Karlsson trade 'quite a bit bigger' than Pacioretty, Doughty says

Drew Doughty saw Erik Karlsson and Max Pacioretty get traded into the Pacific Division this week, and the Los Angeles Kings defenseman said Friday he knows which one will have the bigger impact.

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"[The Pacioretty trade] doesn't really faze me," Doughty told the Los Angeles Times. "Obviously the Karlsson one's a little bit bigger. He's one of the best players in the whole League. It's a little bit different. Pacioretty brings a lot of speed on that wing. He can put the puck in the net. Pacioretty's going to make them better, there's no doubt about that. But the Karlsson trade's obviously quite a bit bigger."
Pacioretty was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights by the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. Four days later, Karlsson was traded to the San Jose Sharks by the Ottawa Senators.
Told of Doughty's analysis, Pacioretty with a laugh told the Las Vegas Review Journal, "I hadn't seen that. I've been pretty unplugged from social media, but you know what, this team has kind of built a reputation in a short amount of time on people doubting them, so maybe I can be a part of that situation now and use it as motivation."

The Golden Knights were one of the teams reportedly involved in trade talks with the Senators for Karlsson, going back to the NHL Trade Deadline in February. Pacioretty reportedly was almost traded to the Kings this offseason.
"There was a lot of talk, between Vegas and San Jose, so I kind of had that idea that [Karlsson] was going to end up in the Pacific Division," Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar said. "He's a really good player, obviously. I'm sure they're really happy to have him up there, but it doesn't change a whole lot for us."
Doughty jokingly said having Karlsson and Brent Burns at defenseman will change a lot for the Sharks, and maybe not in a good way.
"I'm questioning what's going to happen there, two all-star defensemen like that," Doughty told The Athletic. "They both want the puck all the time. They both want all the touches on the power play. You might see some turmoil there, you never know."
Doughty said he always looked forward to playing Karlsson and now gets to do so four times a season rather than two.
"It'll be so much fun and obviously it makes their team better, which we're not too happy about, in that sense, but it will make it more competitive and our teams are going to have some battles this year," Doughty told the Times.
Doughty signed an eight-year, $88 million contract this offseason, an average annual value of $11 million that was thought to set the market for Karlsson's next contract. Karlsson chose to not publicly address his contract situation with the Sharks after he was traded.
"It's important for me not to put any emphasis on outplaying him, but just playing the team game, and getting the win," Doughty told LA Kings Insider. "That's all that matters. It's not me against him, it's … two teams against each other, and we just both make our teams better. That's the only difference."