Drew Doughty reportedly turns down 9-year contract offer from Kings | ProHockeyTalk
It’s only a week until the Kings open their training camp and with each passing day, it looks like camp will start without the talented 21-year-old under contract. […] Respected NHL insider Nick Kypreos from Sports Net sent out this message late Thursday afternoon: “Where does LA go next after Doughty rejects multi offers including 9 yrs/61.2M. The 6.8 aav would have matched Kopitar’s as Kings highest”
It’s not clear to me whether this is a new nine year offer, or the old one (nine years, “approximately $6.5MM”) reported weeks ago. However, Lombardi did say he expected to hear back from Meehan in a couple of days, and now it’s we’re not talking in the press anymore. So it does seem like there has been fresh rejection.
Presumably, the 9-year term is the Kings’ idea. A deal of that nature would take Doughty until he was 30-years-old and would eat up four of his unrestricted free agent years.
Five. Doughty will have played the required 7 seasons after four more years. Provided, of course, he doesn’t sit this one out.*
*sorry
On the flip side, there have been rumors that the Doughty camp is looking for a 5-year deal that would take him right up to unrestricted free agency. […]
Again, unless I can’t add or read (which is possible; see the Garrett Roe post), that would eat up one of Doughty’s UFA years.
If he were to make $6.8m – $7m next season, he’d be in the Joe Thornton/Jarome Iginla/Zdeno Chara stratosphere of salaries. Not only are those players leaders of their individual teams (each is a captain), but those are all major award winners. Iginla’s won an Art Ross and a couple of Rocket Richard Trophies. Thornton’s won a Hart and Chara’s won a Norris. They’ve proven over time that they are elite players. Everyone assumes that Doughty will be an elite NHLer for years to come—but he hasn’t proven it over time. Yet. […]
Undoubtedly, Meehan’s argument assumes that Doughty has earned $6.8MM if Anze Kopitar earned it.
The specifics of the deal will have ramifications for the next 10-15 years. If the Kings can find a way to lock him up to an extended contract, they’ll have their young core securely in place for the foreseeable future. […] But if Doughty signs a five-year contact, just about every GM in the league will start putting their pennies in their piggy bank for a spending spree in 2016. A 27-year-old, unrestricted free agent elite defenseman?
In 2016, Doughty will be 26. In 2015, when he is first eligible to be a UFA, he will be 25. And that only magnifies the above point. If Lombardi gave Doughty five years, he would be looking at new UFA contracts for a 26 year-old Doughty and a 29 year-old Kopitar, on the same 7/1.