| Registered Offender
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,333
Thanks: 93
Thanked 73 Times in 22 Posts
Crosschecks: 0
High Scores 0 |  THE PRESENT AND FUTURE KINGS Pt II (continued) | |
The Transactions
When Lombardi joined the Kings, he expressed surprise at just how bare the Kings’ cupboard was. The Kings had a few talented forwards in Cammalleri, Frolov, Brown and Kopitar and some young forwards in the pipeline, but organizational depth on the blue line and in net was virtually nonexistent. One of Lombardi’s challenges was to change that state of affairs through trades, the draft, and free agency. Below are some of the more notable trades and the free agent signings.
TRADES
June 25, 2006
Kings Get: Patrick O’Sullivan, Wild’s 2006 1st round pick (Trevor Lewis)
Minnesota Gets: Pavol Demitra
This was not a real popular trade with Kings’ fans as Demitra was the Kings’ top scorer and only real marquee player. O’Sullivan was just a prospect who had been a second-round selection of the Wild in 2005. On the surface, the Wild stole the 31-year-old Demitra from the Kings. However, O’Sullivan was one of the top – rated prospects in the Wild organization and his second-round selection was not so much a reflection of his talent as it was of his well-documented family circumstances. Demitra was injury-prone, and it was rumored that he was one of the guys who Lombardi did not want around his young players due to character issues. After an up-and-down rookie season in ’06-’07, by the end of the ’07-’08 season O’Sullivan had developed into a solid two-way forward and had amassed twenty two goals and fifty three points for the Kings while playing in every game. By way of comparison, during the same season Demitra had fifteen goals and fifty four points for the Wild in sixty eight games. If O’Sullivan continues to develop at the same pace as he has to this point (and if he actually agrees to a new contract with the Kings), the trade may well prove to have been lopsided, but not in the way it originally appeared. If Lewis also develops into an NHL player, the trade may end up favoring the Kings heavily.
July 5, 2006
Kings Get: Dan Cloutier.
Vancouver Gets: Kings’ 2007 Second Round pick, Kings 2009 conditional pick
To Kings’ fans, a day that shall live in infamy. One of the first significant trades engineered by Lombardi as the Kings’ GM was, to put it mildly, not entirely successful. While Cloutier was the first goaltender in Canucks’ history to record 30 wins for Vancouver in three consecutive seasons, during the 2005 -2006 season he suffered a knee injury and appeared in only 13 games. When the Kings acquired him, Cloutier still had a year left on his existing contract and Lombardi promptly gave Cloutier a two-year extension without Cloutier having played a game in a Kings’ uniform. Kings’ nation was up in arms, and their fears turned out to be well-founded. Cloutier never fully recovered from his knee injury, missed dozens of games, and his performance in those games in which he did appear made Kings’ fans wish that he had missed those as well. In short, the trade was an unmitigated disaster, and Lombardi has admitted as much. This was a rare instance when the fans of a professional sports team could unabashedly wag their collective finger at the team’s general manager and say “we told you so!!”
A bonus for the conspiracy minded amongst you: Lombardi did it on purpose to ensure that a full rebuild would take place, which is what he wanted all along!
September 29, 2006
Kings Get: Jack Mother F******* Johnson, Oleg Tverdovsky.
Carolina Gets: Tim Gleason, Eric Benanger.
Lombardi did not wait long to make up for the Cloutier disaster. The ‘Canes had apparently soured on Johnson, the third overall pick in the ’05 draft as a result of his desire to continue his college career at the University of Michigan. Hearing that Johnson was on the trading block, Lombardi pounced. Gleason is a solid NHL defenseman who was viewed by many Kings’ fans as a good candidate to wear the “C” for the Kings in the future. However, Johnson’s upside is dramatically higher than Gleason’s and many ‘Canes fans were tearing their hair out when they heard about the deal. In his first season with the Kings in 2007-2008, Johnson did not do anything to dissuade those who believe that the ‘Canes got robbed.
