Here’s the final part of the Lombardi interview. In this part, he goes a little more in-depth about the process of building the team and how he thinks things are going, long term…
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Q: It seems like what the public wants to know is, as you’re in the process of building the organization, are things progressing the way you had hoped, or have their been some setbacks along the way?
LOMBARDI: You have to be careful how you answer this, because your team has to be accountable. When you have a player like…last year, Kopitar comes in and obviously shows enormous potential. Then you have a player like Jack Johnson on the back last year. He’s already a player. He’s not making highlight films but he’s doing a lot of good things. So that’s a step forward. What we’re trying to accomplish here, it’s building two things. It’s building the team and the reserve list.
Another thing you can look at is a kid like Purcell in the minors, leading the minors in scoring as a first-year player. The fact that we had such a big decision on Bernier at such an early stage. That’s why, when you ask me if we’re on schedule, where have we had a setback? I don’t know. Brown signs for six years, at hopefully for a reasonable number. Moulson, we’ll see how he pans out, but that’s one we didn’t expect. Zeiler is Zeiler. There’s a structural thing that has to be worked on, as well as the team that you see immediately. Those guys are coming along fine. Even the kids that went back to junior…Simmonds is the most sought-after kid in the Ontario league right now. Every team that’s a contender wants him. So these are positive things. I’m trying to think of where we’ve had a setback in terms of that side of it.
Now, that being said, I think we’re back to where we were at the front end of this conversation. That doesn’t answer for us losing or for us searching for an identity. So if you ask me, `Are you happy with that?’ No. `Are you happy with some of the other things you’re seeing?’ Yeah. Hickey is playing 30 minutes (per game) in Seattle right now, wearing a captain’s letter. That’s why, in the stage where I am, you have to spend three weeks on the road, in the trenches with your scouts, because that’s an area that I very fiercely believe in, and I wanted to put in the work. That’s going to pay off down the road. Parts of it, I’m very happy with the way they’re progressing. Other parts, no.
Q: Looking at it down the road, how does the roster fill itself in? You talked about not wanting to add six or seven free agents every year, but how do you keep that from being a cycle that repeats itself? Do you try to ease the young guys in, the way you’re doing with Johnson and Moulson now, for example?
LOMBARDI: Yes. And eventually you get to the point where you’ve got a team that’s now a group with upside. If you can play in the league with upside… You’re right. It’s almost a piece at a time. And you’ve got to be careful with the guys in the minors. They’ve got to be trained properly. So, you’ve already seen a little. Zeiler…OK. O’Sullivan…OK. Those are young guys who hopefully can find a role on the team. And eventually you get to the point where you don’t have to do that anymore. That’s where you’re trying to go.
But in the meantime, you’re juggling two balls at once. We do this exercise (in the office) all the time. It’s trying to fill the boxes [roster spots]. The more boxes you can get filled… Like, you still didn’t know, coming into this year, if Johnson could play in the league. Well now, next year there’s a top-four (defenseman) box that you can fill with him. That’s a guy we can grow with. Even down to your role players like Zeiler. He’s had some ups and downs but I think he understands what he’s got to do. We didn’t have our own role players from within the system. Now, with him and maybe Moulson and maybe (O’Sullivan), four of our bottom six, arguably, come from within the system and they’re young players.
The problem is, if you start rushing kids, that’s not good either. It’s not fair to them and then you’re throwing them out the door, like what happened with the Islanders 10 or 15 years ago. They had all those kids and they were ready to start winning, and then you get down on the kids and you trade them all. You can’t do that. Like I’ve said, when you’re not as active in free agency, you’re probably headed to where that nucleus is coming together. Not to say that you’re not going to be involved in some way, every year, but I’m talking about those holes (on the roster). You don’t want to go in with so many holes. Let’s say (O’Sullivan) solidifies a role, with Zeiler, (Ivanans), Johnson… that’s four more than you had last year. Maybe we’ll get lucky and one of the other guys will be ready by the end of the season or whatever.
Q: Then maybe next year it’s Purcell and Harrold and a couple others…
LOMBARDI: Yeah, and eventually… We’re not a young team. And to get there, there’s a process. Now, going back to your original question, if we had some guys who had performed up to expectations, I think we’d be in a better situation currently. We should be there and we’re not. And that goes back to what you’re saying about some of the free agents who have not performed like we thought they should have been able to. Then again, it’s still a little early.
Q: The last question is about a style of play, or maybe a lack of toughness on the team. Looking at the Ducks last year, with that shutdown line they had, I don’t see that potential with the Kings. Is it there and I’m just not seeing it?
LOMBARDI: Here’s what happens. When your top guys, when your top two lines are scoring, it’s easier to build that traditional third line. I had one of the best third lines in hockey when I had (Mike) Ricci, (Scott) Thornton and (Niklas) Sundstrom. I loved that line. In the playoffs, they were like a second line. But what happens with teams — like where we’re at right now — is that when you don’t get the secondary scoring, sometimes that third line has to err toward a little more skill, to try to get some scoring.
Now if you’re asking me the type of team I’d like, I still, ideally, would like to get back to two scoring lines, a Ricci-type third line and then an energy-type fourth line. Third-line guys can play. That’s the thing with Ricci and Thornton. They could play. They could play in traffic and everything else, and then with your fourth line, you sacrifice skill to get energy. But because of our lack of secondary scoring, we probably have to look at that third line in terms of getting more skill. The second line might not be a bona-fide second line. Like I said, that was one of the favorite lines I’ve ever had. They were just dogs and they scored big goals, playoff goals, and they were hard to play against. It’s hard to find those players nowadays.
It’s a lot easier to build that way, and to get players to accept that role, if your top six (forwards) can give you what you need, in a traditional sense, in terms of putting up numbers. To win, I still believe you need those two scoring lines, four top defensemen and good goaltending. But like I said, all you’ve got to know is that that was one of my favorite lines in San Jose. It’s hard to find those guys, but it’s a little easier to do once your scoring is taken care of. We just haven’t found that second layer.
Q: What did you get out of your three-week scouting trip? [This was actually at the start of the interview…]
LOMBARDI: These guys (scouts and employees) are coming together quickly. I’ve always said that these guys were under the gun last year. They only had half a year, and you know how I feel about scouting and the importance of the way we do things. I was really happy with the way they’ve come along. It took me three years in San Jose to get that staff where I wanted it. I’m not saying that’s the best way to do it, but there’s certain ways you want things down. When these guys get up to speed, we’ll get it done sooner in terms of how we do things. It was very productive. It was probably one of the more productive three weeks I’ve had.
