The Los Angeles Kings have been dealt a major blow.
The team announced on Monday that defenseman Drew Doughty has undergone successful wrist surgery and that he’ll miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season, along with the playoffs. The Kings also said that they expect Doughty to be ready for the 2022-23 season.
Doughty came flying out of the gate with seven points in his first four games but he got injured in L.A.’s fourth game of the season when he collided with Dallas Stars defender Jani Hakanpaa. He wound up missing one month of play with a right knee contusion.
Doughty returned to the Kings in late November and manned the team’s top defensive pairing for nearly four months before going down with what was described as an undisclosed injury. The last time Doughty suited up for the Kings was on March 7 in a win over the Boston Bruins.
Since then, the Kings have gone 6-7-3 and have slid behind the Edmonton Oilers into third place in the Pacific Division. They’re currently two points up on the Vegas Golden Knights, another team dealing with major injury troubles.
All told, Doughty appeared in a career-low 39 games this season. He scored seven goals and 31 points and logged an average of 25:44 per game.
Doughty turned 32 years old in December and he has five years left on a contract worth $11 million annually.
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