"With physicals done and training camp underway, the focus everywhere this week turns to the ice with the NHL's exhibition season starting. Well, almost everywhere.

Each day the Drew Doughty contract situation remains unresolved, it becomes a bigger problem for the Los Angeles Kings and overshadows the rebuilt roster headlined by the additions of Mike Richards and Simon Gagne.

I checked in with Kings GM Dean Lombardi on Sunday to see if there was any possibility of a Doughty trade, and he completely shot down the notion. So the ball is in Doughty's court, where the talented defenseman is weighing a seven-year deal that would be worth $6.8 million per season, says Pierre LeBrun."