and the trades begin...

I think getting a 3rd round draft choice for Modry is a better return than expected. Good luck to him. He's always been a decent player and very unfairly maligned by some fans.

philly got robbed!

I don't really know what this trade accomplished. Other than cleaning house, to make room for our prospects.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not sad to see Modry go. He was nothing spectacular, but he was steady. He didn't give the puck away like Lubo. One of the few players with a plus rating on the team.

But a third round pick doesn't fill any holes. DL keeps stock-piling picks and prospects.
Last year we chose 10 players in 7 rounds. This year we should draft 12 players in 7 rounds. And don't forget the players we have playing in the AHL & ECHL. Does DL really believe that all these draft picks will make the roster. When Brown, Kopi, Sully, JJ, Fro hit their late 20's or early 30's they'll have to move on in order to make room for all these picks.
DL better hope that the team roster increases from 23 to 43 players.

If we had gotten a half eaten philly cheese steak for him I would still have been happy....

Saw the writing on the wall that they're going to start this. Salary dump city I guess.

Time to call Harrold back up.

I really hope they sign Stuart and CAmmy and get them off the block though.

He's an UFA this summer, so I can't imagine anyone would pay more than a 3rd. Now who's on the way from Manchester?

I think this means Blake is staying and probably
Stuart as well. Harrold will replace Modry for now
and either he or Dallman will go when/if Blake is
healthy enough to return.
This will probably be a nothing deal in the long run. I would think Modry
willretire at end of season. A good move for the
Kings as Modry had no future here.

i'm gonna say, after a little thought... i agree with this deal. besides, draft picks make solid bargaining chips too... i don't think lombardi expects 12 players from this draft to make the NHL, anthony.

good luck to modry... i will remember his making an all-star team and his NOT being the worst D-man on this team.

Can you ask Dean about the Philly Inqu story saying it looks like the Kings will not or appear not ready to give up Stuart?

folks, this is a good trade for the "future" of the kings. Anthony you continue to spew nonsense and consistently display you lack of understanding both for the game and this team. Draft picks often make the difference in trades and a third round pick for Modry is a good trade.

Good move. I am not expecting the Kings to get much in return the next week besides prospects and pics.

The Kings have too many good young players. I hope DL uses them to make a big trade to get a top flight goaltender or D-Man this summer. They have plenty of pics and prospects to make a deal happen. I believe its the only way to get a great player in LA because no one wants to sign with a perennial loser. We saw what happened over the summer with Gomez, Drury, and Briere.

Bring up John Klemm and lets see what we can get for him.
Worth maybe a 4th round selection.

Remember, just because you draft 12 players, doesn't mean all 12 are expected to make it to the NHL. With that said, the more players you draft, the better the chances that SOME will make it to the NHL. And IF for some reason they do become NHL ready, then you're in a position to trade some of that young talent for Higher quality Veteran players.

what holes are you guys expecting to fill with Jaroslav Modry?

"we need players not picks" is terrible logic.

goaltending, solid defensive defenseman, 2nd line centerman, face-off specialist.

this is jaroslav modry. it isn't blake or cammalleri or even brad stuart. we're not going to get a good defenseman straight up for one of the worst defensemen in the league.

I think we can safely say that this trade paves the way for Roman Vopat to make a proud homecoming

I am glad to see Modry going to a playoff team. He was solid and steady. Also, I am glad to see the Kings getting more assets. Only value players with good contracts (Fro, Cammi) will return high-end players and No. 1's.

Any trade of any players on this team (outside of Kopitar, Jack Johnson, Brown, Frolov, O'Sullivan and any of the high-end prospects) makes sense right now.

I actually think Anthony is toying with us. He takes a logical look at an issue, then completely reverses everything and jumbles the facts around. Then he watches us react. Genius.

Matt -

Any chance you can get Lombardi on the phone to comment on this? I get why he made this trade but I'm curious as to his comments on the implications of the deadline this year in terms of our future.

If we re-sign Stuart (not a bad thing IMHO) and Blake stays put, we're really not getting another 1st round pick or decent prospect. It would be nice to hear what he has to say.

Keep it up, Matt!

I too am glad to see Modry go to a playoff contender, and I also think this is the first domino to fall.

Say what you will about Modry, he was steady EVERY NIGHT for the Kings, and for a good portion of the early part of the season was the best defenseman on the team.

