Lombardi's prediction

The problem with the 'future' argument is that what a number of the current crop of Kings youngsters need in order to continue development is to win. A key FA signing would help a ton towards that (along with at least average goaltending). Losing the Drury bidding war hurts.

Heck some people around here were thinking WE would get 2 of the top 3, and we ended up not signing any of them. I agree that a 5 yr/7yr deal is out of the question for players in their 30's.

Hopefully Stuart will end up a King but I think at this point it will be Andy Sutton.

a little anticlimactic?

I would be extremely happy with signing Hannan.

Hannan to Colorado.

i'm w/ you Derek.
the Kings aren't winners yet. to get there they need a push (via free agency) rather than a nudge of hoping the kids improve each year.
when you aren't a winner, to get a big name free agent, you have to overpay.
when you ARE a winner, big name free agents are willing to take less.
KC Kings???

apparently we just lost hannan to the avs.

Well, I'm going to be doing a little judging. I want a straight answer from Dean, plain and simple. As longtime fans, we deserve it. We need a leader for this bunch of kids, we have the $$ and end up empty-handed. The answer I REALLY want is how do we not land a guy who owns a freaking house in SoCal when we have the cap space and the future we have? Was Dean's bedside manor so repulsive that Chris decided to go to the big, rotten apple? To not get ANY of the 3 is point-blank SAD! Now Hannan signs in Colorado. Stuart is all that's left, and that ain't much. Unless Dean pulls a Ryan Smith out of his hat, this was a lot of wasted 15 hour days. I feel Dean's frustration, but then again, I've felt it for 27 years so I know what it's like.

4 yrs 18 mil for hannan

I am as disappointed as everyone else. That being said, the Rangers now seem to have followed the Tampa Bay model for cap dollars which isn't getting Tampa anywhere.

There three strongest players are now all forwards. Lundquist now becomes the person to watch along side Emery for an offer sheet and their defense isn't exactly scary.

I am still cautiously optimistic b/c I wouldn't have given Briere or Gomez the deals they got today. When arbitration awards start going down and someone walks away, we may be one of the few teams with $$$ left to spend.

There are a whole lot of people not yet signed. I agree with Rich and Goallum that we offered Drury a comparable offer dollar-wise, but we are nowhere near as close to winning anything. If I am Drury, I go to the Rangers too.

Hey Boozer, if you feel that way, then you must be extremely UN-happy that he signed with the Avs, eh?

Lombardi must not know what he's doing ... asleep at the switch ... afraid to make a move ... sure the Kings have lots of young assets, but that won't put ASS-ets in the seats next season if they are losing every game 5-2.

What's disheartening is that even as charismatic, respected, and hard-working a GM DL is, that he still cannot get a top tier free agent to come to LA.

I agree with Derek's & mm's comments.

He was in the bidding for Chara, Briere, Drury, Gomez, Hannan (who signed 4yr/18mil to the Avs).

What is the problem? The travel schedule? Lack of solid goaltending? Maybe we need to over-pay someone to get the ball rolling in our neck of the woods? I want to develop and keep our youth, but I also want to be competitive. Seems like many players don't believe the Kings are.

UFA signing day is a tough day to be a Kings fan.

Brent

I'm always conflicted when July 1st comes around. On the one hand, I really want the Kings to finally build a team the right way. On the other hand, I get caught up in the July 1st hype, and when the Kings have their money on the table and don't come up with one of these guys, it's a little diappointing.

Then you look at the Flyers, and they've been fairly creative in the last week or so.

All that said, the goaltending is just too big a question mark no matter what they do today, tomorrow, or any other day until they answer that most important of questions. Maybe they have to figure that out before they sign anyone to 5, 6, or 7 year deals.

15 hours? It's only been about 9... but I get yer point. I know I will cool off but I am a long suffering King fan that has supported Lombardi. He kept talking about builders and bridges and all that nonsense. I, for once in a long time, had hope. Hope of getting abig name player. After being a King fan for 30 years, I should have known better. I am going to bed and lay in the fetal position for a few hours. :) I'll wake up and be a Lobardi stooge again!

