Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Los Angeles Kings Extend Drew Doughty And Announce Ilya Kovachuk Signing

07/01/2018 at 2:20pm EDT

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings and defenseman Drew Doughty have agreed to terms on an eight-year contract, Kings Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake announced today. Doughty’s contract carries an AAV of $11,000,000.

The 28-year-old Doughty (born Dec. 8, 1989) is a 6-1, 200-pound native of London, Ontario who has played every game of his NHL career with the Kings, since being drafted second overall by the team in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Last season he posted a career-high 60 points (10-50=60), a plus-20 rating and 54 penalty minutes, while skating in all 82 regular season games for the fourth consecutive season (328 consecutive games played, just two games shy of tying Anze Kopitar’s record for most consecutive games played by a King). Along with his career-high in points, he also tallied a career-high in assists last season and led the NHL in TOI/Gm (26:50).

During his 10-year NHL career, Doughty has appeared in 770 regular season games, and tallied 422 points (102-320=422), a plus-93 rating and 555 penalty minutes. He currently ranks second on the Kings all-time list among defensemen in goals, assists and points (trailing only Blake in all three categories), and third in games played. He is also the second Kings player (Blake won in 1998) to win the Norris Trophy (league’s best defenseman), as he took home the award in 2016. He has been named to four consecutive NHL All-Star Games as well and is a three-time NHL First Team All Star (2017-18, 2015-16 and 2008-09) and a two-time NHL Second Team All Star (2014-15 and 2009-10).

Doughty has also appeared in 84 postseason games with the Kings, and is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion (2012 and 2014). In those 84 games, he has 51 points (16-35=51) and 66 penalty minutes. He leads the Kings all-time among defensemen in games played, goals, assist, points, and is tied for first in power play goals (6) during the playoffs.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings signed forward Ilya Kovalchuk to a three-year contract, Kings Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake announced today. Kovalchuk’s contract carries an AAV of $6,250,000. Kovalchuk will wear number 17.

Ilya Kovalchuk, who is currently in Russia, is expected to travel to Los Angeles and be available to the media informally at the Toyota Sports Center on Saturday, July 14. More details to be announced. The Kings Communications Department did secure “quick quotes” from Kovalchuk prior to his departure. Please reach out to Mike Kalinowski or Eddie Fischermann to request the audio file.

The 35-year-old Kovalchuk (born April 15, 1983) is a 6-3, 230-pound native of Tver, Russia who last appeared in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils during the 2012-13 season. A first overall selection of the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Kovalchuk was a point-per-game player, appearing in 816 regular-season games with the Thrashers and Devils, posting 816 points (417-399=816) and 516 penalty minutes. From 2001 to 2013, no active player scored more goals than Kovalchuk’s 417. He has had two 50-plus goal seasons, and cleared the 40-goal plateau six consecutive years (2003-04 to 2009-10). His 0.51 goals-per-game percentage ranks 18th all-time in league history.

During his 11 NHL seasons, he tied for the Maurice Richard Trophy once (2003-04), was selected to three All-Star games (2003-04, 2007-08 and 2008-09), was selected as a First Team All-Star in 2011-12 and a Second Team All-Star in 2003-04.

“The most important thing -- when I met with Luc [Robitaille] and Rob [Blake] and we had a great talk -- is that the team is really good with a great core of guys who have already won. They know how to win and that is my goal, to win the Cup. I want to help the team be better and try to accomplish that goal,” said Kovalchuk as to why he decided to join the Kings.

More Kovalchuk Accomplishments:

Kovalchuk debuted as an 18-year-old during the 2001-02 season, and he was a Calder Trophy Finalist and a First Team All-Rookie player that year after scoring 29 goals and 51 points for the Atlanta Thrashers despite missing 17 games because of an injury.

He led the NHL with 27 regular season power-play goals in 2005-06.

In 32 career Stanley Cup playoff games, Kovalchuk has 27 career points (11-16=27). His eight goals and 19 points (8-11=19) helped lead New Jersey to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, where the Devils lost to the Kings in six games. His eight playoff goals in 2012 tied for first and he led all playoff scorers in 2012 with five power-play goals.

Kovalchuk ended the 2011–12 season with seven game-deciding shootout goals and 11 shootout goals in total. Both numbers represent NHL records for most game-deciding goals and most shootout goals in one season. He has scored on 38.7 percent of his shootout attempts during his NHL career (24 for 62). He also has 11 career game-deciding shootout goals, tied for seventh all-time.

· Kovalchuk has 14 career overtime goals. Those 14 goals rank eighth all-time in the NHL and second among active players (only Alexander Ovechkin has more with 22 career OTG).

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by Cigar-Nurse in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 1 hour ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry The Downward Spiral Continues For The Wings - 1 hour ago
Comment by damndogrevenge in Abel to Yzerman from the entry The Downward Spiral Continues For The Wings - 2 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 9 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 9 hours ago