The City of Angels can rest tonight knowing that a key player of the Los Angeles Kings will be around for years to come. The Kings announced Thursday night that they have finally, after months of negotiating, signed their 21-year-old star defenseman, Drew Doughty, to a multi-year contract.

TSN is reporting that the contract will bring Doughty about $7 million a season for eight years, according to NHL.com, 

Based on the rumored financial terms, this contract essentially puts him on equal footing with his peer, star defenseman Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators. Weber went into arbitration back in August and was rewarded $7.5 million for a season. Many presumed that the result of his arbitration hearing would help speed up contract negotiations in Los Angeles. Although it did not speed things up, it did provide some sort of foundation to help solidify the deal in time for the season opener next Friday in Stockholm, Sweden against the New York Rangers.

Doughty, a 2010 Norris Trophy Finalist and 2010 Gold Medalist, will play a pivotal role on the Kings this season with Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards, as they endeavor to win the holy grail of hockey – The Stanley Cup. 

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