June 20, 2008
Kings Get: Calgary’s 2008 First Round Selection; Kings trade this pick with their second first-round pick, 28th overall, acquired from Dallas in the Matti Norstrom trade, to Anaheim for the 12th overall pick; trade the 12th overall pick to Buffalo for the 13th overall pick, with which the Kings select Colten Teubert. Final score: Michael Cammalleri and 28th overall selection for Colten Teubert and Buffalo’s 3rd round selection in 2009.
Calgary Gets: Michael Cammalleri
Anyone shocked that the Kings dealt Cammalleri has not been following the Kings closely. The writing had been on the wall since the summer of 2007, when the Kings and Cammalleri could not agree on a contract extension for the restricted free agent and ended up in arbitration, where Cammalleri reportedly asked for a $6M per year contract, more than tripling his prior $1.7M per year salary. Cammalleri was instead awarded a contract of $6.7M for two years. While both sides denied having any lingering ill will, arbitration is an inherently confrontational process and rarely leads to good feelings between the parties. After the arbitration it became fairly evident that Cammalleri, due to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2008-2009 season, would test the free agent market and that the Kings could not take a chance on losing him without getting anything in return. In addition to the contract issues, Cammalleri had also become expendable with the emergence of Patrick O’Sullivan, who has a similar style as a player but is younger, cheaper, and much better in his own end than Cammalleri.
While some fans grumbled that Lombardi did not get enough of a return for Cammalleri, it is hard to imagine that Lombardi simply accepted the first offer which came his way. All of the Kings’ potential trading partners had to realize that there is a strong possibility that Cammalleri will still opt to test the free agent market after the 2008-2009 season. No matter how much skill a player possesses, it is difficult to obtain equal value in a trade when the acquiring team is only guaranteed the services of that player for one season. If Teubert eventually develops into a gritty, first or second pairing defenseman for the Kings, this will have been a great deal for the Kings regardless of whether Cammalleri re-signs with the Flames.
June 30, 2008
Kings Get: Jarret Stoll, Matt Greene
Edmonton Gets: Lubomir Visnovsky
Just ten days after unloading Michael Cammalleri, Lombardi traded the Kings’ popular defenseman in a move that was probably his most controversial to date. Just a year previously, the Kings gave Visnovsky a five-year, $28M extension which was supposed to kick in on July 1. Many Kings’ fans were enraged as they saw the trade as little more than just another AEG cost-cutting measure, with the Kings once again getting little in return for a premier NHL player. The official line from Kings’ management was that they did indeed want to cut payroll to ensure that money was available for players like Frolov, Johnson, Doughty and Kopitar when their contracts came up for renewal, which would be only be two to three years into Visnovsky’s deal. The other issue cited was the Kings’ lack of size on the blue line.
What was left unsaid was that the disappointing performance of Visnovsky immediately after receiving his large payday had to have figured into the equation. Visnovsky, 31, had his worst season as a King. While his offensive production dropped precipitously, what must have been a real concern for the Kings was his poor play in his own zone. While Visnovsky was never a defensive stalwart due in large part to his size, he made up for his lack of statute with speed and smarts. During the 2007-2008 season, however, Visnovsky seemed lost much of the time, was often out of position and turned the puck over in his own zone night after night. The Kings had to face the possibility that Visnovsky’s play during the 2007-2008 season was not simply an aberration but signaled the beginning of a decline in his skills. If his 2007-2008 season was indeed indicative of his future performance, the Kings would be locked into a disastrous contract since Visnovsky’s extension included a “no movement” clause.
With all of the above factors taken into consideration, the Kings decided to trade Visnovsky. Unfortunately for them, they were once again not dealing from a position of strength. The Kings’ potential trading partners had to realize that while Visnovsky would probably return to his previous form, there was still the possibility that they would be saddled with a long-term, expensive contract for a player who did not perform any better than he did during ’07-’08.
Just like Edmonton, the Kings ended up having to take a chance on the players they received in return for Visnovsky. Jarret Stoll may turn out to be an excellent second-line center for the Kings, but he will have to overcome whatever lingering effects still remain from a concussion he suffered during the 2006-2007 season to do so. While he did not suffer any major injuries during the 2007-2008 season, his offensive numbers were down significantly from his best season in 2005-2006, when he scored 68 points with 22 goals and 46 assists. In 2007-2008, he had only 36 points, with 14 goals and 22 assists. On the positive side, it does not appear that Stoll’s numbers have suffered as a result of shying away from physical contact due to his injury, as he led the Oilers in hits and led all forwards in blocked shots last season.
