Have to admit I laughed when I read the headline of Rich Hammond’s latest post over at LA Kings Insider: “Time for defensemen to be more active?”
Just the image of Darryl Sutter wondering if his team – the one with the worst offense in the NHL – should maybe let Drew Doughty off his leash is pretty funny.
In a related story, Sutter is wondering if his brown jacket is too flashy.
OK, that’s not really fair. Sutter actually has no problem letting Doughty push the puck; he just wants the star defenseman to use his teammates at the same time.
“Drew walks that line, of trying to do too much himself or becoming a part of it,” Sutter said. “When he’s really effective, he’s a part of it.”
Doughty has just 25 points in 54 games – not the greatest stat line for a guy that missed training camp while negotiating an eight-year, $56 million deal.