Drew Doughty: Final Year in LA, Leadership Role

0:00On April 30, Drew Dowdy, the 36-year-old King's defenseman, is dead set on retiring in Los Angeles after 18 seasons with the team. He's heading into the final year of his 8-year, $88 million deal, and despite a down year with just 23 points in, 72 games, he wants the bounce back strong, no contract talks yet, but he's all in on staying put. This season saw his ice time lead the Kings at 23 minutes 5 seconds per game, though his offensive role shrank thanks to Rising Star. Brandt Clarts break out with 40 points. Dowdy's still the franchise record holder for defenseman and points, goals, assists, and games, plus playoff stats with two Stanley Cups and a body as and, Norris Trophy, under his belt. Team mates and Dowdy himself, no leadership's key, after Anzay Kopotar's retirement following 20 seasons as Captain. Dowdy's been an alternate since the 2015-16 season and grew into the role, saying it had mean everything to take over.

1:00Other names like Adrian Kempi and Mikey Anderson both alternates this year are in the mix too. Joel Edminson pointed out, no one replaces Kopotar alone. He was one of a kind, but the group has to step up. With playoff sweeps piling up, Dowdy even offered to cut his minutes if it helps the team push deeper, eyeing success alongside Vets mentoring the young guns. This has been NHL News Today powered by AI.