This helps our team alot more than keeping Modry I assure you all. What is worth more? A Modry or a Third round draft pick? The King's just added value to their organization. They can use the pick to upgrade another pick at the draft or use the prospect in a future trade. Anthony, I have no clue what makes you think that Kopitar and JJ will be pushed off the team by prospects... DL has been saying all along that he has been stockpiling picks and prospects for future deals. Only a small portion of them will make the team.

Shakes,

Roman Vopat?? Eklund said on her blog today that the mystery King who will be making his homecoming this season will be Aki-Petri Berg (e-834.62^4)!!!!!

I agree with Paul. Modry may not have been a superstar, but he's been a steady player night in, night out, which is more than many guys on the team these days. I wish him luck in Philly.

Get out the brooms --- they're going to clean house and the end result isn't going to be pretty.

Anthony, this trade accomplished getting something for a player that could walk away at the end of the year, thus ending up with nothing.
Draft picks are what 95% of the NHL is made up of. It's a little something that DL has done a good job in doing, and that's building the reserve list. There is absolutely nothing wrong with stockpiling prospects and picks when you're a rebuilding team.
Do you not know anything about hockey? Seriously?

Best of luck to Modry. I agree with those who don't feel that he is the horrible player so many around here like to make him out to be. I hope he and the Flyers go deep into the playoffs.

It seems that some of you forget that there have been third round picks (and higher) who have become impact players in the NHL. Sometimes teams get lucky and find one of those players. Conversely, not all first round players develop into the player they were projected to become, so relax and cross your fingers the pick we make is the hidden diamond.

Other then getting a 3rd rd pick in a deep draft for a 37 year old walkaway UFA at the end of the season-I don't see what this trade accomplished.

Quite frankly, getting a 3rd seems to be a steal for Modry. Good luck to Jaro though, hes a pro's pro and a class act.

This pretty much sinks the Flyers chances of winning the Cup.

Good trade. Modry was steady, but not special. There was no long-term future for him here, I wish him luck. To get a 3rd in a deep draft, DL did a good job. The Kings now have 7 picks in the first 3 rounds. This is another asset that could be used in a trade scenario.

Best to Modry. He is a solid defender and a class act, and can certainly contribute to a Philly team in need of a character upgrade. As a UFA we probably got as high a pick as we could for him, and DL made a good move for both player and team. Another 3d rounder gives us flexibility on trades as well by adding another pick we can offer without depleting what DL's already stored up. Let's wish Jaro well.

For those of you who continue to miss the point:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?page=brophy080216

For Paul and the majority of the rest, agreed. Getting a 3rd rounder for a UFA was a good deal, better than I expected. I like seeing DL stockpile the draft picks; yes some 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounders don't make it but many do. Good job DL, great article Daniel on the ESPN link and good luck Modry, you were much maligned and you played better than you were given credit for (a plus/minus on this team???).....

Obviously not every prospect is going to make an impact in the NHL. Scouting, player development and then the law of averages, say as an estimate, one in six 3rd rounders develop into productive players, one in three 2nd rounders and one in two 1st rounders. That would seem to provide for much better odds in building a sustainable winner than the way the Kings have tried to fill a varying portion of their roster for much of the last 15 years or so- settling on acquiring other teams castoffs, well past-their-prime journeymen, and end of the road reclamation projects.

Great move by DL. Get as many picks as you can, especially in this years draft which is supposed to be the strongest and deepest in many years.
You can't predict how many will make the NHL but the law of averages tells you the more you have the better the chances of some of them sticking are.
That, or you can package the picks for young players.
Modry was a steady player, but at 37 and UFA he had no future here. A 3rd round pick is a steal.

So, with the Modry deal, the Norstrom deal now looks like this:

To Dallas:

Norstrom
Pushkarev
Draft Pick - 3rd rd 2007 (Sergei Korostin)
Draft Pick - 4th rd 2007 (Colton Sceviour)

To Los Angeles:

Fransson
Oscar Moller (round #2 - 2007)
Bryan Cameron (round #3 - 2007)
Draft Pick - 1st in 2008
Draft Pick - 3rd in 2008

Very good deal.

I agree with the guys that said Modry was a solid guy. He was a bid defenseman that didnt' play the physical game and that's what frustrated fans I think. He was a class act, took the boo's in stride.

I was embarassed for the fans when he was booed by his home team fans on opening night in introductions. Totally not called for.