Armstrong extension
The Kings have signed 33-year-old center Derek Armstrong to a two-year, $3-million contract extension.
The signing speaks volumes about what the Kings -- and GM Dean Lombardi in particular -- think about Armstrong. They've been looking to trade guys with expiring contracts but in Armstrong's case, they locked him up before he could become a free agent this summer. You'd have to think that a few playoff caliber teams out there would have loved to pick up a guy like Armstrong for the stretch run and the playoffs.
Armstrong isn't a big name, and never will be, but he's severely underrated. Put him out there with any two wingers and he will get the job done. He's a very responsible two-way player who leads the Kings with a plus-16 rating, which is startling when you consider that only three Kings are in the plus category this season. Michael Cammalleri is second at plus-6 and Jamie Lundmark is plus-1. With one more goal, Armstrong will be in double digits for the fourth consecutive season and he's two points from matching his career high of 41.
Maybe more importantly, as the Kings try to build with youth, Armstrong is an excellent teammate, an ego-free guy who toiled in the IHL and AHL for almost a decade but made himself into a NHL player.
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Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews.com.
Cheers to Army. The guy is the prototypical hard nosed player who is smart at both ends of the ice. He has worked very well with Cammy/Frolov and helped elevate there play. Being a +16 on the worst team in the Western Conference is amazing!