• G Jonas Hiller, who stood to become a restricted free agent July 1, on June 11 agreed to a two-year contract that will play him $1.3 million next season. As the backup to

• C a top-flight defenseman who will have a chance to crack the NHL lineup next season. Doughty is regarded as an excellent puck mover and a mature player with the capacity to improve his physical conditioning.

“Doughty’s hockey sense is off the charts,” Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi said. “I think everyone has a handle of what type of player he is and the special player he could become.”

The selection was also a relief for Doughty, who had made no secret of the fact that he grew up cheering for the Wayne Gretzky-era Kings. Doughty had a moment of panic when, before the draft, he saw Lombardi shaking hands with Calgary GM Darryl Sutter.

“I kind of buried my head in my hands and said, ‘Oh, no,’” Doughty said. “I really wanted to be a L.A. King.”

No fear. Lombardi and Sutter were finalizing a trade that had nothing to do with the No. 2 pick. A half-hour later, Doughty got his wish and became a King.

Notes, Quotes

• Minutes before the start of the draft, the Kings traded one of their top scorers, winger Michael Cammalleri, to Calgary. The Kings also dealt with the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres and ended up with the No. 13 pick in the draft, which they used on bruising defenseman Colten Teubert. Cammalleri led the Kings in scoring in 2006-07 and started last season with 10 goals in his first 10 games. But Cammalleri’s numbers fell off sharply, in part because of injury, and he is due to be an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Kings, believing their chances of re-signing Cammalleri to be slim, sought to trade him in the days leading up to the draft and finally found a partner in Calgary.

• At the time of the draft, the Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning were the only NHL teams without a coach. The Kings fired Marc Crawford on June 10 but have been public in saying that they’re not in a hurry to hire a replacement. Mike Johnston, the associate coach under Crawford for the past two seasons, has received two informal interviews, but the Kings did not intend to interview any more candidates before the start of the free-agency signing period on July 1. A mid-July hiring is expected, with the Kings open to hiring a coach without prior NHL head-coaching experience.

Quote To Note:   “Doughty’s hockey sense is off the charts. I think everyone has a handle of what type of player he is and the special player he could become.”—Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi on top draft choice Drew Doughty.

Roster Report

Draft Picks Of Note:  

Drew Doughty, 6-0, 213, Guelph (OHL): Doughty, chosen with the second overall pick, is a talented puck-moving defenseman who, at age 18, might be ready to crack the NHL lineup this season. The Kings were impressed by his maturity and strong hockey sense in all areas of the game.

Colten Teubert, 6-3, 185, Regina (WHL): Who better to describe Teubert than Teubert? “I’m a punishing defenseman, a player that forwards don’t like to play against.” Enough said, as far as the Kings were concerned. If he develops into a NHL player, he will give the Kings some much needed toughness. He went with the No. 13 overall pick.

Vjateslav Voinov, 6-0, 190, Russia: The Kings had an eye on Voinov with their No. 28 overall pick, before they traded it to the Anaheim Ducks. They didn’t hesitate to grab the Russian defenseman with the No. 32 pick and are confident that Voinov is willing to play junior hockey in North America next season.

Free Agent Focus:   The Kings will have several holes this summer. The expected departure of forwards Ladislav Nagy, Scott Thornton and Brian Willsie will force the Kings to find some secondary scoring, and the Kings must decide whether to re-sign defenseman Rob Blake to a short-term deal or find at least one veteran defenseman on the free agent market this summer. Perhaps most important, emerging winger Patrick O’Sullivan will be a restricted free agent and might need to be locked up with a long-term contract.

Player Notes:  

• The Kings bought out the final year of G Dan Cloutier’s contract on June 21. Cloutier was due $3.1 million in 2008-09, and the Kings will take a salary-cap hit of roughly $1.03 million over each of the next two seasons. The Kings acquired Cloutier from the Vancouver Canucks before the 2006-07 season and signed him to a two-year, $6.2 million extension, but a combination of injuries and ineffective play limited Cloutier to 33 games during his two-year stint with the Kings.

• The Kings acquired C Brad Richardson on June 21, during the second day of the draft, from Colorado in exchange for a second-round pick (61st overall). Richardson, 23, had spent parts of the past three seasons with the Avalanche. He had two goals and three assists in 22 games last season and is expected to contend for ice time on the Kings’ third or fourth line.

• The Kings aren’t expected to make much noise during the free agent signing period but could bring back D Rob Blake for one more season. Blake is an unrestricted free agent who turns 39 in December. The Kings are looking to get younger on defense but need some veteran presence. Blake has been a longtime Southern California resident and would like to return to the Kings. He made $6 million in 2007-08 but would need to take a steep decrease to return to the Kings. Injuries limited Blake to 71 games in 2007-08, when he totaled nine goals and 22 assists.