Articles, Hockey

Congrats, Mr Doughty

Drew Doughty, that fella wearing number eight for the Los Angeles Kings is about to add ‘Conn Smythe winner’ to his resume. This will sit nicely beside ‘two-time Olympic gold medallist’, ‘two-time Stanley Cup champion’, ‘Norris trophy nominee’ and ‘filthy, stinkin’ rich cat who let’s face it ought to be able to afford better hair care’.

Drew Doughty puts his obscenely well-paid proof in the pudding. Actual pudding during the off-season, and outrageously solid play from October to June. Photo gleaned from the interweb.
Drew Doughty puts his obscenely well-paid proof in the pudding. Actual pudding during the off-season, and outrageously solid play from October to June. Photo gleaned from the interweb.

Godawful facial growth aside, Doughty is every bit the MVP, anchoring the back end of the most feared defense in the land. At just 24, he’s got credentials among active NHLers only rivalled by countrymen Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby. Barring injury, and assuming he doesn’t get bored, he’ll have built a Hall of Fame career long before he hits the traditional defenseman’s peak of 30 years old.

Doughty hasn’t been the only solid performer for the Kings. Offensively, this team that was 26th in league scoring during the regular season has upped their game like nobody’s business. Over 24 games so far, they’ve amassed a remarkable 3.50 goals per game — the top four scorers in these playoffs are LA Kings, and our man Drew, the top-scoring defenseman, is seventh overall.

Defensively, LA isn’t bottling teams up quite as effectively as they did during the regular season; they’re just seventh best in goals allowed per game, largely due to getting shellacked by the San Jose Sharks in the first three games of these here playoffs. I’ll be damned if Jon Quick didn’t dip his paddle in magic sauce before his game three shutout — this save he made on Derick Brassard early on was of the ohmagerd variety, no matter what team you cheer for — but let’s be honest, Quick isn’t even in the Conn Smythe discussion this year.

Jonathan Quick hasn't delivered the performance that won him a Conn Smythe trophy in 2012, but this game three stop on Derick Brassard was a beauty. Photo cribbed from the web.
Jonathan Quick hasn’t delivered the performance that won him a Conn Smythe trophy in 2012, but this game three stop on Derick Brassard was a beauty. Photo cribbed from the web.

Okay, sure, technically the Rangers still have a shot. Lundqvist shut the door in game four, despite the Kings pouring on the pressure in the third. But the fact is, the first Rangers win of the Final came when Los Angeles figured out their game. It would take a truckload of bounces — not to mention Rick Nash finally scoring a meaningful goal or two — for the Rangers to make this a series.

My prediction: when the Kings put the spurs to the blueshirts on Friday night, Drew Doughty will walk away from the Staples Centre with the playoff MVP award.

Remember three summers ago? Doughty held out for a new deal, and missed the entirety of the Los Angeles Kings training camp. He signed an 8-year, $56-million contract, then came into the regular season overweight and heavily criticized, by media and fans alike. Now he’s the best $7-million deal in this man’s NHL.

Now somebody get the guy a decent barber.