Forum answers II

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Question: It seems obvious the Lubo trade was a salary dump despite the BS about Stoll & Greene being key pieces of the team's future. Is DL under pressure from AEG to cut costs?

Answer: That's a tricky question. Does Lombardi feel the need to keep an eye on the budget? Yes. But I do believe him when he talks about needing to plan for the future. All of these young players...they're going to need contract extensions at some point. The planning for that needs to take place years in advance. Would signing Hossa to a seven-year contract be huge? Sure, but what if it prevents the Kings from signing Doughty to a contract extension in three years, when they might be contenders? So it's a tough question. If it seems obvious to you that the Visnovsky trade was a salary dump, that's your opinion and I won't try to convince you otherwise. I don't necessaarily agree though.

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Question: We all know about the needs the Kings have as far as a Veteran D-man goes, but what about finding a UFA veteran top-six forward? When you look at the top six, it's hard to find a true second line winger to join Stoll and Frolov, as Sully/Kopi/Brown are the 1st line. Are they looking at Pavol Demitra or Brendan Shanahan as possibilities? Maybe signing them to 1-Yr contracts?

Answer: I sort of adressed this with the previous question, but Lombardi has stated, a few times now, his desire to look only at defensemen. I suppose it could be a bluff but I have no evidence of that. I wouldn't have been surprised to see them go after a short-term free agent like the ones you mentioned, but it doesn't seem as though that's part of the plan.

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Question: im sure this will get asked alot & im sure its hard to get into your own opinion about things, but what are your feelings about the lubo trade?

Answer: It's a bit of a risky trade, but given the wall Lombardi was against, knowing that he had to make a deal before the no-movement clause kicked in on July 1, I think Lombardi did fairly well for himself. The thing to watch will be to see if Stoll can return to his pre-concussion form. If he can, and if he can turn into a strong second-line center, the trade looks very good. It saves the Kings some money, allows them to free up a spot for a prospect and brings in a couple solid players. On the other hand, they lose a very talented defenseman who could be due for a huge comeback season. So we'll see...

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Question: 1) Do you see Armstrong as a possible trade opportunity for Lombardi? 2) If you could pinpoint one reason why Lubomir Visnovsky was traded, what would that be? 3) Lombardi is far too smart to think the possibility of Sully getting an offer sheet isn't great. Do you think his passive attitude towards getting Sully re-signed asap is an invite to other teams to go ahead and offer one since he a) loves draft picks and b) wouldn't mind the team to do the negotiating for him if he decides to accept the sheet? 4) If Blake wanted to retire a King, wouldn't he have had no problem accepting a paycut? His $6M days are way over. Even in today's market. 5) Out of the following prospects, who would you give the best chance of making the club opening day? And how good are his chances? Oscar Moller, Wayne Simmonds, Trevor Lewis, Marc-Andre Cliche, Bud Holloway, Kevin Westgarth, Colten Teubert. 6) How much do you think it would have helped The Kings to get Brooks Orpik at the price he wanted? Do you think it would have hurt The Kings in the long run? 7) How shocked would you be if you saw Lombardi sign Jay Bouwmeester to an offer sheet at a price Florida probably wouldn't match?

Answer: 1) With all respect to Armstrong's talent and work ethic, I'm really not sure what the market for him would be. 2) His contract, which admittedly sounds weird, since Lombardi is the one who signed him to that contract. But it made a lot of financial sense, in a few ways, for the Kings to move that contract when they did. 3) That's an interesting take on the situation. I don't think he dangling O'Sullivan out there to get picks. He certainly does love draft picks but he doesn't want to lose O'Sullivan. Does he want other teams to do his negotiating? That's a very good thought. There might be something to that, in some form. There might be some value in seeing what other teams think O'Sullivan is worth. Good thought there. 4) I would certainly agree with that. 5) Good chance: none. Above-average chance: Teubert. Decent chance: Moller, Westgarth. One year away: Simmonds, Lewis, Cliche, Holloway. 6) The price was fine, but I'm not sure the Kings wanted to tie themselves down to a long-term contract. But in general, I certainly don't think a signing like that would have hurt the Kings. 7) Very shocked.

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Question: Any chance of getting interviews with some back office staff here in the off season (well, once the draft/free agency/prospects camp situation dies down a bit), like Luc Robitaille or so? Or a follow-up with the scouting team post-draft, maybe even post-prospects camp?

