“Drew Doughty Is Not Only No Longer Elite – He’s Terrible” was the title of a 2,000-word article written by hockey analytics outlet JFresh Hockey back in 2020 on the LA Kings defenseman. Oh, how wrong he was.
Sure, the 2018-2020 years weren’t kind to Doughty. His expected goal share during that span was the worst of his career. He carried a plus/minus of -50 with 80 points in 149 games. And his $11 million per year contract seemed like a tough pill to swallow for a team destined for change. But how can you blame him?
With hopes of another cup run with leftovers from the 2014 team dwindling, the LA Kings dove face-first into a rebuild. And for a fiery and passionate player like Drew Doughty, coming to work wasn’t fun anymore.
“I’m not going to lie to you, that was the worst part about playing. We knew we weren’t going to make the playoffs,” Doughty said at the beginning of the 2022 season on playing through the rebuild. Well, now that Kings general manager Rob Blake has surrounded Doughty with a lineup built for success, Drew is back in prime form.
The Return of Drew
Nine games into the 2023-24 season, Doughty’s 5v5 expected goal share would be the highest of his career at 57.64%, according to Evolving Hockey. He leads the Kings blueliners in 5v5 relative expected goal share (on-ice xGF% – off-ice xGF%) and on-ice Corsi at 57.59% during 5v5 play, according to MoneyPuck.com.
He is currently tied for the league lead among defensemen in goals with four and is on pace for his second straight 50+ point season, with better per 60 offensive numbers than his 2015-16 Norris Trophy-winning campaign. Oh, and he’s still that ice-time-eating juggernaut of old.
Heavy Minutes
Looking back to last season, according to Stathead.com, Doughty became the tenth defenseman in NHL history to play over 2,100 minutes in a season aged 33 or over joining Scott Niedermeyer, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger, Ray Bourque, Al MacInnis, Brent Burns, Ryan Suter, Brian Campbell, and Brian Leetch. Pretty good company.
For this season, after becoming the eighth active defenseman to play 1,100 NHL games, Doughty is the only player in the league averaging over 26 minutes a game, always against the league’s best. Something he prides himself on.
Defensive Focus
“Those matchups and potentially being able to do the complete job of shutting them down and keeping them off the scoresheet, that means more to me than scoring a goal or whatever it can be,” Doughty said in an appearance on the “Got Yer’ Back” podcast with Pierre LeBrun and Ryan Rishaug.
“I want to be a hard player to play against and I think most of the top guys would tell you that I am a hard player to play against. I’m an honest player. I’m good with the puck, I’m good without the puck, I’m good positionally, and I’m good at defending. I take a lot of pride in that. And I always will. I think that’s how you win games and win championships.”
It’s disappointing that hockey media gets so focused on offensive production when considering their Norris candidates. I’m not saying Doughty’s play is Norris-worthy. But the lack of appreciation for overall play gets lost among the defenders who only care about offensive production when they are mere traffic cones defensively. Not Drew.
Drew Doughty is a winner. He has two Stanley Cup rings with the LA Kings, an Olympic Gold medal for Team Canada, and a World Junior Gold medal. And yet he still yearns for more.
He doesn’t care about points or individual awards. All he wants is to hoist the world’s greatest trophy over his head once again. That will be the biggest “F-you” to those who were so quick to write him off.
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