Matt Greene is a hard-hitting defenseman with limited offensive skills who may not have yet reached his potential and could someday turn into a defensive stopper in the mold of Mattias Norstrom.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
To date, the free agents signed by Lombardi have almost all been disappointing, unremarkable, injured, or all of the above. To be fair, the Kings find themselves in a position reminiscent of the old Groucho Marx joke, “I wouldn’t belong to any club that would have me as a member.” The Kings have to be suspicious of any free agent who wants to be a member of their club. After all, why would a successful player want to come to Los Angeles to play for a bottom-dwelling team in the middle of a rebuilding process? Good players want to play for teams which have a shot at the Cup. If a player is coming here only for the lifestyle, or is coming here only for the money because the Kings offered to pay him significantly more than he is worth, is that a player the team really wants to have? The Kings are stuck either getting third- and fourth-tier free agents or having to take chances on players coming off injury or a poor season. To date, the unremarkable signings have remained unremarkable and none of the gambles have paid off.
2006 Signings
Rob Blake - signed a two-year deal for $12M, a rather princely sum for the over-the-hill defenseman. Played well in spots, but like the over-the-hill defenseman his was and one who just didn’t care much to boot. AEG’s fingerprints looked to be all over this signing.
Kevin Dallman – a 6th/7th defenseman, which is a role he filled without any particularly notable failures or heroics.
Alyn McCauley – signed by the Kings in July of 2006 despite the dreaded words “knee injury,” which he sustained in the previous season’s playoffs. Kings fans, all-too-familiar with knee injuries shuddered. Their worst fears were realized when McCauley played a grand total of 10 games for the Kings.
Scott Thornton - a player past his prime, brought in to “mentor the kids.” His on-ice contribution was as expected – not much.
Brian “No Stamkos for you!” Willsie – captured lighting in a bottle by scoring 41 points with 19 goals and 22 assists with Washington during the 2005-2006 season. The name of the lightning in question turned out to be Alexander Ovechkin, and unfortunately Willsie did not bring Ovechkin along with him to the Kings.
2007 Signings
Jean-Sebastien Aubin – Most notable performance was in a television commercial, squaring off against Ryan Miller of the Sabres in a “Yo Mama!” contest. Not surprisingly, Aubin lost that one, too.
Kyle Calder – Another disappointment. Had 20 points for the Kings in 65 games, a far cry from his best season of 59 points with 26 goals and 33 assists for Chicago in 2005-2006.
Michal Handzus – A player coming off, you guessed it, a knee injury. Definitely in the “disappointment” category, has not come close to regaining his pre-injury form.
John Klemm – another defenseman near the end of his career, signed for the veteran presence and depth.
Jaroslav Modry - A competent third-pairing defenseman, despised by many Kings’ fans apparently for not being a first-pairing defenseman. Played up to his potential and for a portion of the early season was the Kings’ best defenseman, which tells you all you need to know about the Kings defensive corps.
Ladislav Nagy - Another gamble which did not pay off. A talented forward who did not play with any consistency and then sustained a neck injury, limiting him to 38 games.
Tom Preissing – Owns the “unremarkable” category. Decent offensive defenseman; crushing checks could cripple a mosquito.
Teddy Purcell – The one free agent signing which may make Kings’ fans forgive Lombardi for all the others. Has put up some great numbers in the AHL as a rookie and may secure a spot with the big club in the upcoming season.
Brad Stuart – Started off poorly but later improved, playing well for a significant stretch of the season. Traded at the deadline to Detroit, where he discovered that he likes winning Stanley Cups better than dwelling in the basement.
DRAFT PICKS
While the Kings have drafted some talented and promising youngsters, it is far too early to tell how many of them will turn into regular NHL players or whether any will turn into stars. The road to the NHL is littered with carcasses of talented and highly-touted prospects. All of Lombardi’s picks still belong in the “only time will tell” category.
__________________
Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time.
Last edited by santiclaws; September 18th, 2008 at 12:28 AM.
Reason: Formatting
|
