News Article: 6 reasonable reactions to Drew Doughty’s free agency comments

[willmma]

6 reasonable reactions to Drew Doughty's free agency comments - Sportsnet.ca

Drew Doughty opened up a can of worms (again) this week when he told Craig Custance of The Athletic that he has been pondering his impending free agency.
Doughty said he believes he should earn more than P.K. Subban; that he and fellow 2019 UFA Erik Karlsson will discuss their approach to the open market, and he opened up about how much he loves Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock. Juicy stuff, all of it.
Honest? Harmless? Flirtatious? Insulting? Strategic? Disruptive?
There are several viewpoints from which to unpack Doughty’s comments.
Here are six reasonable reactions.

1. The Kings absolutely do not need this nonsense.
2. Doughty is giving us an unfiltered peek behind the curtain.
3. This is the last thing the Ottawa Senators need right now.
4. P.K. Subban probably didn’t enjoy having his name mentioned like this.
5. He’s just being honest: Toronto is awesome.
6. Let’s not get carried away. This is just Drew being Drew.

Click to read more...

 

[Nithoniniel]

People have always been itching for players to drop the media-trained answers and just talk honestly. This is how that looks. If a hockey analyst had taken a look at Doughty's situation and said more or less exactly the same things, we'd likely have said that it's a spot on read on the situation. Doughty was just being candid, and the way his words get disassembled to guess at hidden motivations by some is exactly why players revert to the media-trained answers to begin with.

 

[TMLeafs17]

He can laugh all the way to the bank if he wants, but it won’t be on our dime.

 

[Menzinger]

He speaks his mind, I find that refreshing.

He’s also more or less bluntly saying that it’s going to take a dump truck full of money to sign him. Ie perhaps as high as 11-12 million.

 

[rent free]

he's gonna get paid who cares what he says.

 

[firstemperor]

As I've said in the past, Doughty- along with some of his other superstar peers in the upcoming UFA class are really the mainstream when it comes to post-cap superstars hitting into their UFA years in their prime.

It's kind of unpredictable what's going to happen. I liken it to the NBA.....when Lebron left for the first time and started a general wave of stars/superstars bolting or moving. Don't think the NHL will be anywhere near as extreme, as the cap inherently is more intolerant of such moves.....but in general, I do think the Leafs have a good shot at Doughty if we backed the brink trucks. Just not sure if he's worth that price tag.....but moreso, term.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

Sounds like him and Karlsson are planning to jump ship together, trying to pull a Lebron

 

[Welsh Maple Leaf]

He clearly wants to be the highest played defenseman in the league - how do we sign him and sign the rest of our players

 

[Buds17]

1. Can't help, but it's what happens when a name player at a valued position theoretically gets closer to UFA.
2. Mentioned he'd like to win the Cup and be well-paid. Can't find fault with that.
3. See #1 (same goes for all teams really)
4. Believe he's the biggest cap hit for all D (all three guys are also RD), so not too surprised.
5. Winning a Cup here would certainly be something. It's an upside that can potentially mitigate any downside.
6. Makes for good discussion.

 

[Buds17]

Sounds like him and Karlsson are planning to jump ship together, trying to pull a Lebron

Selanne and Kariya to Colorado part II

 

[Raymondo316]

As much as id love Doughty on the Leafs, no way could we fit him in at 9-10 mill a year.

 

[Trapper]

As much as id love Doughty on the Leafs, no way could we fit him in at 9-10 mill a year.

We could.
It's not popular but if I'm paying Matthews/Doughty the dollars, I'd choose one of Nylander/Marner and move one in a Sergachev deal if I had too. It could be for a couple of pieces, a young power forward, decent center or 2 really good prospects ready to crack the roster for more depth. I've got Kadri/Rielly locked up, Dermott/Lily won't be expensive until further notice.

 

[Albi34]

nonsense, if the opportunity presented itself, you make room for a 27 year old top 3 dman lol. someone else can go

 

[MapleLeafs9]

Sounds like him and Karlsson are planning to jump ship together, trying to pull a Lebron

Not a chance lol, they're both #1 right handed right D's that will get $11M+ per on the market. No team is signing them both at once.

 

[Critical13]

Not a chance lol, they're both #1 right handed right D's that will get $11M+ per on the market. No team is signing them both at once.

Every once in a while, I am brought back to the reality that we will never get Doughty. 11 million won't fit.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Sounds like him and Karlsson are planning to jump ship together, trying to pull a Lebron

Think of the outrage . How good two good ol' hockey boys do such a thing?

