Summary
Los Angeles Kings defenseman, Drew Doughty made a huge leap his sophmore season in the NHL. At 20 years old, he’s in his second season and is one of the best defensemen in the league. Doughty's play not only gave him league recognition as a Norris canidate (voted best defenseman in the NHL) but he was also chosen to represent his country in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Doughty's entry level contract expires after the 2011 season, and Los Angeles would be smart to sign him long term to a team that has lacked name recognition and name power since the days of Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robataille in the early 90's, helping promote hockey out west.
Introduction
Drafted 2nd overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Doughty moved up quickly through the ranks, and won at every level. A gold medal the 2008 World Junior Championships, silver in the 2009 World Championships, and gold in the 2010 Olympics. He was an all-star in the ‘08 tournament, and named the best defenseman overall. In the Olympics, he was the youngest Canadian in a major tournament featuring to players since Eric Lindros in 1991. Once drafted, he earned a permanent spot with the Kings and made the Young-Stars game during All-Star weekend. At the end of the year, he was named to the All-Rookie Team. In his second year, he finished third in scoring among defensemen, and helped lead the Kings to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. They lost to the Vancouver Canucks in 6 games, but they put up a good fight. With a good, young core, and Drew Doughty on the backline , Los Angeles has a bright future
Contract Eligibilty
After Doughty's 3 Entry level contract expires, he is eligible as a Restriced Free Agent. What that means is,
a professional athlete who plays in the NHL,NFL, and NBA have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain or change employment status with their athletic club teams.
Drew Doughty is sure to be offered long term contracts, with big dollars, and try to market and sell him to winning franchises, teams with lack of star power, or canadien teams, which are always a big sell to canadien players.
Drew Doughty's contract will be measured around the league and compared to other franchise defenseman. Chicago's Duncan Keith ( 13 years at 72 million) is the closest to Doughty in terms of age, success, and skill.
Marketing
The Los Angeles Kings Hockey Club is in a succesful area. The franchise is not. To a team that is in a Laker, and Dodger town, the Kings have been pretty irrelevant since the team acquired Wayne Gretzky in 1988.
Drew Doughty is a superstar with a lot of skill, and having a familar face in Los Angeles, and keeping the franchise successful, will make both parties happy in the long run.
Conclusion
Drew Doughty' contract is something that General Manager Dean Lombardi needs to be smart about. The NHL has a salary cap that teams have to be at. Signing Doughty for a short time for big dollars will hurt the Kings financially because they will not afford to keep other players. Keeping Doughty in a Kings sweater for a long time should be important due to his success, and popularity that he is bringing to the Kings. The NHL would love to have a lucrative market like LA keeping the Kings popular for a long, long time. Anywhere from 8-15 years and around 80 million dollars should do the job.