Answer: Yes, absolutely. As things die down with free agency and the coaching search, that's a perfect time (August) to go into stuff like that. I'll solicit opinions about who might be the most interesting subjects?

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Question: 1) Do you make a pitch to get Khabibulin sooner or later....You know the deal.. 1 year left at over 6 mil, not a big deal in my book. 2) GIven the remaining players out there, via UFA, and Offer Sheets (I guess) What would you do? What players would you go after? I know we've all thought about this.

Answer: 1) From what I'm told, the Kings don't see him as much of an upgrade to LaBarbera/Ersberg, so I really doubt it, unless Chicago was willing to accept a really low draft pick or something like that. 2) This probably won't be popular here, but among the free agents, I'd go with Modry. The Kings know what they'd be getting, for better or worse, and they'd be getting a guy who wants to he here, who is already familiar with the team and the organization and who would know his role. I think it's more likely that they will go after a trade a land a guy with a late-round pick.

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Question: I investigated the D-men on your list of UFA left handed shots. Do you think DL will go for an "offensive" guy now? or stick with the Big, Defensive guy.. because both are on the list... I would like to have kalinin, especially because the minutes that he can take up, but some of the lesser known names like mezai or McCarthy, could fit as well... What do you think?

Answer: Just based on availability, I think it's much more likely to be a ``stay at home'' guy. I'm not sure how many guys with strong offensive skills will be available, unless it's someone with a big salary whose team is looking to dump money.

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Question: Ah yes, one more question: There were so many goalies out there getting signed over the past couple of days, I didn't realize even half of them were available - do you think any of them were in talks with the Kings? And what goalies are available still, if any? I'd prefer for Ersberg to get a chance to prove himself after the end of last season but if Bernier isn't ready yet a proven goalie on a short contract might not be a bad idea to make the Kings more of a contender for that last playoff spot (which I think most would agree is the best goal to strive for at the moment).

Answer: Based on the names that signed, and the amount of money they signed for, I don't believe that any of them were in serious negotiations with the Kings. The list of still-available goalies on the free-agent market is really thin. J.S. Aubin, anyone? Right now it looks like the LaBarbera and Ersberg Show, but it seems increasingly likely that they will give a long look to Bernier, Quick and Zatkoff and determine if one of those guys is ready to at least be a backup NHL goalie.

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Question: It seems that everybody understands DL´s way of keeping the team young next season, and I dont think the team has so much expectation on them. But what if we do another bad season and finish 29-30? What do you think will happen? Will DL keep his job, will the fans go crazy, and would the expectations for the season after that be enormous? If we at least have a shot at the playoffs this year, and sees some improvement, I think the team will be in a much more comfortable situation a year from now. Do you think DL sence this and therefore is a little paniced about getting some more (and maybe older) roster players to insure some improvement this season?

Answer: From Lombardi's perspective, I think that's why it's important that ownership commited to the ``youth movement.'' Because that assumes what they're saying is, ``If things are rough for another season, that's fine.'' Let's say the Kings miss the playoffs again next season. Wouldn't it be hard for ownership to then fire Lombardi and say he didn't get enough results? Seems that way to me, but that's FAR from a certainty. As Lombardi himself has said, ownership has the right to change direction at any time. It's an interesting thought, for sure. I don't get the impression, from Lombardi's perspective, that he's running the team in fear of losing his job.

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Question: Considering Lombardi's past as a GM in SJ, considering the promise of our young players, and considering the opportunity that awaits our next coach, how heavy do you think this is weighing on DL? Coaches may come and go for many teams in this league, but the elite teams are almost always led by special coaches who come along at the right time. I have no doubt that DL is trying to build an elite franchise. Can he find a coach who will deliver on the promise? What sort of qualities would characterize that coach?

Answer: This coaching hire will be the most important decision Lombardi has made as Kings GM. It's potentially the biggest decision he will ever make as Kings GM. He has already tried and failed once, and as I wrote a few weeks back, if this hire doesn't work out, Lombardi might well be heading out the door as well. I think he realizes all of this, and that's why there's no rush to make this hire now. The Kings have to find someone who fits their vision and who they feel comfortable with. They'll be looking, primarily, for someone who is comfortable coaching young players and who is skilled at turning prospects into everyday NHL players.