How can Dean NOT match Colorado's offer or even GO HIGHER????

Isn't Hannan worth 5 million?

I don't think its Dean at all, I'm really beginning to think that....

a) players don't want to travel

b) they don't want to play for Marc Crawford

So now, we get "stop gap, short term" guys like Shanahan or Peca, while waiting and waiting and waiting for Boyle and Parse and Hickey to develop???

Whoptee fricken doo!!!

Trade Lubo NOW! Get a 1st rounder or two and stockpile!!!!!

Anschutz as to be scratching his head.

We couldn't have given 14 million for Drury AND Gomez????

Drury would be 35 when his contract ended and Gomez would be 34.

Dean choked. AGAIN.

Plain and simple.

I had such high hopes for today. I suppose that, as a Kings fan, I really should be used to having my hopes dashed. I am beginning to wonder why I scrape & scrounge to pay for season tickets I can't really afford. Well, here's to a top pick next year, I suppose.

one by one we fall off the bandwagon. I may have been in the minority still on the train, but the Hannan signing pushed me over. I wanted that one so bad. damn it. Give us something.

Paincorp, you realize Drury is from Connecticut, right? You know that Connecticut is right next to New York, right? The rink Drury grew up playing in is within an hour drive to New York City. That's going home for him. Why would he not want to go home to have a chance to win the Cup. Sure, SoCal is nice, but do the Kings have a chance to win the Cup next year?

For those of you who are dissapointed with the lack of activity on the Kings part, just remember they re-signed Modry this week.

Let's clear something up. If you are looking for 'Builders' or 'Bridges', then goaltending or anything else for that matter simply doesn't matter. You are looking for a big time player with leadership to teach these kids how to win. It doesn't matter what position he plays. That is where the dissapointment lies for me. If Dean says he's looking for these types of players and doesn't land one, given the almost perfect scenario we have this year to sign a big UFA, then I want to hear it straight from him as to what it is stopped us from achieving his goal.

Anybody who scrapes and scrounges for money to pay for SEASON TICKETS for this team needs to take a serious look at the roster for next season.

Unless you are buying your season seats so that you can see THE PLAYERS ON THE OTHER TEAMS that we could have had!

Neil - thanks! You made me laugh when I really needed to!

Paincorp - I agree 100% with you.

Rich Hammond - please tell Lombardi that we all are FED UP with the lack of signing a free-agent goal-scorer!

So we can get the good players to live here, (Drury spends the off season in L.A.) but we can't get them to play here?
I'm not buying that. I don't think we offered anything close.

Volcanix92--- Yes, I realize where Chris is from and that he's STILL close to home. Chris has a house in SoCal for a reason...he likes it here. He's been near his hometown for a while now, I could see him being interested in a change. He's talked publicly about liking SoCal. We had an opportunity to give him the chance for that change and let it slip away. Point is, he has a home in SoCal, so he must like living here, even if only for the summer. We should have capitalized.

KF78---Dean has been putting in 15 hour days BEFORE today. That's what I meant. Sorry if I was confusing.

I think Ernest may have a point about players not wanting to play for Crow. The Lubo interview a few weeks back in his native Slovakia mentioned that Lubo was less than thrilled about Crow's coaching style, the translation saying he was somewhat of a 'communist' (Although I don't think Lubo meant it that way....or DID he?) I'd sure like to hear some candid player talk about THAT, but it'll never happen.

Even the Bruins are trying to improve ...

The Wild traded goaltender Manny Fernandez to the Boston Bruins on Sunday for forward Petr Kalus and a fourth-round draft pick.

Couldn't the Kings have done something similar?

Ryan Smith and/or Stuart remain. Nylander would be good as well. I still have a little hope that we will get someone to help out but know how it usually works out every year.

Just think how New Jersey and Buffalo fans are feeling today. Although we have not gotten any better we haven't lost any key players to free agency.

It's definately tough to be a Kings fan right now....

I trust Lombardi and what his plan is, but it seems like we got dumped at the dance.

Just to set some reality to those who are reacting without any thought; consider this. Lombardi can't FORCE players to sign with the Kings, even if their offer is just as good as others. There are personal reasons for players to decide to sign with specific teams that goes beyond the dollars and cents.

