Kings' target (back) to Pittsburgh

Good news. Orpik was way overrated and I'm glad DL didnt sign him for that long of a deal

Damn it all to hell...

Well, it's over now.

Kings should add Blake to go with Gauthier, Preissing, Johnson, Greene and Harrold and then see what happens between Doughty, Hickey and Martinez. I'm ok with that.

wonderful. im sure glad weve waited 2 days for nothing. what has lombardi done so far this year but trade 2 of our best players.

Rob Blake and Jaroslav Modry!

I suppose the Kings, along with a number of other teams, were offering more $$$ per year. But, similar to the Stuart situation, Orpik most likely accepted less, to stay put in Pit.

Se las vis.

boo...moving on

No Stuart, Stteeerike 1
No Orpik, Stteerike 2

We'll take Rob Blake...bloop single to right field.

Go Kings.

gee, who saw this one coming? the kings' target player didn't sign here. what a surprise.

Blake and Kalinin!!

lombardi better sign o'sullivan quick cause theres nothing else he can do to make this team better.

Anybody else hoping Teubert makes it? LOL.

Would have loved to have him on the Kings blueline, but from what I heard Lombardi was offering over $4 million per year. Not sure if he is worth that (but for a UFA you overpay) as I feel he is a tad bit overrated. Kind of glad he took less to stay in Pittsburg.

And thus opens the door for (way overpaid) Rob Blake, you honestly think he's taking a 2.5 deal knowing hes the only defenseman left??? And a bridge (useless) defenseman. Oh for joy we get to see Harrold skate all year!!!

AND THEY RAISED TICKET PRICES??!?!?!?

Does the metro link go to manchester??

Let me check my crystal ball-

Pacific Division Results 08/09:

1) San Jose
2) Anaheim
3) Dallas
4) Phoenix
5) Manchester

League Results

1) Detroit
30) Manchester

And you KNOW we will lose the draft lottery and miss out on Hedman or Tavares.

i also thought when you rebuild you get better every year. we have got worse every year that dont make since.

what about paul mara

NO MODRY!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Read this bit of perspective...

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=15970

"""For example, and I don’t like to single people out so let’s use fake names...

You’ve got a player named Skoorb Kipro.

Kipro will be twenty-eight by the time the season starts and he’s played four full seasons in the league. He has little offensive skill, indicated by his four goals and thirty-six points in 297 career games.

Kipro performs well in the playoffs and a lot of teams start talking about him. A couple things to think about though..

Skroob was last on his team in minutes played per game among defencemen (under 17 mins per game).

He was 7th out of 8 regulars in minutes played per game on the PK.

If you end up paying Kipro $4 mil+ for the next five years, are you going to be happy with a guy who doesn’t play much on special teams and thus likely won’t be able to log significant minutes over the course of a season?"""

Nice math there, Deano. We finish 30th but drop 2 spots by losing the lottery?

Did you miss the part where we're going mainly with youth this year to get the kids some experience? Signing Orpik to $4M+ might have been OK, but I'd rather see what we have so far and maybe add Blake back to mentor the kids.

Just because we're one of the kids at the dance without a date doesn't make the remaining chicks any hotter.

I did not expect anybody to sign here. We'll get Blake back and we will cross our fingers and hope to overachieve.

Knowing the Kings luck..We end up with the 3rd pick next year..Atlanta #1 pick, FLA #2 Pick #3 LA...Just outside the Tavares/Hedman Sweepstakes.

I bet the Kings offered 4 yrs 16 mill..Pit offered a 6 yr deal..So he took that one.

Call up Oleg Teverdovsky

Man, now we're not going to make the playoffs this year. I really thought he was going to sign with the Kings and make this team world beaters this season. Shucks. I guess I'll have to tear down my poster of Brooks riding a unicorn and drinking a milkshake off of my wall. We're screwed now.

It all boils down to the fact that nobody wants to play in LA with a bunch of kids, no goaltending and the Kings aren't offering max contracts..... oh and how about not knowing who your coach is going to be??

