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If you missed the write-up on Kyle Clifford last time, take a look now!)
Drew Doughty #8
Age: 24
Contract Status: $7.00MM a season through 2018-19
Stats
Other stats:
Average TOI: 25:49
Corsi for: 58.5%
Corsi relative: +2.9%
Power play points: 16
PIM: 64
His Season
There is an incredible amount to digest with Drew Doughty when it comes to his season. He does so much for the Los Angeles Kings that it's hard to ignore any aspect of his game. He is the anchor of the Kings blue line, a quarterback on the powerplay, and a leader on the ice with his high intensity and aggressive play. Doughty had a fairly strong season in the statistical realm overall in both traditional and advanced stats. He was a plus-17 rating on the year along with having very positive possession numbers. After a rather mild start to the year where he was paired up with Robyn Regehr, Doughty found an extreme amount of comfort playing with rookie Jake Muzzin. While the two had their fair share of growing pains and bad games, the pairing was one of the stronger in the NHL all year long. While many still question whether Jake Muzzin's great year was because he was paired with Drew Doughty or vice versa, the pairing was a successful one that really took the strain of Kings management to go find another top pairing defenseman.
While Doughty's 37 points don't set the world ablaze by any stretch of the imagination, he was 30th overall in defensive scoring this year. Not everyone is going to have Duncan Keith or Erik Karlsson numbers, but Doughty surely is capable of doing so given his skill set. His numbers don't tell the whole story as the Kings yet again had several players come up short on the offensive side of things. The offensive stats of No. 8 will fluctuate based on the output of his forwards, and you can see that when you look at the 18 points he put up in 26 post-season games when the Kings offense was scoring at an unbelievable rate. His all-around game is what made him so valuable to the Kings this year though. He's a huge minute-eater for the Kings, logging the 6th most average time on ice in the league. He does so while remaining a plus player as well. Only Chara, Suter, Keith, and Pietrangelo have similar time on ice averages while maintaining a high plus-minus.
Doughty was also 3rd on the team in blocked shots, 5th on the team in hits, and 2nd in powerplay points. If there was any need for further evidence of how important Doughty is to the team, he was a plus-37 rating when the Kings won games this year while being a minus-20 in losses. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to watch Doughty try to force the play, and that's probably the biggest and only complaint with the 24-year old defenseman. He can be over aggressive at times, which can lead to some scrambly defensive plays, odd-man rushes, and an excessive amount of penalties. Doughty's 32 minor penalties led the team this year and was also good enough to put him at 5th overall in the league amongst defenseman. That's a number that Doughty will definitely have to bring down next year, as he cannot be taking himself off the ice that frequently. His highly emotional style of play can get the better of him at times for sure, and it does raise the question about his.
potential leadership quality moving forward.
Doughty was neck to neck with a few players for the Conn Smythe this year with his phenomenal playoff performance, he hoisted his second Stanley Cup in three years, and he also won his second gold medal. Hard to complain with that.
Moving Forward
Doughty has yet to win the one major trophy amongst defenseman: The James Norris Memorial trophy. He came up shy in the voting again this season, falling into the sixth spot.
It just seems like every year Doughty has had a decent enough year to be considered there is a player, or multiple players, who took next level steps during the season. I don't think there is any questioning what Duncan Keith did this year, or what Shea Weber and Ryan Suter did for their respective teams. While Doughty is a major cog for the Kings, he didn't have quite the years of the aforementioned. He is the complete player, and the complete defenseman, however he needs to be able to extend his quality of play over the entirety of the season. This year he didn't quite have the offensive numbers to compete with some of the vote getters in front of him, and next year will be interesting due to the increased firepower the Kings will possess for the regular season. If he can score at a rate even close to his post-season numbers he will surely have a shot at a Norris. It feels like a question of 'when' rather than 'if' Doughty will win a Norris. Is next year his year?
Of course, if you asked Doughty if he wanted a Norris or another Cup he would probably choose the latter. So far he has done enough to grab two of those already in his career. Not bad for a guy who is 24 right? When I was 24 I was just happy I could get through an on-stage classical guitar solo without shaking uncontrollably or vomiting on the audience. This guy is arranging his trophy case to fit another cup and another gold medal.
That's the reality of it all. Despite the nitpicking of one thing or another, like he takes too many penalties or he doesn't have a Norris, Doughty is one of the premier defenseman in the league. He had a very strong 2013-14 and is not even close to entering his prime yet. The Kings covet one of the most talented players out there right now, he's signed to a decently long-term deal, and he's only going to get better.
How could anyone complain with that?
You really can't. For a 2013-14 grade maybe you want a little better regular season production and a little more discipline, but overall these are minor adjustments on a tremendous season.
Final Grade: A-
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