Welcome to the NHL Chat Room, NHL.com's weekly Q&A feature where we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. This week, we feature Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.

WASHINGTON -- As Drew Doughty approaches his 37th birthday on Dec. 8, the Los Angeles Kings defenseman naturally has reasons to contemplate how much longer he wants to continue playing.

Doughty has seen longtime teammates and peers retire and this, his 19th NHL season, is the final season of his eight-year, $88 million contract ($11 million average annual value). But he believes he has a few more seasons left in him.

“I think I can play until over 40,” Doughty said last week. “I believe I can.

I’ve just got to stay healthy. The want to do it hasn't dropped, so, until I lose that, I'm not going to retire.”

Like former teammates Dustin Brown (18 seasons) and Anze Kopitar (20 seasons), Doughty hopes to play his entire career with Los Angeles, the team that selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft and with which he won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 and the Norris Trophy as the League’s top defenseman in 2016.

And Kings general manager Ken Holland said during the offseason that he intends to sign Doughty to a new contract before he can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2027.

Although contract talks with Holland have yet to advance beyond the preliminary stage, Doughty made it clear he’s willing to do whatever it takes to remain with Los Angeles.

“He knows what I want. I believe he wants me to stay,” Doughty said.

“We just haven't talked about it yet. I feel like I'm performing better than I have in my past two seasons.

So, I think that I'll take a team-friendly deal and stay in L.A. That's my plan.”

Doughty doesn’t know how that would translate as far as salary and contract structure, but said, “I'm going to do everything I can to help us, the team, the L.A. Kings.”

Doughty said Holland is aware of his willingness to be flexible to the Kings’ benefit. So, it would seem it’s just a matter of figuring out the details once Holland sits down with his agent, Pat Brisson.