Same situation with Stuart. Orpik can compete for the cup NOW and he made the right choice.

Put that crash helmet back on Kings fans, it's going to be another rough season.....

My mistake..Pit offered a 5 yr deal not a 6.

Kings fans are so fickle it's downright funny.

So an overrated 3rd pairing dman chose to stay with a squad who just went to the Cup finals rather than go to a team that is on the up, but not there yet. Suddenly the Kings blew it again!

Waaaaa! Waaaaa! Waaaaaaa!

OK Fiveholio

Lets let the kids play and lose and develop that nice losing attitude. Maybe you should be GM since you have no hockey sense either.

Next yr. is yr 4 of DL's master plan..In Year 5, if the Kings still are 27-30 in the league..Would this mean, ownership will start looking to go in a different direction

Every team in the league is using the "Resign with us or we'll have the Kings try to sign you". I say find the players who are motivated like Doughty to play in LA and continue the rebuilding from inside. I can't wait to watch the youth movement.

If anyone really thinks Orpik was the difference between the Kings sucking next year or making the playoffs, you didn't watch Orpik enough.

Did anyone really think Orpik would sign here? Remember...we are the Kings!

Next defensemen to be lost, Kalinin and Mara. We will target them because they "fit into our budget and our future," but in the end they just won't want to come here.

Say hello to Blake and Schneider

What about Boumeester? Too young maybe and too expensive? Would be nice though!

THANK GOD!

Now is the time when DL will step in and clean up on the remaining FA's (sarcasm)
Seriously where the f*** was Deano when Flyers were
unloading R.J. Umberger (a young player coming into his own who is physical and has lots of character)?
He is there to though when they get rid of an AHL
caliber defenseman who was so crappy that Flyers got
Modry from the Kings rather than call him up.
The only question now is will Anthony keep his promise
to leave when Deano resigns Blakey for 5 million

sadly, Aaron or Paul-Cat are probably right

if you build it, they will come. sure we are not attracting UFA talent, but we don't need it now. let the kids play and develop. in a couple of years, we will have a cup contender and the UFAs and trade deadline players will all want to play here. this is part of the process.

seems to me we can have 10 years of mediocrity by over-paying UFAs and bringing in guys like Anson Carter and Steve Heinze or we can build something special and suffer a few years in the process. not like we have anything to lose by trying. or would you feel better making the playoffs and being knocked out first round every year? there will be room for you naysayers on the bandwagon three years from now when we're hoisting the ucp.

I hear Aaron Miller is still available? Anyone? Anyone? Oh man I can't wait for free agency to end so I can stop listening to my stomach churn.

No biggie. He would have been nice but not essential. My two concerns moving forward are these:

1. If next year FA's don't want to sign in LA, will we see a Lowe-ish run on RFA's by Mr. Lombardi?
2. Once the Kings' prized assets do start to hit the open market, will we see the same hard-ball negotiating technique Lombardi used in San Jose? Sure the heck don't want to be patient all these years just to see Johnson or Bernier hold-out over an extra year on their contracts.

Just idle thoughts as I watch the ice melt...

I agree that we should play the kids but I don't know who feels worse LA for not making the playoffs in a while or Dallas who before this year never knew how to get past the 1st round. Still kind of wish I was in Dallas' shoes because when you make the playoffs it's a whole new game.

Forget the bridge defenseman. We haven't improved. You had might as well just let the kids play. There is no reason to hold back Bernier anymore. At least when we lose we'll see the work in progress instead of a bunch of 32 year old nobodies who are filling in for a year or 2.

It feels like we are building a bridge that never ends. By the time the bridge is over guys like Frolov won't even be here. Hard to stamp "Kings" on these young guys butts as Lombardi wants to do when we are fielding a team that fails to improve itself.

Even the best teams add a free agent here and there to improve themselves.

Do these young guys have to score 90 goals to show that they have finally arrived and we can finally sign someone?

We've got 7 years tops with these young guys, and next season is just going to waste another one of these years.

