EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Drew Doughty was named captain of the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, inheriting the leadership position left vacant by Anze Kopitar's retirement.
Doughty is the 15th captain in team history. He served as an alternate captain since 2016-17, when Kopitar replaced Dustin Brown as captain.
The 36-year-old Doughty is the franchise leader among defensemen in numerous categories, including goals, assists, points and games played and was a key piece in their Stanley Cup victories in 2012 and 2014. He will start preparations for his 19th NHL season when the Kings open training camp on Thursday.
“Being named captain of an NHL team is something I’m truly honored by, and it’s something I take great pride in,” Doughty said in a statement released by the team.
The decision to elevate Doughty to the role comes less than four months after general manager Ken Holland said the Kings would not discuss a contract extension this offseason. Doughty is entering the last season of a eight-year deal he signed in June 2018, but Holland indicated he wants Doughty to finish his career with the organization.
“He’s earned the right to have a lot of say in what happens, so I’m going to work with Drew,” Holland said on June 26. "He’s not worried about an extension, I’m not worried about an extension, and let’s just get more information about where things are at before we talk about going forward after the '26-27 season.”
Doughty had five goals and 18 assists in 72 regular-season games but was held without a point in a four-game sweep against the Colorado Avalanche. He also helped Canada reach the goal medal final at the Milan Cortina Olympics where they lost 2-1 in overtime to the United States.
The Kings are going through a major leadership transition this season, with Kopitar ending his career after spending all 20 seasons with the club, and Peter Laviolette joining the team as head coach in June following a fifth straight first-round playoff exit. They have not won a postseason series since claiming their second Stanley Cup in 2014.
Forward Adrian Kempe and defenseman Mikey Anderson will continue to serve as alternate captains, while forward Artemi Panarin adds an “A” in his first full season with the Kings after being acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers in February to round out their leadership group.
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FILE - Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty smiles while the glass is replaced behind the team's bench during the second period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo Jack Dempsey,File)
FILE - Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) skates during an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong,File)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine federal judge on Wednesday ordered British and Israeli companies to stop developing an oilfield off the Falkland Islands, opening a new legal front in the decades-old sovereignty dispute between Argentina and Britain that Argentine President Javier Milei has revived in recent weeks.
The injunction by Judge Mariel Borruto, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, targets the Sea Lion oil project 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of the British-controlled archipelago in the South Atlantic, barring drilling, offshore installations and port construction until Argentine authorities can conduct an environmental review and issue a decision.
But in practice, Wednesday's order is unlikely to halt progress on the project. Judge Borruto acknowledged that enforcement “depends on international cooperation and the conduct” of the two companies, Israel's Navitas Petroleum and Britain's Rockhopper Exploration, which have already vowed to press ahead with the project despite Milei's threats of tougher sanctions against them and other companies operating around the islands.
Rockhopper declined to comment, and Navitas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the injunction.
With its commercial oil production expected to start in 2028, Sea Lion has raised the stakes of a territorial dispute that led Britain and Argentina to a short and bloody war in 1982.
For the territory’s roughly 3,500 residents, the oilfield promises to transform an economy long dependent on fishing. For Argentina, which calls the islands the Malvinas, the project would allow foreign companies to extract oil riches it regards as its own. Its claim to the archipelago, roughly 480 kilometers (300 miles) off its coast, is enshrined in the constitution and woven into national identity, drawing support across the country’s political divisions.
U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally of Argentina's radical libertarian leader, has brought new uncertainty to the dispute in recent weeks. Citing Britain’s lack of support for his war against Iran, he has suggested that Washington could change its historically neutral stance on the islands’ sovereignty.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Saturday, Trump again expressed skepticism that Britain would be able to retake the Falklands as it did after Argentina's military dictatorship invaded in 1982, saying, “I don’t know if they’re going to be willing to travel that far."
Milei seized on what he called “winds of change” following Trump’s comments earlier this month, using a Sept. 3 national address to announce measures against companies developing oilfields around the islands. He warned that the projects posed a “clear and urgent danger” to Argentina’s sovereignty claim and pledged to use all “diplomatic, economic, judicial and legal tools” to defend it.
His administration is now preparing legislation to broaden sanctions against companies involved in oil projects around the islands and filed three criminal complaints against Tel Aviv-listed Navitas and nine other companies and their executives, accusing them of violating Argentine law by pursuing oil operations without the country's authorization. It's unclear what impact the charges have on the project.
Britain has responded to the Argentine government’s legal campaign with defiance. It argues that the people who live in the Falklands should determine its status, citing the results of a 2013 referendum in which islanders overwhelmingly voted to remain a British territory.
“Argentine domestic law does not apply within the Islands,” the British government said Tuesday in guidance aimed at reassuring businesses operating there.
Wednesday's ruling issued by the federal court in Argentina's southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego stems from a separate civil lawsuit brought by environmental lawyers and veterans of the 1982 war seeking to prevent environmental damage from the project. The complaint cites ecological threats ranging from chemical pollution and underwater noise to ship traffic and potential oil spills.
Borruto warned that allowing drilling and construction to proceed could alter the marine ecosystem in ways that would be difficult to reverse.
“The risk is neither hypothetical nor remote,” she wrote, noting that work on the project’s infrastructure had already begun.
Associated Press writer Débora Rey contributed to this report.
FILE - Sunlight breaks through the clouds over Stanley on the Falkland Islands, also known as Islas Malvinas, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
