The Los Angeles Kings have reached a verbal agreement with restricted free agent defenseman Drew Doughty on an 8-year contract, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced tonight.In just three NHL seasons, Doughty has already been named a Norris Trophy Finalist (2010) and a Second Team NHL All-Star (2010). The 6-0, 212-pound native of London, Ontario, also won a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (Vancouver) with Team Canada, and he represented the Kings at the 2009 NHL YoungStars event in Montreal before being honored as a member of the NHL’s All-Rookie Team at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season. Doughty has also been named the Kings Outstanding Defenseman for three straight seasons (2011, 2010, and 2009) and he was voted as the Kings Best Newcomer (Mark Bavis Memorial Award) following his first year with the club (2009).Doughty, 21 (turns 22 on Dec. 8, 2011), statistically already ranks among the best defensemen to ever play for the Kings. His nine career game-winning goals ranks fourth all-time among Kings defensemen and his 17 career power-play goals ranks ninth all-time. He also ranks 12th on the all-time list in career goals (33), 13th on the all-time list in both career assists (93) and career points (126), and tied for 15th on the all-time list in career plus/minus rating (plus-16).Doughty led the Kings and finished fifth overall in the NHL with a time-on-ice average of 25:38 per game this past season. In addition, he tied for sixth among NHL defensemen in game-winning goals (3) and he ranked seventh in power-play time-on-ice average per game (4:09). Doughty led all Kings defensemen with 11 goals (eighth overall on the team) and his 29 assists tied for fourth overall on the team. He also finished fourth overall on the team in both plus/minus (plus-13) and blocked shots (101). Doughty finished the 2010-11 season with 11 multi-point games (the Kings were 9-2-0 in those games) and he logged 25 minutes or more of ice time in 41 of the 76 regular season games he played in. Additionally, he recorded his first two-goal game (at Edmonton on Feb. 2, 2011), appeared in his 200th career NHL regular season game (vs. St. Louis on Jan. 13, 2011), and collected his 100th NHL regular season point (an assist at Colorado, Dec. 21, 2010).The Kings advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second consecutive year, and Doughty’s 2011 postseason included a record-setting night as he tied a Kings postseason record for most points by a defenseman (4) in one playoff game. Doughty tied the record (a record he also tied during the 2010 postseason) with two goals and two assist at San Jose in Game 2 of the Kings Conference Quarterfinals series versus the Sharks.Doughty’s 2009-10 season – his second in the NHL – was an enormous success, highlighted by the Kings’ first trip to the playoffs since 2002, and Doughty’s nomination as a finalist for the 2010 James Norris Memorial Trophy (awarded annually to the player voted to be the NHL’s best regular season defenseman). Doughty, who finished third in the voting for the award behind Chicago’s Duncan Keith and Washington’s Mike Green, was both the second player in Kings history and the second youngest player to ever be named a finalist for the Norris. Rob Blake, the only Kings player to ever win the award, was named the winner of the Norris Trophy in 1998. In addition, Doughty was named a Second Team NHL All-Star following the 2009-10 season, becoming the first King to receive that postseason honor since Luc Robitaille in 2000-01.Among NHL defensemen in 2009-10, Doughty ranked third in points (59), tied for second in goals (16), tied for fifth in assists (43), tied for second in power-play goals (9), second in power-play points (31) and tied for fifth in power-play assists (22). He also ranked first in game-winning goals (five). On the Kings, One of three Kings to play in all 82 regular season games in 2009-10, Doughty ranked first on the club with a time-on-ice average of 24:58 per game, playing 25-plus minutes in nearly half of his games (39). Additionally, he had 12 multi-point games (the Kings had a record of 8-4-0 in those 12 contests). For his efforts, Doughty – the 12th defenseman in club history to record 50-plus points in one season and the second youngest - was selected as the Kings Outstanding Defenseman at the conclusion of the 2009-10 campaign.Doughty first-ever playoff appearance was also highly successful as he tied for the club lead in both goals (3) and points (7) while appearing in six postseason games versus Vancouver in the 2010 Conference Quarterfinals. In Game 3 of the series Doughty tied two Kings playoff records for defenseman by scoring four points (1-3=4) and recording three assists in one game.Doughty’s 2009-10 season also included action on the International stage as he earned a gold medal for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics (7 GP, 0-2=2). He tied for second on the club (and tied for fourth in tournament) with a plus-6 rating, and he was the youngest player on Team Canada’s roster.Doughty was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season. He was also selected as the Kings Outstanding Defenseman and Best Newcomer (Mark Bavis Memorial Award) that year as he led all NHL rookies and the Kings with 23:49 of time-on-ice per game. Additionally, Doughty tied for first among NHL rookie defensemen with 27 points and 21 assists, and tied for second among NHL rookie defensemen with six goals (also tied for first among Kings defensemen). He also finished second among NHL rookie defensemen with three power-play goals and 114 blocked shots, and no rookie defenseman attempted more shots on goal (126) then him. Doughty, who was selected to participate in the YoungStars event as part of the 2009 NHL All-Star Weekend and recorded two points (1-1=2) in the game (at Montreal on Jan. 24, 2009), made his NHL debut at San Jose on Oct. 11, 2008, becoming the fifth youngest player (and second youngest defenseman) at the time to ever appear in a game for Kings.In addition to the 2010 Winter Olympics, Doughty has represented his native Canada in the following International tournaments: the 2009 World Championships: (9 GP, 1-6=7, plus-5, silver medal); the 2008 World Junior Championships: (7 GP, 0-4=4, gold medal, Top Defenseman of the tournament); the 2007 World U-18 Championships: (6 GP, 2-3=5); the 2007 Super Series vs. Russia: (8 GP, 0-2=2); the 2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge; and the 2006 Ivan Hlinka Tournament (gold medal).The Kings originally selected Doughty with the second overall selection in the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He has recorded 126 points (33-93=126) and 178 penalty minutes in 239 career regular season games with the Kings. In 12 career postseason games with the Kings, Doughty has recorded 11 points (5-6=11) and 12 penalty minutes.Prior to being selected by the Kings, Doughty played his junior hockey in Guelph where he was named the Ontario Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year following the 2007-08 season.