 

[Al14]

Doughty is just going to be using our Leafs as a negotiation ploy on his next contract with L.A. Just guessing.

We might have a better chance at signing Karlsson.

However, I doubt either ends up as a Leaf.

 

[FlareKnight]

In the end not even thinking about Doughty. He'll use the Leafs to get more money from wherever he ends up. We're not backing up the truck for him and messing up the cap structure. He can mess up a team's cap situation and cripple their chances to win. He's already got his championships.

Nothing wrong with him going that route. He wants to get paid and he has the ability to warrant that. 31 teams now. No doubt he'll find plenty willing to pay his asking price.

 

[TorMapleJays]

Heard drew is kind of a jerk from people who party in maskoka

 

[member 262271]

He sure likes to speak his mind and whip up the ol' TO media frenzy. Whole lot of nothing to see here, though.

 

[jrgtml67]

Remember when everyone wouldnt step up for Marleau or Jumbo joe? Same thing

Its impossible to get one guy esp D at this caliber unless you draft them. This is unique in the opportunity sense.

Cap goes to 80 82mill we can surely fit one of them. Would doughty take a discount? Prob not would nylander marner and matthews to allow us to get a franchise Dman...i would say yes. Nothing is guaranteed but the chance is there. Say each of our 3 take 1 to 1.5mill cut thats 3 to 4.5m in savings which is a bit less than half what the 2 D would ask. Lose jvr, bozak, komarov or a combo of any 2 of them that frees 3-5million more..bingo

 

[Voodoo Child]

Leafs: 'Mr Doughty, welcome, please have a seat.'

Doughty: 'Happy to be here.'

L: 'Were prepared to offer you 66.5 over 7 years, a cap hit of 9.5, but we're going to structure it so you get 30 of it over the first two years...every July 2nd, you're gonna get a big fat bonus check!'

D: 'I don't know...I said 'a lot more than Subban'...half a mil a year isn't 'a lot' to me.'

L: 'Um, to 99% of the population it is...'

D: 'You know what I mean...'

L: '...No, but I know what you mean when you said 'I wanna win cups'. How close to winning a cup has L.A. been in the last half decade? We already got Matthews in at 11, Willy and Mitch at 6.5 each, and we still gotta pay Patty Marleau 6.75 for one more year. Add in Naz and Zaitsev at 4.5 each, Freddy and Morgan at 5 each and that's 49.75, before we even tender this offer, which if you take it is almost 60...the cap is (my estimation) 82, and we have other guys signed.'

D: 'What are you getting at?''

L: 'How are we gonna manage the cap if we give you more? Are you really trying to say you deserve as much or more than Matthews does? You know that signing you means Jake goes out the door, don't you?'

D: 'No, it's just that...'

L: 'Who told you to take less than you're worth on your last deal? If it was your agent I hope you fired them.'

D: 'I was doing the queens a favor because I wanted us to win.'

L: 'And that's what we're trying to do...feel free to consider the offer, but it's final, good day!.'

The pragmatic approach. Karlsson is worth an 8 figure contract...Doughty not so much. He really wants to win cups he can take the more than fair 9.5 a year offer, maybe I would jump to 10.5 if he took a year less.

I'm glad he's at least honest.

 

[Tonka]

The last thing he cares about is Cups. He already won 2 and won the Norris. Dude is looking to get paid. Once he gets his payday, don't be surprised to see him start lazing. And don't be surprised if he breaks his career highs on his contract year.

Not worth more than $8 million, I'd be hesitant to pay him more than $7.

Only defenseman I'd want to pay $9 is Hedman.

 

[Menzinger]

Remember when everyone wouldnt step up for Marleau or Jumbo joe? Same thing

Its impossible to get one guy esp D at this caliber unless you draft them. This is unique in the opportunity sense.

Cap goes to 80 82mill we can surely fit one of them. Would doughty take a discount? Prob not would nylander marner and matthews to allow us to get a franchise Dman...i would say yes. Nothing is guaranteed but the chance is there. Say each of our 3 take 1 to 1.5mill cut thats 3 to 4.5m in savings which is a bit less than half what the 2 D would ask. Lose jvr, bozak, komarov or a combo of any 2 of them that frees 3-5million more..bingo

Thing is, I’m not so sure management would be able to convince the younger guys to take discounts so they could give a vet like Doughty 10+ million a year.

 

[MJ65]

I am going to repeat myself that he is not going any where and is going to resign with the Kings period