Forum answers VI

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Question: Besides player acquisitions, what areas of the organization does DL think needs to be improved?

Answer: Last summer, he talked about getting the scouting where he wanted it. At that point, he had just about finished the process of getting all of ``his guys'' in place where he wanted them, so I'd have to presume that over the last 10 months or so, he has accomplished his goals there. Once a GM/president has people in place where he wants them, there's not really much to be ``improved.'' He's just going to be focusing on player development and making sure his resources (staff, coaches, scouts) are spending their time in the proper areas.

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Question: Rich, do you think trading away O'Sullivan for a player in his prime as opposed to a draft pick or another prospect signals the Dean thinks rebuilding is either over or is close to it ?

Answer: Yes, this is what I was getting at when I answered a similar question in the previous thread, and you probably just explained it better than I did. The idea of trading for players who are in their prime (or close to it) indicates that a GM is no longer thinking five years down the road, but instead one or two years down the road. That's a big difference, when you're talking about the way a GM approaches free agency and the draft. To put it another way, he's looking to furnish the house now, not just put up drywall.

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Question: Rich, remember about a year or more ago, you got a sit down with Lombardi and he was writing player projections on the board, hoped for lines and some personnel discussions that you weren't allowed to talk about at the time? You told us what you could, but I always yearned for that insider information. Now, looking back, is there anything you can tell us now that you couldn't say back then? Proposed trades? Proposed draft picks? Things that didn't pan out or things that were spot on looking at the team today.

Answer: Well, that was almost two years ago now, and so much has changed since then. It's almost a completely different team, or a completely different organization for that matter. As I recall, there wasn't really any talk of trades or signings. It was just about which players might fit into what ``boxes'' -- here we go again -- long term and what holes needed to be filled. Obviously, at that point, most of the holes were on defense and the Kings have done a pretty comprehensive job of putting people in position to fill those boxes. The one thing that does stick with me is that when Lombardi was drawing up what the forwards might look like, long term, he had Purcell on the first line. There have been many times, as recently as a couple months ago, when that seemed to be pretty far from realtiy, but it's worth noting that Purcell is now playing (and doing fairly well) on the first line.

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Question: I was watching the trade deadline day show on NHL Live and Jimmy Fox casually dropped that he could see the Kings going after "someone like Kovalchuk" in the off season (immediately causing my nipples to become hard!). Do you see the Kings making a serious bid for a Kovalchuk or Gaborik or maybe Marian Hossa (UFA, right?) in the summer? Also, you can debate how good or crappy DL's plan is but having been a King's fan since probably before you were born, it just blows me away that we actually have a plan! Comment?

Answer: Well, first, thanks a lot for the visual... Second, Kovalchuk isn't a UFA until next summer, so that would have to be done via trade, but yes, Gaborik and Hossa are UFAs this summer. Do I see the Kings making a serious bid for a player of that caliber? Absolutely. As I have said, Lombardi has made it fairly clear that he wants another top-six forward. Now, to caution you, I'm going to take you back to the summer of 2007. A lot of people got excited about the crop of free agents (Gomez, Drury, Smyth, etc.) that the Kings ``had interest in,'' and then the Kings didn't sign any of them. It's not like picking fruit. In free agency, there has to be a match with term and money. In trades, there has to be a match with GMs who can help each other. I'll be curious to see how it develops.

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Question: Any conversations regarding a possible AHL team in Kansas City (AEG's new arena) that the Kings will affiliate with in the future ??

Answer: The only talk I hear about Kansas City these days has to do with people in New York freaking out that the Islanders will move there. It seems as though the focus is on a NHL team, not an AHL team.

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Question: If the Kings are still in the playoff hunt when they make the road trip to Canada during the last week of the season, any chance that we will get local tv for the 3 games?

Answer: The Kings want very much to do all the games. It's not their decision, although they can (and have been) trying to get FSN to add some of these games. I asked Bob Miller the other day if he had heard anything, and he hadn't. If you want to make your opinion known, you should contact the FSN folks. I'm sure someone still has Tom Feuer's e-mail address sitting around somewhere...

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Question: Rich, I'm curious which position in the Top 6, do you think the Kings should try to aquire for next season, a 1b center or a skilled top line winger?

Answer: Honestly, I'm not sure it matters that much. At center, they have Kopitar, Handzus (for two more years) and Stoll (for three more years), plus Moller is a natural center. Those are all potential top-six forwards, so I suppose I would lean toward a winger just for the sake of depth.

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Question: Is Ersbergs 2 year deal a 2-way deal? Just curious... I haven't been able to find details anywhere.

Answer: I hesitate to answer 100 percent, because honestly it hasn't occured to me to ask anyone, but I can't imagine that it's a two-way contract. Ersberg wouldn't have any motivation to sign a two-way, two-year contract extension in March, four months before he was going to be a restricted free agent. I'm all but certain it's one way.

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Question: Do you know how active DL will be in pursuing some of the Unrestricted College players such as Matt Gilroy, who is getting a ton of offers from NHL teams. Each year we seem to pick up a college d-man ( Harrold, Piskula, Drewiske )Just wondering if he has his eyes on any late bloomers like Teddy Purcell...

Answer: I don't know of any specific players, but yes, there seems to be at least one who pops up every year. I think about Martin Jones last year, even though he wasn't a college kid. Somebody always pops up.