Aloha Doughty! Is he staying, going, or both?


Aloha Drew Doughty.  No, I don't know if I am saying hello or good bye.  The reality of this situation is that Drew Doughty may bid adieu to Los Angeles for greener, much greener pastures.  The alternative, is that the salary cap strapped Kings could commit huge amounts of money to keep him.  Doughty has grown into an iconic player during this era, and frankly deserves to get paid his worth.  If the Kings are going to end up signing Doughty, Mr. Lucky and Big Rob have some tough decisions and shrewd finagling ahead of them.

So, what will the Kings do with him?  There are several options: 1.  Re-sign him to an extension (unlikely based on what Doughty has already stated) and pay him his due.  2.  Trade him now for some big time picks.  3.  Wait until next year's deadline and trade him for quite a bit less.  4.  Don't trade him, let him play out his contract, and roll the dice in free agency.  5.  A combination of 2 and 4, or 3 and 4.  

Option one is out because the Kings can't afford it, and Doughty has wisely stated that he wants to test free agency.  Option four only works if a Stanley Cup run seems eminent, and while I remain hopelessly optimistic, the NHL is really unpredictable.  Option two only works if no one believes that the Kings have any shot at a Stanley Cup run.  With a solid team that has proven that it can get hot, two goaltenders playing really well and Carter coming back, this outlook is neither advisable, nor likely.

In my humble opinion, the only real options are four and a combo of three and four.  If the Kings are clearly out of the playoff picture next year, than option three is the obvious choice.  If they are a Cup favorite, then option four is the clear choice.  The reality is that they will likely be somewhere near where they are now, right in the middle, which makes things a bit more murky.  

All things considered, it is very likely that the best thing for the Kings will be a deadline trade next season.  As regrettable as this sounds, the facts are the facts.  The current front office has been crippled by some truly bad contracts.  At the top of that list is Marian Gaborik's contract and subsequent, yet predictable, lack of production.  This contract needs to go before the Kings can consider signing Doughty to a new contract.  But, no one will take it.  I am guessing Seattle won't be that foolish, so the only option left is to force him into a package.  One of the only players that could make a Gaborik package seem worth it would be Drew Doughty himself.   Yes, the Kings may have to trade Doughty to have a shot at keeping him.  The problem with this set up is that the only thing we will likely get in return for such a trade is one of Reggie Dunlop's used puck bags.  

I readily admit that I am not an expert in NHL contracts, and my bank account will attest to my lack of financial acumen.  I'm hoping that Mr. Lucky and Big Rob have something up their sleeve.  The Kings need draft picks.  The Kings need to dump bad contracts.  The Kings need to figure out a way to hold onto one of this era's greatest players.  Despite the myriad of things I don't know, I do know that life as a Kings fan will be better if Drew Doughty is still commuting from Hermosa Beach in October of 2019.  

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