Drew Doughty Says He Wants to Stay with LA Kings, Team has More Potential

Drew Doughty wants to finish his career with the LA Kings.
"It's not that they had to show me or prove to me anything for me to sign here. I always wanted to be an LA King and I want to stay an LA King," Doughty said during the team's exit interviews at Toyota Sports Center today.
The 2018
Norris Trophy finalist
can begin discussing a contract extension with the Kings on July 1. His current contract expires at the end of the 2018-19 season.
"I'm a big part of this team, and I have to bring us back to those winning ways again. I take the responsibility along with our other leaders," Doughty said.
Doughty added that he likes the direction the front office is taking the team.
"[General Manager] Rob Blake and [President] Luc Robitaille, they took this job because they want to win and they want to transform this team into their winning ways again," Doughty said. "Whether or not they do a lot in the offseason, I don't know, but we have these young guys coming up that I think are going to make a difference. I think that shows me how much potential we have in the future and I'm good with it and I'm happy to hopefully re-sign here."

"It's our No. 1 priority," Blake said about Doughty's potential contract extension.
Keeping Doughty with the Kings, however, is a task that extends beyond the front office.
"I have already," Kings captain Anze Kopitar said with a smile when asked about when he'll start recruiting efforts to keep Doughty in Los Angeles. "And I can be pretty persuasive."
This season, Doughty set a career-high with 60 points (10 goals, 50 assists) while helping the Kings claim the
William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed in the NHL
. He also led the league in time on ice (2,200:31), while averaging 26:50 per game.
"He drives the play for our team, and we want Drew to be around here for his whole career," Kings assistant captain Jeff Carter said. "Hopefully, that happens."
He appeared in all 82 games for the Kings during the regular season and currently has the longest consecutive games played streak on the team (328, two shy of the franchise record set by Kopitar).
Doughty has spent his entire career with the Kings. He was selected No. 2 overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Since then, he has helped the Kings win two Stanley Cup Championships in 2012 and 2014, been a member of the 2010 and 2014 Gold Medal-winning Canadian Olympic teams along with the 2016 Gold Medal-winning Canadian World Cup team, and took home the Norris Trophy as the league's Top Defenseman in 2016.
He'll look to add another Norris Trophy to his mantle at the 2018 NHL Awards on June 20.
"I have to thank my teammates, my coaches, especially my [defensive] partners. Without them, I wouldn't have had this opportunity to be up for the Norris. We kind of look at more of a team award than an individual award," Doughty said.