The Kings get the worst possible news concerning Drew Doughty's injury

According to multiple online reports, the Los Angeles Kings have lost defenseman and all-around franchise icon Drew Doughty longterm due to a pretty significant leg injury.

Kings reporter Carrlyn Bathe reports that Doughty will be out of the lineup for at least eight weeks.

Check it out:

This is obviously a big, big, BIG blow to a Kings team that looks like it's ready to take the next step.

The 31 year old Doughty may not be the player he used to be in his prime, but he's still the heartbeat of the Kings organization and a major minute muncher on the backend. He's also off to an absolutely red hot start this season with seven points in his first four games. In fact, all of the Kings legends are starting of the 2021-22 season with a bang. Veterans Anze Kopitar has six goals and nine points in six games and Dustin Brown has five points in six games, as well. Safe to say that the old boys came to play this season!

As for Doughty, you have to imagine that this news doesn't only affect his season with the Kings, but also his potential spot on Team Canada's Olympic roster, as well. Again, Doughty's not the player he used to be but he has invaluable experience as a member of the nation's 2010 and 2014 gold medal winning squads. Team Canada without Drew Doughty on board would just be weird at this point. But, how many defenseman does Canada have that are truly better than Doughty? By my count I would have Alex Pietrangelo, Cale Makar, Thomas Chabot and Shea Theodore ahead of him. But then Doughty is right in there with the likes of Aaron Ekblad, Dougie Hamilton, Morgan Rielly and fellow veteran Mark Giordano. I don't expect long-time Team Canada veteran Duncan Keith to return for this squad. So... if you're looking at choosing two of Doughty, Ekblad, Hamilton, Rielly and Giordano, wouldn't you go with Doughty for one of the spots given his experience? To me, Pietrangelo, Makar, Chabot, Theodore, Doughty and Ekblad is one Hell of a defence corps.