EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Kings believe they are still Stanley Cup contenders, even after being swept by the upstart Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. How close they are to that goal might be reflected in how negotiations go with
General manager Rob Blake said Friday that working out a contract extension with Doughty is the team's top priority. The Kings and Doughty can begin holding talks on July 1, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the 2018-19 season.
"I always wanted to be an LA King and I want to stay an LA King," Doughty said.
Doughty is one of three finalists for the Norris Trophy presented to the league's top
"I wasn't too happy with my goal totals this year," Doughty said. "I think I only maybe scored one or two one-timer goals, which in my career probably half of my goals are one-timer goals, so I was pretty disappointed about that this year. I can definitely improve on that and have an even better season and hopefully set some new career-highs."
The Kings scored just three goals in four games against the Golden Knights. Developing a more reliable
"Everybody is still here that was here in '14 and almost in '12 for that matter, too, so we're not that far off,"
CAREER YEARS
Kopitar set personal bests with 35 goals and 57 assists while averaging a career-high 22:05 of playing time. His 92 points represented a 40-point improvement over his
FORWARD THINKING
Rookie Adrian Kempe was fourth on the team with 16 goals despite not finding the back of the net in the final 29 games of the regular season. Stepping in at
"I'm pretty sure he'll be the first one to tell you he can offer more, and that's a learning process," Kopitar said. "That's his first full year in the league. Speaking from experience, it takes a little bit of time to figure out your routines and what's working for you and what's not."
LOOKING FOR DEPTH
Short of dealing in the
HOME IMPROVEMENT NEEDED
The Kings went 23-15-3 at home, the second-fewest wins by a playoff team. It seemed like they were getting better as the season went on, going 9-4-0 down the stretch, only to lose both home playoff games and fall to 0-5 at Staples Center in their last two postseasons. Their 118 goals at home in the regular season was tied for 21st in the NHL. The power play contributed 25
COMING ATTRACTION
Clearly in need of more contributors on
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Dan Greenspan, The Associated Press