I heard Orpik stayed with Pittsburgh because Lombardi didn't want to put his NTC effect until next July 1.

We're going to be the perfect breeding ground for great prospects...who bolt for better teams when they turn 26 because we aren't doing anything.

I guess I'll end my rant. I've been Lombardi 100% for 2 years. I'm starting to wonder now though when the re-build ends...and the competing begins. There is no reason why he couldn't have put a playoff team out there with our great young guys and more coming down the pipe. Now we're struggling to get to the very minimum of the cap floor while facing an increase in ticket prices.

Frustrated in Ventura.

Orpik was not JUST noticed from his playoff performance. Many Kings fans were high on him from the beginning of the season.

Guys, gals....Lets all take a little reality check here. Orpik's resigning with PIT doesn't make or break the Kings. Sure, it would have been nice to get him, but he's only one piece of the puzzle and a small one at that. One player doesn't make or break a team. You've got to look at the kids in the pipeline; the Kings are fine. LA's up and coming youthful defense has been described as "stellar". Yes, we're probably about one year away but one signing makes little difference to a team. Lets all look at what DL accomplished in the draft and be grateful that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that the Kings will be a team to reckon with for years. Hang in there and keep the faith, the best is yet to come.

Thank you all. By reading most of your comments, I have now become dumber. Thank you...

Jesus...does anyone know what the term rebuilding means?

Detroit was garbage for 10+ years before they started panning out. Ottawas was one of the worst teams in the NHL for years before all their draftees starting coming through. New Jersey was known throughout the NHL as a "Mickey Mouse" organization, until they stuck to their plan.

FYI...this isn't going into Lombardi's 4th year. Technically, yes, but his first year was comprised of evaluation and firing most of the internal staff including the scouting staff. That same scouting staff that failed you the fans for years before Lombardi came along. Yes, they did draft Kopitar, Brown and Lubo...pretty good for 8 years, huh?

This isn't the NBA or the NFL, where you can turnaround a team overnight, and if our expecting that to happen, I suggest you go and watch those other sports, because frankly, you will never get it.

Deelo,

I actually think the kids will be alright next year. Boyle, Purcell, Moulson, Harrold, the goalies - they won't need time to familiarize themselves with each other. We got rid of a lot of deadwood, too. As is, this team is better than last year's team. So, chin up!

Sign me!!! For 5 million per 4 seasons, I can fill one of the Boxes as a Bridge on Lombardi's blackboard!

Dean-O, call me babe! Let's do lunch in Helsinki!

Like I said, open tryouts. Lets see what the fans have to offer for some D.

c'mon now, ya'll. take a deep breath, and relax.

listen to and believe in the plan.

above all else, keep that bottle of xanax handy!

especially you, Anthony.

peace

I am just afraid after couple more years of losing, the guys like Frolov,Brown,Kopitar, are gonna be fed up with this organization and demand trades, or ask not to be resigned.

People are talking about Deano's draft picks. Sure on paper look the picks good, but his draft picks have not contributed on the NHL level yet. They could be tearing up the Juniors or the minors, that doesn't mean they will do well in the NHL Level

I for one am looking forward to next year. Hickey, Doughty, JMFJ, Greene, Harrold is a year older and hopefully wiser, maybe Teubert. Forwards like Kopitar, Sully, Brown, Fro, Stoll, Boyle, Purcell, Moulson, and maybe Bernier and Ersberg in net. Why pay outragous prices for free agents that will turn out like Calder, Nagy, V. Bure, Handzus, Preissing, McCaully, Straka, Heinze, Carter, etc. It makes no sense. I would rather watch the Kings lose this year and get the youth some experience, then watch them lose with a bunch of overpaid scrubs. Alot of you make zero sense. You cry because DL isnt paying crazy prices for FA's, but in 6 months you will all be crying wondering why DL paid 20 million a year for a guy like Orpik who plays 12 minutes a game and is minus 150. Its called rebuilding, and I for one cant wait for 2-3 years from now.

