Doughty misses camaraderie of locker room with Kings

Drew Doughty misses the camaraderie in the locker room. He misses the chirps, the stories, the dinners, and the laughs.

"As much as it's fun playing in front of fans and playing in games, some of the best parts about hockey are being in the locker room with the guys," the defenseman said Monday during a conference call arranged by the Los Angeles Kings. "That's what you miss. Going in the room and looking forward to just laughing all the time and hearing stories from the young guys, or the old guys about their kids. That's the best part about hockey. When I retire one day, I'll obviously miss playing in front of the fans and just playing hockey in general, but the thing I'll miss is just going to work and being with a great group of guys every day. I miss the guys a lot."

The NHL season was paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus with no timetable for when, or if, it might resume. And if the season does resume, it has not been determined whether the remaining regular-season games will be played or just jump straight into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Doughty has since returned to his home in London, Ontario, with his wife, Nicole, and their two young children. He's trying to stay optimistic that he'll return to Los Angeles to be with his teammates and finish the season, but even that is hard to do.

"I'm ready for whatever happens," Doughty said.

Staying motivated so he can be ready has been Doughty's biggest challenge.

The Kings (29-35-6) are in seventh place in the Pacific Division, 14 points behind the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, so the likelihood of Doughty playing comes down to whether the League decides to finish the regular season.

"I'm working out because I know I have to be," Doughty said. "I don't know what I'm working out for exactly."

The good news, Doughty said, is working out isn't a problem when there is little else to do in his life at home during quarantine.

"If we were able to go out and do other things, it would be really hard to stay motivated to go into the gym every day and workout not knowing when you could possibly play next," Doughty said. "But because we have nothing to do and we're locked up at home, it's pretty easy to get your workout in."

Doughty typically does his workout in the afternoon after he's eaten lunch with the kids. They go for a nap, and he goes for a workout.

He said he had weights at his house that he ordered last summer, but he's added to his home gym through orders on Amazon since returning from California. His equipment and skates are still in Los Angeles, but that's not a problem because there's no open ice for Doughty to use anyway.

Doughty also has a tennis court in his backyard, so he's been hitting returns served at him from his ball machine. But the kids also keep him and his wife busy, which is another reason why they went back to London, so they could have the extra space they don't have in Los Angeles.

"I'm really happy I've been able to take a little bit off her shoulders and help out as much as I can, getting up at night and trying to do as much just to spend the time with them," Doughty said. "Once you have a kid for the first time, you realize it's the best thing about life. Not that hockey has taken a backseat or anything, but my family will always be No. 1 for me, so I'm happy to spend the time with them."