Thoughts On Doughty Negotiation
I’ve been thinking a bit about the Doughty negotiation, and I’ve had a few things come up that I feel are worth writing down. Forgive me for the somewhat disjointed nature of these thoughts, but I wrote them down as they came to me:
- Doughty’s deal just got much harder to see signed before training camp. Lombardi is going to have to make sure the Kings don’t get locked down to a ridiculous contract, and with that award Doughty is going to be able to ask for the moon.
- Hopefully Doughty is at least keeping in game shape. If and when a deal is eventually done, he’d better be ready to rock this season. Fans will likely be disappointed (angry?) if he signs a mega-deal and comes to camp out of shape.
- I’ve heard people discuss trading Doughty. It’s a terrible idea. If he is dealt now, there’s literally no chance that the Kings gets a good deal. Lombardi has virtually no leverage, since everyone knows that he’s stuck with this player he can’t sign. Why pay more than they have to?
- Any chance Lombardi is waiting on not only Weber, but that the real delaying factor is the Smyth question? If the NHL decides to void the trade entirely, the Kings have no cap room to make any kind of deal with Doughty until Smyth is moved (again)
- If the two sides can’t come to a reasonable long-term deal, maybe Lombardi signs a shorter term deal. It’s frustrating for fans who would love to see Doughty for the long-term, but if it gets him into camp and gets the team focused early, it could be a good move.
- With Kovalchuk last season, and Doughty this season, I’m pretty sure the Kings are earning a reputation as a true Hollywood team, milking every last bit of drama out there…