Too bad in 2-3 yrs, guys like Brown,Frolov and Kopitar will be in Detroit, unless they show some improvement, and a reason for these guys to stay.

I think I'm going to throw up the next time someone does the "AND THEY RAISED TICKET PRICES!"

You guys are KINGS FANS! Be more hopeful. Be more SUPPORTIVE. Why do we check on the team on a constant basis if all we do is crap over everything?

Can't the prospect camp come quicker??? then everyone will flip from their 'oh-the-kings/DL-suck' depressing side to their manic 'oh-(name of prospect)-is-a stud/has a bright future/should make the team' side. While the Win/Loss ratio won't be pretty to look at this coming season, the individual performances and whether the young guys can begin to play like a team will be.

Cammellari and Lubo were not the Kings' "best players." The Kings' best players are Brown, Kopitar, O'Sullivan, Frolov, Boyle, Purcell, Moulson, Stoll, Johnson, Doughty, Hickey, Moller, Simmonds, Martinez, Lewis, Teubert and Bernier. The whole friggin' point is to see those names, all at once, ready to play in the NHL at the same time. Without losing any of them because we can't afford to keep them all. And if you think it's a bad thing that eleven of those players are rookies and half of those rookies have never played an NHL game, then you don't understand what rebuilding is supposed to look like. I for one am ecstatic.

My oh my, this board is depressing me, so much negativity.

Have faith in our young talent to break out this year:

-Brown has improved 3 years in a row, I would expect similar/better numbers this season.

-Kopitar will hopefully improve to at least point-a-game numbers.

-Frolov is inconsistent, but has such a sweet touch you never know what he can do if he just tries.

-O'Sullivan will not get signed to an offer sheet, and if he does, Dean will match it. He had a 30 point improvement from 06-07/07-08. Expect better numbers again.

-Stoll can only be better than last year, will improve our PP and face-offs.

-Obviously, defense/goaltending were attrocious and haven't improved that much, but we did get bigger/tougher with Greene (and another year under Johnson's belt) so that's a good thing.

-Handzus can't get any worse than last year
I think that his ressurgence will be a saving grace for Dean L. this season.

BOTTOM LINE: I still thought the Kings were fun as hell to watch last year, even when losing, for the most part. With more young guys coming up and the possibilities we have with Boyle, Moulson, Doughty, Teubert, Hickey, Simmonds, Purcell, Harrold, Martinez, Moeller, it will be another year I will be glued to my TV or in my seat at Staples Center.

Why overpay in this rediculous market this year?

Ah Quisp....You're so much more eloquent with words than I am.....Thanx again!

for metalmaster:

FYI, trading for Umberger might possibly have been the stupidest move that Lombardi could have done. Consider: you have a player who is from Pittsburgh who wants to play close to home, and who is a RFA. He's in Philadelphia...and neither Philly nor Pittsburgh will be able to meet his likely asking price. Less than three hours driving time from his home is an NHL city where a)he played college hockey, and b)the coach is his first NHL coach, and c)they can meet his price.

Now why would the Kings, knowing those circumstances, trade a first round pick for the right to negotiate early with this RFA, certain that, were he to NOT sign in LA (a likely 100% chance of that), the draft pick compensation would be considerably less than that first round pick? Moreover, why would YOU want them to?

Consider the second part of your post, which lambastes Lombardi for making the trade he did make with Philly. As was amply mentioned in the posts regarding this trade, neither Hersley (borderline ECHL-AHL player) nor Lukacevic (strictly ECHL) is likely to EVER see an NHL game without paying for a ticket. So Deano helps Philly with their cap problem by taking on a potential #6-#7 D-man (for this season only), and is rewarded with a SECOND-ROUND DRAFT PICK...and he gave up NOTHING!!!

Of course, it really hurt LA that the Flyers used this cap relief to sign Glen Metropolit and Ossi Vaananen...I'm guessing you had these two guys on your radar as the second-liner and #1 D-man to put us over the top this year.