Did I read that right?
The ball appears to be in the Kings’ court in talks with Drew Doughty – latimes.com
It’s apparently up to the Kings to end the long lull in talks on a new contract for restricted free agent defenseman Drew Doughty.
Don Meehan […] said Tuesday he hadn’t spoken to the Kings about Doughty since June 23. […] It’s believed the Kings are offering up to nine years at more than $6.5 million per year.
“I think he’d be happy to stay if we agree upon terms that are acceptable to him,” Meehan said. “And those are our instructions, to negotiate with L.A. on that basis to secure something that he’d be happy with.”
Unless he’s planning on playing on another continent, he’s staying whether he would be happy to or not. He’s a restricted free agent. He will sign a contract by December 1 or sit out the season.
Grrrrr.
[…] “I know how important Drew Doughty is to the Los Angeles Kings on a going-forward basis,” Meehan said. “I think that’s something that they’re very well aware of and they know what they have to do. […]”
Am I supposed to read that as “the Kings know how important Doughty is to them,” or “the Kings know that I know how important Doughty is to them”?
Doughty is an important part of the Kings, but if he sits the year out, I’m happy to let Viatcheslav Voynov, Nicolas Deslauriers, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez — oh, and that Jack Johnson guy — pick up the slack.
Send him to New Jersey for Zach Parise and Adam Larsson.