Lombardi, on Blake and O’Sullivan

I asked Lombardi about the potential of signing Rob Blake and the fact that it didn’t happen today…

“Part of the thing we’re looking at there is getting the (defenseman) who fits across the board, like I said, then work on a number of other things. And we’ll see if it works (with Blake) and if we can make it work financially for him as well as us. But we’ve got to keep the door open right now, in terms of getting a guy who fits not only this year but going forward.”

Then I asked about Patrick O’Sullivan, and whether the big money given to young players would have a negative impact on the Kings’ ability to sign him…

“No, we had kind of adjusted for that, going in, when we did our projections. I don’t think you can kid yourself. The one thing you learn early in your career is, you don’t think, `Oh yeah, we can get him for this.’ You put in your number, going across three or four years, and you make it realistic. I think the number we have is realistic. I guess the numbers you’re talking about for the young players… I don’t think a lot changed (for O’Sullivan). If you’re talking about the top young guys, Patrick hasn’t gone to that level. If you’re talking about (Corey) Perry and (Jeff) Carter and those guys. If he takes another step, God bless him, but I don’t think it’s fair to say he’s in that range.

“The one significant one that happened in the market today was probably (David) Backes, with that offer sheet. And part of the number you use, don’t forget, depends on the term. We’re in good position with him in terms of our rights. Then there’s a number you’d lock him in at, but you’re keeping an eye on the free-agent line. But I think our number is OK. I don’t think anything really changed in the free-agent market that wasn’t there. (Ryan) Getzlaf was already there, and some of those guys. The other thing is, a lot of these deals are done before July 1, but some of them aren’t signed and announced. So some of them don’t come down until today, but we knew what those numbers were, even before the draft.”

I asked if he was still confident that something could be done with O’Sullivan soon…

“Oh yeah, but I’ll be honest with you. We just haven’t grinded on that yet. After this free agency, I’ll make Solly (Jeff Solomon) go to work. (laughs) And that includes the other (restricted free agents) too. Those things tend to drag out.”

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