While Senators blueliner Erik Karlsson has drawn all of the headlines as he gets closer to hitting unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2019, he isn’t the only prominent defender set to do so as Drew Doughty of the Kings is in a similar boat. Many believe that Karlsson is on his way out of Ottawa but Doughty’s future doesn’t appear to be as certain.
In his latest podcast, TSN’s Bob McKenzie examines Doughty’s situation. In particular, he points out the Kings’ prior hesitance to have the blueliner make more than center Anze Kopitar and if that’s the case once again, that could wind up stalling things. Kopitar checks in at a $10MM cap hit but with the salary cap expected to increase and the threat of hitting the open market, Doughty could conceivably check in above that on his next contract.
Elsewhere in the West:
- While Sharks center Joe Thornton has resumed skating, head coach Peter DeBoer told Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the 38-year-old will not be ready to play in Game One of the postseason next week. Thornton has been working his way back from MCL surgery in late January so there remains no firm timetable for his return. DeBoer did note that their other injured players (including fellow forwards Evander Kane, Eric Fehr, and Barclay Goodrow) should all be ready when the puck drops on the postseason.
- The Jets may be without defenseman Jacob Trouba for their regular season finale on Saturday night but head coach Paul Maurice noted to reporters, including TSN’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link) that he should be ready for the start of the playoffs. The bench boss also indicated that the injury is related to the lower-body issue that kept him out for 20 games this season, one that he returned from just a few weeks ago.