Doughty motivated by new Kings captaincy: 'I want to win a championship'

Becoming captain of the Los Angeles Kings isn’t just another accolade on a lengthy list of accomplishments for Drew Doughty.

It's a dream come true for the 36-year-old defenseman, who has had a connection to the Kings since he was a young kid in London, Ontario.

“I think everyone knows this, but I had LA Kings pillow covers and LA Kings stuff all over my walls in my bedroom, and only had LA Kings jerseys,” Doughty said Thursday. “So, yeah, I can’t believe how this all played out.”

Doughty has become the franchise’s standard-bearer for defensemen for 18 seasons since the Kings selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. He holds nearly every major record at the position, including points (709), goals (165), assists (544) and games played (1,279) and the same is true in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where Doughty has 61 points (19 goals, 42 assists) in 105 games.

But Doughty’s biggest successes were helping the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2012, the first in team history, and again in 2014. His main goal as the organization’s 15th captain is to help them return to such heights, having failed to win a playoff series since defeating the New York Rangers in five games in the 2014 Cup Final.

The Kings have been eliminated in the Western Conference First Round in five straight seasons, including a four-game sweep to the Colorado Avalanche in April.

“That’s what I keep playing for,” Doughty said. “I want to win a championship. Everyone in this room wants to win a championship, and we want to win that Stanley Cup. So that’s all I care about, and that’s what I’ll be pushing this team to hopefully accomplish.”

Doughty has been part of the leadership group since 2016-17, named an alternate captain when Anze Kopitar replaced Dustin Brown as captain. He feels no pressure in succeeding Kopitar, who retired after 20 seasons in the NHL, all with the Kings.

The often outspoken and feisty Doughty admits he does bring a different leadership style than the typically calm and reserved Kopitar.

“‘Kopi’ is more of a quiet, you know, showing the teammates what to do (leader). I’m more of a loud, emotional leader. I do those things as well, but we’re different in that sense, and that’s why me and ‘Kopi’ kind of led together,” Doughty said.

“I feel a little added pressure to be a great leader, for sure, but I don’t think it comes from the Kopitar thing.”

Doughty received a congratulatory text message on Wednesday night from Kopitar, but the conversation quickly turned to how Kopitar and his family are doing after returning to his native Slovenia.

Adrian Kempe was the first player to reach out to Doughty after the announcement was made, and general manager Ken Holland said the 30-year-old Swedish forward was among the top candidates for the vacancy.

Kempe will remain an alternate captain, along with defenseman Mikey Anderson. Forward Artemi Panarin joins the group as the third alternate captain in his first full season with the Kings after being acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4. 

“I feel that we’ve got lots of good leaders in the locker room,” Holland said. “But it just felt as (head coach) Peter (Laviolette) and I talked, and we talked to Drew — I think you can feel Drew’s passion and how proud he is for this responsibility. It just felt natural to make Drew the next captain.”