Holland brought back Doughty, it would be on one-year deals. Is that something Doughty wants, or is it a play to force Doughty’s hand?
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