The Los Angeles Kings had some tough news from last night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The news from today is an injury as Drew Doughty suffered a fracture to his left ankle. Frank Seravalli reports that there is further testing scheduled for today to see if there’s any additional structural damage. Anyone who seen the play from the game, could tell that it was an awkward collision that Doughty had experienced. As of right now, there is no indication of a possible timeline for how long he will be out. Maybe that will come once a more exact diagnosis is completed based on today’s testing.
Drew Doughty Will Miss Time With Injury
Doughty has had quite the career thus far. The upcoming 2024-25 campaign will be his 17th career NHL season. He was looking to continue his high-level of play that he has been able to maintain thus far. In each of the last two campaigns, he has played 81 or more games, and recorded 50 or more points. Furthermore, his career ice time is 26:13, and was still at 25:48 last year. On a team that finished third in the NHL’s Pacific Division last year, Doughty still gets it done.
What Does This Mean for the Rest of the Kings Defence
Based on ice time alone, but also other factors, like veteran leadership, it is not difficult to see that this injury is a blow to the Kings defence. They are already trying to cope with the loss of Matt Roy on defence from last year’s roster. He signed a six-year deal with the Washington Capitals on July 1st. There are some newcomers, such as Joel Edmundson and Caleb Jones. However, the one player who will be a bit lost is Mikey Anderson.
Last season, Doughty and he played 1156 minutes together as a pairing. Doughty has been instrumental in Anderson’s career development so far. This injury will give opportunity to players who otherwise wouldn’t have gotten a shot, but it seems that the Kings top four will suffer as a direct result of Doughty’s injury. Hopefully he doesn’t miss too much time, and comes back to make his case as a veteran addition to Team Canada’s blueline at the 4Nations Face-Off in February 2025.
Main Photo Credit: Bob Frid – USA TODAY Sports
