So, training camp opened this week for the Kings, and not a moment too soon. The summer has been a long one, and last season's disappointing ending left a bad taste in my mouth. Especially losing to the hated Ducks.

A team , filled with promise at the beginning of last season, unraveled and left the team splintered. The casualities? Andy Murray and his staff. Dave Taylor. And the fans. It was an odd season, where many fans touted the team having their best lineup of talents in recent memory. Many were left scratching their heads and wondering what happened.

So, a new GM was hired, Dean Lombardi, and a new coach as well, Marc Crawford. Deano has a reputation of turning franchises around, his last team being the Pacific Division rival San Jose Sharks. So many fans have high expectations.

Dean's first order of business? In June, he traded Pavol Demitra on draft day to the Minnesota Wild for touted prospect Patrick O'Sullivan and a first round pick, which turned out to be center Trevor Lewis. The Kings also had the 11th pick overall, and selected Jonathon Bernier, the top goaltending prospect in the draft.

July 1, the Kings brought defenseman Rob Blake back from Colorado. Four days laster, Lombardi signed veteran goaltender Dan Cloutier. The move puzzled some, since the Kings had been platooning 2 goaltenders in 2005-06. But, In Dean We Trust. He also signed veterans Scott Thorton, Ayln McCauley, and Brian Willsie, all who figure to make the club this fall.

He also resigned Eric Belanger, Michael Cammalleri, Mathieu Garon and avoided arbitration on Sean Avery. All signs point to no more mores, but the roster has been completely shuffled, in my opinion. SportsIllustrated.com gave Deano a C+ for his efforts this off-season.

I'll reserve judgement until I see the boys in action this season. In the past, the Kings came out of the gates flying, mostly do to the frantic line scrambling of the mad scientist Andy Murray. But, invariably, teams would figure out the smoke and mirrors of Murray's game plans, and the Kings would plummet back to reality: just out of the playoffs but never all the way down to snatch the first pick of the draft.

With Crawford, Lombardi, Blake and a new skate sharpener*, the Kings are ready to find their way once more. Here's to a productive preseason.

* - the skate sharpener comment is aimed at former King/current Coyote/constant pain in the rear Jeremy Roenick, who complained of being unable to skate in an NHL.com chat last season because "It's the inability of certain people to cut them the right way to get the right radius on them. I use a different kind of cut, and for some reason we just haven't been able to find that happy place."