• Aaron

    Rich,

    Any way for you to find out if there is a no trade/movement clause?

  • ian

    Lets hope he brings value to the Kings at that price, as much value at least that Lubo may have given at his higher pay rate….

    Nice that this done though, more stability through the locker room can only help their play on the ice.

  • thelak1ng

    Thank you Rich for all your hard work. The work you do is priceless to any Kings fan.

    I think Lombardi is off to a great start this year. I personally think that this is a steal for the Kings. 5 years at under 3 mill. for a solid blue liner is rare in this league. Hopefully this can give a base to the JJ negotiations.

  • Duracell

    Great work getting the info, THANKS Rich!

  • jet

    The players must get a pretty good feeling from Murray, as they are signing 2 and 3 games into his coaching career. Seems strange, but I’ll take it.
    As I mentioned previously, Grenne looks like the missing piece in Edmonton this year. They would have gone after him next summer.
    DL is having a memorable year.

  • anthony

    Good Signing.
    He’s a keeper.

  • Tim H.

    That’s a lot of cash for a guy that’s a #5-6 on a good team.

    Dean, He’s not a top 4 guy. Don’t try to trick us. YES THE LUBO TRADE WAS BAD. YOU GOT HOSED. Probably had to overpay to keep him here, otherwise it would look even more bad.

  • Paincorp

    This is a nice raise for 3 reg. season games, but I still think in the long run it will be a bargain. As long as Greene brings it…

    With Calder (I feel) gone after this season (2.7 Mil), maybe even at the deadlilne, this makes Greene’s contract totally affordable and still leaves plenty of room for JMFJ.

    Our captains are locked up for 5 YEARS PEOPLE! TAHT is a GREAT sign…

  • cristobal

    Almost as Cammo got just over a year ago. As much as O’Sullivan? Gun-jumped? I’ll be watching Greene intently tonight.

  • The Man from UNCLE

    OT post, sorry. For those who are interested, there’s a nice feature on Doughty on NHL.com:

    http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=387133

  • cristobal

    Paincorp – Calder would be impossible to move at the trade deadline. Who would acquire an underacheiving high priced item for the playoffs? He’s never proven a thing in the NHL, other than a knack for finding buyers for his questionable talents.

  • Gary

    Great news. Eh, Anthonme? hello….?

  • Eric K

    Gary: Anthony posted. he likes the signing.

    talk about unnecessary bashing.

  • Eric K

    by the way, i like it. he’s not worth that much yet, but with a long-term A and some natural progression, he will be. good work.

  • Anonymous

    Hey Cristo-

    I disagree. People will pay at the deadline for him. Detroit did it to get Kyle at the 06-07 deadline by trading Jason Williams to the Flyers. He has 18 games experience in the playoffs, not a ton, but most were with a winning franchise, Detroit. Granted, they were knocked out by the Ducks that year, but the experience is still important. That knack for finding buyers for his questionable talents is a tribute to his agent, who if he wants to continue getting paid, won’t stop the marketing plan.

    If he were to cut his salary in half, I’d keep him next year. Otherwise, we really don’t need him and he’s not worth the $$$. SOD is a much more valuable player than Kyle dollar and experience wise to help the kids.

    I think it’s a good possibility he’ll be picked up at the deadline, if we don’t make a run.

  • Duckhunter

    What I get from all these signings, is the feeling, DL and TM are getting the players they really feel good about. Players with character, leadership, drive, the want to play here and to be part of something. Not someone who’s playing just for the money or weather. I feel DL is doing a great job to this point. Is it me, or does TM give out more information than any coach you’ve ever seen or heard. I really like this guy so far, and it seems the kids enjoy him as well. Many, many, many things are finally going in the right direction. Now the kids have to do their part and bring it all together. I still think there is to much youth, but I have to admit, I love the energy and the excitement they bring to the rink. When all that potential becomes actual, there’s going to be some exciting days in L.A.

  • Chewy Rocky Horror

    Cristobal:

    Calder’s contract is up after this season. Remember, 3/4 of his 2.8 mil contract will be paid. That’s attractive to any team that is looking for depth come playoff time. If they can get a decent pick, I would be happy.

  • mrk

    Things are looking bright. I’m feeling more optimistic this season than the past two seasons. I guess I’m just giddy w/ the Kopi signing.

    By the way, thanks to everyone who convinced me to get center ice. Well worth the money so far. Now I’m able to follow my favorite players…Belanger, Gleason, Corvo and the rest.

    And thanks Rich again, glad to have you as a Kings fan.

  • Kevin

    Interesting that Greene gets a five-year extension after only three games. But I believe that he and Jack Johnson will be big pieces to this team in the future, especially with Doughty and Hickey coming up.

