Drew Doughty is tired of being taken out of context.
The Los Angeles Kings defenseman is known for his colorful personality and isn't afraid to speak his mind when given the chance. But on Tuesday, the 29-year-old admitted that he's having second thoughts about being so open.
"If you guys want us to be able to say things and be honest with you and then you’re going to go run with it and just get attacked by it, we’re just gonna stop talking,” Doughty told reporters in Toronto on Tuesday.
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The reason for 29-year-old blueliner's ire stems from a controversy originating on the West Coast, where a post-game quote was used by the Vancouver Canucks as bulletin board material. Following a six-goal loss to the youthful Canucks on Oct. 9, a frustrated Doughty told reporters in Vancouver that the Kings should not be losing so heavily to "a team like that."
The Canucks used Doughty's quote — which included the term "f—ing embarrassing" — as fuel and wasted no time reminding the world of the Kings star's words when they toppled LA again, 5-3 in Southern California, three weeks later.
This wallpaper couldn't wait until next Wednesday. #TeamLikeThat pic.twitter.com/tGKtFf6vxK
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) October 31, 2019
Fast forward to Tuesday, with Doughty in Toronto ahead of the Kings' game against the Maple Leaf. Facing the usual massive media throng that comes with being in Toronto, the 6-1, 202-pound defenseman took the opportunity to clarify his words about the team.
"The guy’s an idiot that made all that happen," Doughty said of whoever was behind Vancouver's decision to turn his quote into a slogan, via Sportsnet. "What I was trying to say there is they’re a young team, we’re an old team. We lost the game like 8-1 or something and that’s just ridiculous for a veteran to lose that bad to any team in the league — not only a young team. That’s what I meant by those comments. Just standard people making it run.
“Out in Vancouver, guys twisted my words. Pissing me off," he added. "I just want to go play and win games.”
As word got out about Doughty's scorn for the media in B.C., a prominent reporter tweeted that he kept receipts from the Oct. 9 post-game scrum that set off the firestorm. TSN1040's Jeff Paterson posted a picture Tuesday of an audio file that purportedly proves that Doughty's words were not misconstrued.
I keep this on my phone just in case the notion of a misquote ever surfaces... pic.twitter.com/hjqjP3rhOc
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 5, 2019
With the controversy stretching into it's second month while the Kings are mired near the bottom of the Western Conference with just three wins from their 10 games heading into Tuesday night's contest, Doughty vs. the Vancouver media may be the biggest storyline for LA this season.