The Los Angeles Kings have high hopes for the 2024-25 NHL season. However, they have to begin the year without one of their star players. Drew Doughty left Wednesday's preseason contest with an injury. And on Friday, the Kings learned he will miss time due to a fractured ankle.
It's certainly a major blow to a Los Angeles team looking to make the playoffs. Head coach Jim Hiller admitted they can't replace Doughty on the ice. In saying this, he likes the way the roster is currently set up. He has full faith that his players will step up and carry the load until Doughty is able to return.
“I think we’ve got a lot of good energy going,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said, via NHL.com, before the official diagnosis. “If Drew’s out for some length of time, I think that’s going to be easier to absorb just because of how excited the players are right now. You don’t replace him, you know that, but I think guys feel like we’ve got a good team. And if this is something we have to deal with, we just deal with it.”
Which Kings players will step up without Drew Doughty?
Drew Doughty is an important piece of the Kings puzzle. He has long been a standout defender in the NHL. And he has recently regained his form after a small dip in production. Playing without him is a tall task, but Jim Hiller believes this team can get by well enough without him.
One name Hiller pointed to was young defenseman Brandt Clarke. Clarke is a former top-10 pick and has 25 NHL games under his belt. Los Angeles believes Clarke has the potential to be a top-pairing defenseman in the league. His offensive upside is especially exciting for the team.
However, Hiller did not want to get ahead of himself. Clarke is still 21 years old, and over-relying on him to replace Doughty's production can be detrimental. Whether he immediately steps in on the Kings' top pairing is a discussion the team is going to have internally.
“This year, he’s been a different player,” Hiller said of Clarke, via NHL.com. “He’s been a more mature player, and so he’s doing everything that he can control to play more. I’ll never say take the reins off. This guy without the reins, he’d be everywhere, so we will not talk about the reins off. We’ll talk about increasing his role for Brandt.”
Jim Hiller has a difficult task in configuring a lineup without Doughty in it. However, there is a ton of talent on this team that could step up in a big way. The Kings begin the 2024-25 campaign with a game against the Buffalo Sabres on October 10.