Entering the season, Drew Doughty was considered one of the Top 3 most important players on the Los Angeles Kings alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. That is why, during the preseason, there was some serious concern about what the season might look like as Drew Doughty suffered a broken ankle that would cost him over half the season.
The good news was that players like Mikey Anderson and Vladislav Gavrikov stepped up and helped the Kings remain as one of the top defensive teams this season. When Drew Doughty returned, the expectation was that this group would only get better.
However, it seemed like the ankle injury impacted Drew Doughty for most of the season, and he didn't play at the same level that fans have come to expect. He would play in 30 regular season games and had four goals with 13 assists and a +/- of +9.
The Kings would give him some games off towards the end of the regular season to try and keep him fresh for the playoffs. In the playoffs, Hiller leaned on Doughty even more as his time on ice jumped to over 27 minutes, but he struggled with the extra work and had a +/- of -7 in those six games.
Grade for Drew Doughty's 2024-25 season with the Los Angeles Kings: C-
The reason that Doughty received the grade he did is that the expectations are high in terms of what he can mean to this team. He has been an integral part of their success, but this past season, he didn't look like the same player.
The question now is whether the ankle was a majority of the decline or if fans are starting to see Doughty move from being that top defenseman to more of a support role in the latter part of his career. That won't be answered until next season and it will be interesting to see how the LA Kings try to figure that out.