Here’s what Dean Lombardi said today about Patrick O’Sullivan. Lombardi starts off talking about O’Sullivan, swings back into Justin Williams territory and then comes back to O’Sullivan…
Question: How do you view O’Sullivan? For whatever reason, it seemed like he never completely found a fit with the Kings…
LOMBARDI: “Well, I think he has made a lot of strides. If you remember where he was when we first got him, and we had to send him back down (to the AHL), he’s a much better player. There is a little bit of, like you say, the fit, as far as which line. In fairness to him, we don’t have the right mix in our top nine. Like I said, we have focused on the back end. The one good thing, as this trade deadline shows me too, is that I don’t have to talk about 15 boxes (to fill). The key for us was looking at improving our front and getting the right mix and the right amount of size, grit and skill. That’s where our focus now moves.
“We signed Ersberg. The back end still has some work to do, but it’s there. The front end, you look at it and it’s just not in sync. So that was what we spent the whole trade deadline looking at, is for players who fit in your top six, and then how that fits with your seven through nine. We sort of like certain combinations. Simmonds seems to go with Handzus. Stolly and Brownie have kind of hit it off a little bit, but do we really have that right guy with Kopitar? And does that depend on where Frolov is? This is what I’m talking about with Williams too. With Williams’ game, he’s a really smart player. He can do a lot of things for you and, again, he has proven he can play in the playoffs. I think he’s a better fit for us.
“Now, would I have done this if Justin Williams was 31 years old, or a rental player? No. That was the other thing I was looking at at the deadline. We weren’t looking at any rentals. Anybody we were going to get, it had to be somebody who fits with us next year and the year after. So this was a good fit, on all accounts. He’s signed, he’s bigger, he’s more experienced but still only 27 years old, and I think he’s a better fit in our top six.
“Again, that’s not taking anything away from Sully, but I think there is a little bit of…where exactly does he fit with the guys we were going with? Sully would probably still be a player with upside. I think he has showed a lot of upside in his last 24 months. Now there’s another step that needs to be taken. But with the opportunity to get a guy like this (Williams), we felt that this works for us now and down the road. With the injury, it’s tough, but we do have Moller, so we’re going to keep Moller. I’m OK with Oscar holding the fort for now, and then Justin comes in when he’s ready.”