Doughty wants to ‘play until over 40,’ win another Stanley Cup championship with Kings

Welcome to the NHL Chat Room, NHL.com's weekly Q&A feature where we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. This week, we feature Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.

WASHINGTON -- As Drew Doughty approaches his 37th birthday on Dec. 8, the Los Angeles Kings defenseman naturally has reasons to contemplate how much longer he wants to continue playing.

Doughty has seen longtime teammates and peers retire and this, his 19th NHL season, is the final season of his eight-year, $88 million contract. But he believes he has a few more seasons left in him.

“I think I can play until over 40,” Doughty said last week. “I believe I can. I’ve just got to stay healthy. The want to do it hasn't dropped, so, until I lose that, I'm not going to retire.”

Like former teammates Dustin Brown (18 seasons) and Anze Kopitar (20 seasons), Doughty hopes to play his entire career with Los Angeles, the team that selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft and with which he won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 and the Norris Trophy as the League’s top defenseman in 2016. And Kings general manager Ken Holland said during the offseason that he intends to re-sign Doughty before he can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027.

Although contract talks with Holland have yet to advance beyond the preliminary stage, Doughty made it clear he’s willing to do whatever it takes to remain with Los Angeles.

“He knows what I want. I believe he wants me to stay,” Doughty said. “We just haven't talked about it yet. I feel like I'm performing better than I have in my past two seasons. So, I think that I'll take a team-friendly deal and stay in L.A. That's my plan.”

Doughty doesn’t know how that would translate as far as salary and contract structure, but said, “I'm going to do everything I can to help us, the team, the L.A. Kings.”

Doughty said Holland is aware of his willingness to be flexible to the Kings’ benefit. So, it would seem it’s just a matter of figuring out the details once Holland sits down with his agent, Pat Brisson.

“Yeah, I think so. I don't know,” Doughty said. “He might have other plans. I don't know exactly. I don't think he does, but I don't know exactly. So, we'll see what happens.”

Doughty holds the Kings records for defensemen for points (710), goals (165), assists (545) and regular-season games (1,288), including one assist while averaging 20:58 in ice time in nine games this season heading into the finale of a five-game road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABTV, CHSN).

He spoke to NHL.com about the state of the Kings (2-5-2), succeeding Kopitar as captain, the letter he sent to Wayne Gretzky when he was 5 years old, Alex Ovechkin’s final NHL season with the Washington Capitals, and more.

The Kings got off to a slow start, losing the first six games (0-4-2). Do you take those struggles on you more when you’re the captain?

“Actually, it's probably about the same because back when I was younger, a lot of pressure was on me to perform in all areas of the ice. I had a lot more responsibility back then, played a lot more minutes. Now, I play less minutes, don't have power-play responsibility and stuff like that, so it's probably about the same. Now that I've become captain and I don't have the same responsibilities, I feel the shame of losing about the same, I would say.”

When Kopitar retired after last season, you said you wanted to be the next captain. So, what did it mean to you when you were given the role on Sept. 16?

“It meant everything to me. I know I'm a very good leader. I know the boys in here think I'm a great leader. But it was really never something I thought I wanted until I got older, and it's nice to get the recognition, I guess, sometimes.”

What do you think changed from not wanting the captaincy when you were younger?

“I just kind of naturally went into that role. I like doing it, but when I was younger, I was maybe too scared to do it, and then my confidence grew and I was more comfortable doing it. It just happened. I didn't make a conscious decision to try to improve or anything. It just kind of happened.”

What did you learn from watching Brown and Kopitar as captains before you that maybe could help you with the role?

“Both of them were pretty good at not being too high or too low. ‘Kopi’ was the best at it, but ‘Brownie’ was pretty good at it too. They just kind of stayed even keeled throughout the whole season. Whether we lost five in a row or won five in a row, they didn't change their attitudes very much. I’m a lot different than them in that sense. I’m more emotional. I’m more up and down. So, just something I've learned now that I'm captain is that (you need to be even keeled), and I'm trying to stay more level with my feelings.”

You were teammates with Kopitar for 18 seasons. Is it strange not having him around now?

“It was at the beginning, for sure, like very strange. I'm used to it now, but it was definitely weird at the start.”

Do you still keep in touch with him?

“Yep. Talked to him a couple times, saw him a few times this summer. Yeah, he's someone I'll keep in touch with my entire life.”

Speaking of former Kings captains, you posted a letter you wrote to Wayne Gretzky when you were 5 years old on Instagram a few weeks ago. How did that letter come back to you?

“My mom had it. She said the Kings were doing some documentary or something on me, something like that, so they wanted her to bring that note, and she had kept it. So, she photocopied it and brought it. Then, my mom was like, ‘Have you ever seen it?’ And I was like, ‘No, I've never seen it.’ I remember writing it and him sending me a picture, but I didn't remember what I said or any of that. So, I had never read it, and I thought it was kind of cool, so I posted it.”

The Kings are kind of in transition with some younger players moving into bigger roles. How do you see that transition going?

“They're trying to give the keys to the young guys. We’ve got some good veteran players and if our team wants to be successful, it's going to be up to (the younger players) to take the keys and run with it. That's just the bottom line.”

Have you been trying to pass things along to younger players such as Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke?

“Yeah, I've talked to them privately many times and told them, ‘It's your turn now. It's your time.’ I'm still going push them and I'm still going try to get as much ice time as I can and still do all that. But I'm 37 years old in two months, and if the team wants to go where we need to go, it's on those two, really.”

Ovechkin announced earlier this month that this is going to be his final NHL season. Your teams are in different conferences, so you didn’t face each other a lot, but you always seemed to enjoy the matchup. What are you going to miss about playing against the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer?

“I thought we had some good battles when we were younger. I’d try to run him, he’d try to run me. Then he’d probably score a goal, and I would probably break up a good play on him too. So, I felt like we always had kind of a fun rivalry when we played each other in my first like 14 years or whatever it was. But it (stinks) he's retiring. I'll miss seeing him over there. I won't miss having to block that one-(timer) on the PK, but what a career. And he's an awesome guy too. I got to hang out with him at the All-Star Game once. I just sat in the room and had some beers with him, and I laughed a lot that day. He was awesome. So, sad to see him go.”

What motivates you at this stage of your career?

“The Stanley Cup, that's what motivates me. I love being around my teammates. When I retire, I'll be crying like a baby, I'll tell you that much. I just love the game of hockey. I love the families that we create in hockey, and I love the competition the most. And to try to get a Cup.”