The Los Angeles Kings have named long-time veteran defenceman Drew Doughty the 15th captain in franchise history, the team announced on Wednesday.
Doughty, 36, replaces long-time captain Anze Kopitar, who retired at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
“Drew Doughty has earned this,” said Kings general manager Ken Holland in a statement. “He’s a champion who’s won Stanley Cups and competed at the highest level of this game for a long time, and he’s shown he can lead this team by the way he competes every day. That’s the standard we want to set, and there’s no one better to set it than Drew.”
The 6-foot-1, right-shot blueliner is coming off his 18th season in the NHL, recording five goals and 23 points in 72 games while averaging 23:05 of ice time. He also averaged 25:13 in four playoff games before the Kings were eliminated in the first round.
Doughty is entering the final season of an eight-year, $88 million contract that carries a cap hit of $11 million.
Drafted second overall by the Kings in 2008, Doughty has 165 goals and 709 points in 1,279 career games.
“Being named captain of an NHL team is something I’m truly honored by, and it’s something I take great pride in,” said Doughty in a statement. “I try to compete as hard as I possibly can every single day for this team, and winning is what fuels me, it’s why I keep pushing to get better and chase success.
“The Kings mean everything to me. I’ve played my entire career here, and I want to lead this team by example, showing what it means to be a King and what it takes to win championships.”
Doughty is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, leading the Kings to their first two championships in team history in 2012 and 2014.
He won the Norris Trophy in 2016 as the league’s top defenceman after registering 14 goals and 51 points in 82 games while setting a career high plus-24 rating and averaging 28:01 of ice time.
Doughty is a two-time first-team all-star in 2016 and 2018 and a second-team all-star in 2010 and 2015.
The London, Ont., native helped Canada win gold twice at the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014 and won silver at Milano Cortina 2026. He also won gold at the World Juniors in 2008, World Cup of Hockey in 2016, and 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025.
Doughty also represented Canada at the 2009 World Hockey Championship, taking home silver.
