Kings lock up Doughty with eight-year deal

EL SEGUNDO, California — Defenceman Drew Doughty has agreed to an eight-year, $88-million US contract extension through the 2026-27 season to stay with the Los Angeles Kings.

Los Angeles announced the deal Friday for its twotime Stanley Cup-winning cornerstone.

After cracking the Kings’ roster as an 18-year-old, Doughty has been among the NHL’s top defencemen throughout a 10-year career spent entirely with the Kings.

He won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman in 2016. As an aggressive, skilled two-way blue-liner, he has been a finalist for the award in three other seasons — including 2017-18, when he scored a career-high 60 points while playing in all 82 games for the fourth consecutive season.

Doughty played a major role in the Kings’ Stanley Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2014, and he also has two Olympic gold medals from playing for Canada.

“Drew Doughty is one of the best defencemen in the world, and we are obviously excited to have reached this point in the process in which he has committed to the Kings long-term,” Kings general manager Rob Blake said.

He still has one year left on an eight-year, $56-million contract signed in September 2011. Doughty can’t formally sign the new deal until Sunday, when he will be one year away from free agency.