Meanwhile, Cammalleri has not been signed to a long-term deal and the price of that deal (presumably) has gone up.

Rich, please ask Dean what lessons, if any, he learned from the Nabokov holdout. Dave Taylor got Frolov signed long-term -- what has Dean done for us other than Jack Johnson?

I really have no idea what Lombardi's plan is. What a let-down.

This is LOS ANGELES, the fans have supported this big-city team for years, and they are treating us like a small-market club. Sometimes you NEED to overspend on players.

Now instead of overspending on Drury, they can REALLY overspend by giving Nylander a Drury-like contract!

I can't decide if I'm going with "Do Nothing" Deano or "Mr Safety" as in can't pull the trigger.

I am tired of the bad moves:

- $6 Mil for Blake
- Cloutier
- Can't pull the trigger on top notch talent

Time to make the secondary team in town the primary team. Make sure DL knows he's losing the fan base who are tired of the excuses and flat out lies.

(Sorry, but I had to vent)

Drury or Gomez or Briere would not have got us to the Final, probably wouldn't have even got us to the playoffs. So how does making the playoffs and getting knocked out in the first round make signing one of these guys for 5-8 years at 7+ million a year count as progress? We can't re-sign Visnovsky either. Do we give him a 5-7 year contract? Do we really want him on the books for 7 million a season when he's 35??? Trade him for draft picks/prospects. Most important thing is to not screw up the entry draft. Looks like a crap 07/08 season and a very high draft pick. Hope that Kiprusoff doesn't sign with the Flames and sign him next July. I'm a lifelong Kings fan but I think some of us got caught up in the emotions of today and aren't looking at the big picture.

Another bad day to be a Kings fan...looks like a another losing year coming up, I can't get excited about the 2008 draft because DL will likely go off the board with the #1 pick...all this losing is getting old!!

The King's will not be able to atract top flight talent until they get the goaltending situation resolved. The Rangers have put themselves in Cap Hell today. The Kings should make Lundqusit a RFA offer that the Rangers have no cap room to match. A world class goaltender is worth the 4 first round picks it would cost.

Scott Hannan. Is not worth. 4.5 mill a year.

At least Dean could lock up Cammy and Lubo long term. That way, the team actually builds instead of develops talent for the other teams, and remains in the never ending rebuilding mode.

For those of us that have been kings fans for a while and are bent, I don't think this is about missing the bigger picture, it's about seeing the same damn picture over and over and over without the end result changing! If it wasn't for the miracle kid that is Kopitar, who would put butts in the seats this year? Frolov (Lotka) is slow in developing (Get out of your freakin shell, PLEASE!), Cammi is getting close to being flashy, Lubo is there but somewhat invisible, None of these guys are LEADERS yet. Anze comes in his first year and DEFINES what it is we need by his play and his demeanor. What we need is another Kopitar WITH EXPERIENCE to lead this team until Kops is ready to do it. We've already tossed 3 mil in the toilet for the next 2 years, why not gamble with another 7 for the next 5 and that still leaves us with around 15-17 mil to mess with to resign guys this and next year! Being safe is one thing. Being timid is another. Risk/Reward...strike the balance so we can have a chance to win. You can't rebuild without the craftsman to run the lathe. Otherwise you just have a bunch of unfinished pieces.

A few years from now, I'm sure we'll look back at the free agent signings of 07 and wonder what the heck these GMs were thinking.

Shouldn't be a surprise that Sather is behind 2 out of the 3 ridiculous contracts. He whined when he was in Edmonton that all the big markets were driving up the salaries and if he had a unlimited payroll he'd win every year. So then he goes to the Rangers drives up league salaries by giving crazy money to Kasparaitus, Lowe, Healy and worst of all 8 million to Holik to be his 3rd line center, etc. Sather drives up salaries for all other players in the league yet again. He's bad for the other owners.

