Doughty said that the amount of money he saved by doing the deal himself is ridiculousGETTY IMAGES
NHL Kings D Drew Doughty "eschewed his representation and took the unusual route" of dealing with VP & GM Rob Blake himself regarding his new eight-year, $88M extension that became official yesterday, according to Curtis Zupke of the L.A. TIMES. It "wasn’t an easy move for Doughty," who has been repped by Newport Sports Management's Don Meehan and Mark Guy. Doughty said, "My agent did an amazing job for me forever and I’ll be friends with him until the day I die, but in the end, if you punch the numbers in and they’re taking 3%, the amount of money I saved doing the deal myself is ridiculous. Maybe they could’ve gone out there and got me more money and then that payment wouldn’t matter, but I was proud to do it on my own and (Blake) was unbelievable to work with." Doughty consulted with Kings RW Dustin Brown and "worked with" Exec VP/Hockey Operations & Legal Affairs Jeff Solomon. It was the "first time Blake negotiated with a player directly." Blake: "They were good conversations, and he kind of knew what he was looking for, and we knew what we could fit in" (L.A. TIMES, 7/2). THE ATHLETIC's Lisa Dillman noted Doughty’s move to "go without an agent, while not unprecedented, is relatively rare." But he "was inspired" by Brown, who "did the same thing" in '13. Doughty also "relied on guidance from the NHLPA." Doughty: "I used the lawyers at the NHLPA to look over the contract and help me with the wording in the contract and whatnot" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/1).