    Interesting that he got the extension before Johnson. In fact, I’m willing to bet that if Johnson hadn’t gotten injured, after Kopitar got his extension, that he would’ve signed an extension, as well. I believe the injury is the only thing that has prevented that from happening because teams don’t like to sign injured players to extensions for obvious reasons.

  • cristobal

    Chewy – good point about the money being 3/4 paid for. I didn’t think or know about how that works. Anonymous made some good points about his possible appeal, but I think that with guys like Parrish and Glen Murray out there, it indicates that there in no place for Calder types anymore. Calder made little impact for Detroit when the brought him in, and though they’ve won 4 cups over the past 13 years or so, they do make some weird deals at the deadline.
    I think the paradigm in the NHL has changed. There’s much more of a place for a talented and streaky player that’s more European than there is for the big, semi-dedicated north american clone. I’d love for Calder to come in and show he’s worth a spot on this club, but he doesn’t have that look of intensity or desire. Maybe he should get a couple of games soon to give him the opportunity to either stick or move over…

  • Paul

    This is a signing I can’t agree with. 3 games and that’s enough to convince you he’s good enough to keep for 5 more years? Don’t get me wrong. I like what I’ve seen so far from Greene, and he may well be worth it. But I think the Kings have made far too many foolish contract decisions, even in recent years (see Dan Cloutier) to invest 5 years in a guy who has played 3 games for the Kings.

  • JonG

    Very well put, Duckhunter. I still believe there is a huge gulf between having potential and realizing potential, but I’m encouraged by Terry Murray’s praise for several of our youngsters.

    $3 million per season sure seems like a lot for a #4 defenseman, but it sounds like Greene brings other things to the table as well.

  • Duckhunter

    Paul, he earned a letter before even playing a game, and received an extension after three games. That tells me, he doing many things right. He’s obviously made a huge impression.

  • petey

    Can we all just put the Cloutier signing behind us know? Seriously, the guy was a bad signing, even Lombardi has admitted that. It’s done now. Let’s move on.

  • -J

    “Paul, he earned a letter before even playing a game, and received an extension after three games.”

    And was obviously not a throw-in in the Visnovsky trade. Just because some fans don’t know much about him doesn’t mean DL is in the dark. If they didn’t want him on the team long-term, they wouldn’t have traded for him in his RFA year. They’ve been working on an extension for a while now, much before the past 3 games, and the contract is reasonable given that it’ll cost him a few years of prime UFA years. He’ll still need to prove he deserves it, just like any other player out there.

  • cristobal

    J – I think you make some good points, but also don’t think Greene “threw away” UFA years. I couldn’t see him being worth more than what he got. I just hope he can be worth that for all five years. I think he’s much like a healthy Aaron Miller in on ice talent, maybe a bit better. I don’t know what to compare him to as far as Stanley Cup Champion defensemen, but a Danyko or Lowe type would be great. I hope he proves he was worth every dollar, but I still don’t understand why DL seems to throw money at some, while squeezing value out of other who’ve already shown dedication to the team.

    cheers

  • Cameron

    funny how Greene, Stoll, Kopitar and Brown’s contract came quick and easy…then there was Sullivan?

  • -J

    I didn’t say he “threw away” UFA years- if you’re going to attribute a quote to me, make sure its correct. And if you don’t think he could POTENTIALLY make more during the free agent frenzy that goes on every July 1, you haven’t been paying attention to all the ridiculously inflated contracts that get signed each year at this time

    Signing on for 5 year IS showing dedication to the team. And just because someone has played for a team in previous season does not in and of itself mean they are dedicated (Im assuming you are referring to either the camalleri or o’sullivan contracts)

  • cristobal

    Sorry J – just paraphrasing really. But it did look like I was quoting you. Apologies.

    I really don’t think he’d make much more during free-agency unless he helped the Kings get close to a Cup. Lubo signed for a few years, didn’t he, but he was shipped out like rubbish.

  • paul

    what the f@#k is DL doing? he’s a 5 or 6 dman at 2,9 mil come on .

  • cristobal

    Wow, i have to say that Lombardi is really starting to look good with the money. Wether Greene is this valuable or not is one thing, but I just took a look at some of the salaries for other building teams and Chicago and St. Louis are overspending drastically. Chicago actually has so much tied up in Campbell for years and years I cannot believe it. Also, They’re overpaying Khabibulin AND Huet right now. I wonder how they’ll work it all out once Kane and Toews are up for new contracts. I have to say I’m starting to change my opinion about what he’s doing and feel like I’m eating my words. I know its early in the season and the rebuild, but what a difference a couple of months makes. We’ve got all the RFA’s in contracts that are manageable, room to make trades and pick up a guy that might come afailable, and we’re not over-committed financially to a player that really has no right earning an astronomical salary.

    Hard to believe, but Chicago is the 4th highest payroll in the league, while St. Louis is 6th.

    http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/