BTW, Gomez has once career 20+ goal season (albeit on a defense-first team but still), Drury's career high is 69 points and Briere had one 65+ point season not to mention he was put on waivers by Phoenix a few years ago. These guys are not worth this kind of money!!

hey paincorp, the person who posted the post is below the line on the post. It looks confusing but you're actually off one person on each of your responses, just an fyi.

lombardi is a clown. What a post season. Ducks win cup - Moron drafts a guy no one has ever heard of, can make a deal for Fernandez and picks no one up on 7/1. This guy is a joke

Chris H - I agree with you. The "Big Names' of this Free Agent signing period were nice but not franchise defining. I think the Kings are headed towards the Cup in a few years. The only problem I have with DL's rationale is his comment on what his current RFA's are worth. When he questioned Cammi's worth re: scoring-on-a-winning-team-or-losing-team, I was a bit in skock. Cammi scored +30 goals on a losing team. I watched most of the 82 games. His goals were not gabage goals. Given a top-line center, he would score more. And when DL say's he wants the best player at "the right price," I am now asking - who's "right price" are we talking about? Please tell me this is not an on-ice rendition of 'Money Ball'!?!?! We deserve a winner now and in the future. That is all that has to be said.

The problem Rich is that is the same story year in year out for this team.. The Kings are never players and I'm sick of it.

I like the rest of you am a long suffering Kings fan and have questioned DL's moves in the past. Out of all the deals that were out there today the Colorado ones were the only ones contract wise I would have matched. We have a very solid core of forwards, JJ, and a top flight goalie prospect. I just wonder if "losing" out on the top flight free agents has changed DL's core approach. Our stars are all under 25, maybe now is the time to trade Visnovsky for a top tier defensive prospect and a pick or decent veteran. Use another year to build for the future, build through the draft and fill holes next free agency. By that time we will have a better idea how O'sullivan and Brown will look as well as see if Boyle and Tukonen will pan out.

I'm new to comment, but have read the blog with interest for quite some time. I could hold out no longer. I have been around the Kings for as long as one can be -- I saw my first Kings hockey game as a 15 year old during the 67-68 season. So that means that I have suffered as long as any Kings fan possible -- 40 long years. Why I remain loyal, I still can't quite figure out, but loyal I have remained. What really hurts the most today, as it has for so many years, is the ongoing deceit, dishonesty, and unfulfilled promises of the Kings organization for longstanding fans like myself who have suffered for so long. After today, why should I believe Lombardi any more than Lie-wiki? Fine, you want to develop your young talent, do so. [This is absolutely critical to our future success, and I have strongly supported Lombardi's plan, however painful it might be.] But don't build everyone up with certain expectations (this time that we have cleared enough cap space to obtain an offensive and defensive "builder" type of player) year, after year, after year, after year...only to let us down hard once again. Come on. The fans should always be respected enough to at least be leveled with and told the truth. After all, what is more important than your reputation and your integrity? Sadly tonight, please let anyone tell me why I should trust the current Kings administration any more than all of the others in the past, who have continually let the best fans in the NHL down.

If any of you armchair GM's would care to step up to the plate and enlighten the rest of us on exactly HOW you would convice an elite NHL player in the prime of his career to invest 3-5 years to be part of a dismal rebuilding phase in L.A., please... I would love to hear your response.

Like DL or not, I'm sure he did a lot more to try to sign these players than you give him credit for.

Seriously. WHY would you want to play in L.A. for the Kings where their are more questions than answers? Where the goaltending is as solid as quicksand and the defense has more holes than Swiss Cheese? Where the forwards consist of over and underacheivers and a handful of prospects?

You can throw all the money in the world at a free agent. But there has to be a reason (other than money) why he would say 'yes' to being a Los Angeles King.

Most players in the NHL want to be on a team that at least has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The Kings aren't even remotely close.

GO KINGS!
(41 years and still waiting!)

As a norwegian kings fan Im a little disappointed that we didnt sign any of the top players but you cant force a player to play for your team. Some players play for money and some play for passion. To bad we didnt got shanny last year, he plays with the heart every night and he is a leader. I will not trade Lubo away, I will sign him to a long term deal 4-5 mill a year with bonuses for goals and total points and the same with cammi.
Hopefully DL will come up with a defensman in the next couple of days. Or as some people mention earlier on this page, give Lundquist a offer Rangers cant match but as lucky we are he will be a failure as cloutier, chechmanek,garon,potvin and so on.

Drury to the rangers - parse on board ,,,, guess that just about says it all boyz.To the guy who says and this is the same people that gave Beckham 250 m ,,point well taken my friend . What a joke ! that wait was ,who wrote in DL we trust ? I use to say why? I don't understand ! well the La Kings spoke very loud and clear to the fan base yesterday . How clear ? CRYSTAL

"Lombardi is a clown"? "Moron drafts a guy no one has ever heard of"? I can't believe the ignorant comments I'm reading. Drury, Gomez, and Briere are NOT franchise players. And it's ridiculous that they are getting paid the same as guys like Thornton and Iginla.

Knowing that DL made offers to all of these players, I admire his restraint in not getting sucked in to the hype. He said, "Right player, right price." That's how we are going to keep the young core together for years to come. This is a marathon, it's not a sprint.

I have been a lifetime Kings fan & I live in Newport Beach I hate the Frckin Ducks and yet it is getting harder and harder to drive by the Honda center going to my season seats at Staples. The Kings ownership to say it like it is are just plain cheap. They have been talking about being fiscally responsible and LA de f'ing da for as long as AEG has been owners "we aren't making money every year" But I guarantee you they are making big bank on Staples Center which is also one of their assets. They bought the team to build the venue they want to win but not pay the price to do it. There was a time when Dave Taylor got us close and I think at that time like when Jagr went to New York he would have helped us past Colorado in the second round that year and they have the money but didn't make a move for any free agent. Sound familiar? They are just CHEAP. I don't blame DT or Andy Murray I blame ownership. I wish I was wrong BUT SELL THIS TEAM!!!

Day 2 of Free Agency and Mr "I have a Plan" has done nothing. Being an orange county Kings fan I sadly get to watch a decisive good GM work. Neidermeyer planning retirement lets sign who we need. Mr. "I have a plan" sits and does nothing.

Now this is not about signing the top tier FA's. I think Philly is crazy. However, there are alot of FA's out there that could help the Kings and develope their young players. And remember the young core was not drafted by Lombardi but by Dave Taylor and all of the guys that Lombardi fired.

I am concerned about just what Lombardi's plan is and whether he will be around to see it bear fruit

According to Ottawa sun we just sign Tom Preissing to a 4 year, 11 million contract. The deal is not yet confirmed. Well done DL, now we just need Stuart then we have a good defense. Dont drag Beckham and his 250 million contract into this. Money to pay Beckham comes from sponsorship/big companies who pay big bucks to have their names on the jersey and they want to use Beckham in advertising. Sales of galaxy jersey with Beckhams number on the back will bring huge money back to club/owners. Basically he pays/sells jerseys for his own salary.

A few thoughts on yesterday and today from die-hard LA Kings fan of 23 years:

In my opinion, the reason the Kings lost out on "The Big Three" is their goaltending situation, plain and simple. Why would Drury or anyone else want to go to a team where on a given night, a 2-goal, one assist effort might be waisted by three soft goals against?
This is an issue the Kings MUST solve before they can be considered playoff-worthy, let alone Stanley Cup worthy.
Will Cloutier by the answer? I highly doubt it. Will LaBarbera? Well, he played well two years ago, and was about the only goalie the Kings didn't use last year (because they couldn't). He'll certainly get his fair shot, and if he pans out, then this problem is solved without shedding a single draft pick! If he doesn't, then there's either Bernier or a UFA next summer.

Stuart is still out there (A surprise at this point), and it would be nice if the Kings can get him, if nothing else than to help their PK.

Finally, I think there should be rule that if anyone is going to criticize DL for drafting Hickey, they would have to have seen Hickey play in person first. Yes, I like many others was surprised and a little disappointed that the Kings didn't draft Alzner, but I've never seen either of them play. That said, that was a sizable risk by DL with that high a pick.

Anyhow, our priority now needs to be locking down Cammi and either trading Visnovsky or signing him too.