• Mark E

    Blah, Blah, Blah…”show me the money!!!!!”

  • ChummyButtons

    I heard the Kings are massively tampering and all but have a signed name on a contract from Charles “Le Game” Huddy.

    Just kidding. The Kings are going to wrestle Bouwmeester into submission until he signs on the dotted line. With this acquisition the questionable commitment to organization of Jack Johnson will manifest into a deal. Jack Johnson along with the 5th overall pick will become the 84/85 Dale Hawerchuk. Just kidding. The Kings will package those two assets along with Jarret Stoll to land Jeff Carter and a third round pick.

    The Kings will sign Marian Hossa.

    Hossa, Carter, Williams, Kopitar, Brown, Frolov, etc and the Kings might actually be able to muster up more than 1 goal over their first two games of next season.

    CHUMMY HAS SPOKEN!!!!!

  • Quisp

    Frolov, Handzus, Ersberg, SOD, Purcell, Boyle, Ivanans, Richardson, Zeiler, Preissing are the non-mentioned players under contract. I understand not mentioning Ivanans, Zeiler and RIchardson. And Boyle was nothing to write home about last year. Preissing will certainly not be in the line-up this fall.

    SOD, okay he’s obviously not part of the long-term plan.

    But I find the omission of Frolov, Handzus, Ersberg and Purcell to be kind of ominous. I mean, if you’re going to mention Lewis, why not Purcell? And were not Frolov and Handzus a huge part of the defensive renaissance? (answer: yes, they were.) Ersberg, also, was responsible for a big chunk of success this season, before Quick came along.

    Half of me thinks it’s silly to read too much into who DL mentions and who he doesn’t. But the other half of me says, “uh oh.”

  • anthonyy

    This guy must think we’re all stupid.
    What I see is a failed and desparate GM say and do whatever it takes to keep his job.
    And what we’re being fed here is some more of his patented Kool-Aid.
    I hope AEG isn’t stupid enough to buy this garbage letter and fires him already. He’s done nothing to validate himself. For Gods sake, he’s wasted over $40 Milion on players like Blake, Nagy, Cloutier, McCAulaey, Stuart, Gauthier, Thornton, Calder, Handzus, Preissing. None of these players, except for Handzus, are on the the team. (preissing is the the AHL for $2.75 Mil)

    Lets Disect.
    “We’ve made significant prgoress this past few seasons”
    Ridiculous. In 3 seasons as GM, the team has ended up 26th, 29th, and 25th. This team is going backwards not forward.
    And this joker has the nerve to brag about improving just 8 points.

    In 9 seasons as GM, Kings and Sharks, his team has made the playoffs only twice. That’s pathetic. Hell even Taylor has a better track record than that.

    And lets go over the teams roster.
    Out of all its players there are only a few solid potential – close to franchis players. These are players who are integral to their position in the line-up.
    Kopitar is a superstar
    Brown – Captain
    Frolov is a dominant player
    Doughty is an elite D-Man
    Quick seems to be the goaltender of the future.,
    The rest are replaceable.
    Out of these players, only Doughty is his work. And his choice was a no brainer. I don’t know why he gets so much crdit for drafting him.

    Why doesn’t he explain to us this spooky and childish obsession he has with ex-flyer players. This guy thinks that Justin Williams is the next Mesiah. He’s truly polluted. He traded away a good player for an injured player who averaged 1 goal every 11 games. This was done solely for the purpose of bringing another ex-flyer here.

    I hope this act of desperation (to keep his job) blows up in his cute little face. I hope people see right through his BS and just fire him already. Send him back to his beloved Philly.

  • anthonyy

    And who is this Westgarth character which DL brags about.
    Truly, how many of you guys see Westgarth as a contributing factor on a team. He’s a 25 years old minor league player who like to fight. Was not impreseed at all with his play in LA.
    And DL considers him a core player. He mentioned him in his letter. But doesn’t mention Frolov.
    GEEZ. SHEEZ.

  • Gary

    Deano actually smiling in that picture, really freaks me out.

  • vicarious

    amazing how close the bottom NHL teams are to the top statisically

    Frolov is now over the age 26 so is no longer a “young” nhl player. Except in terms of playoff experience. A stronger player on comparitively weaker teams, boy does he get bashed.

    is promising Kings performed better with younger lads. .500+ next year?

  • TB

    Anthonyy…Westgarth is better than Ivanans in filling the 4th line bruiser role. Simple as that.

    But the rest of the letter is just typical communication with the fans. For a guy that is very calculated, I’m sure he isn’t going to lay out specifics on the future of the team. So as mentioned before…blah blah blah.

  • PakiFro

    “I want to assure you that all of our end-of-season discussions with our players involved a clear message and understanding that next season carries an expectation that we will be playing playoff hockey”

    This is Dean Lombardi raising the bar. A far cry from the “this is the toughest job in the NHL” spew he gave during Terry Murray’s news confrence.

    Anthony — I agree with your list of terrible (understatment of the year) signings, but who do you propose to replace Dean Lombardi? Neil Smith? Pierre Page? Francois Giguere? Anyone you have in mind that you think would do a better job? Your (negative) reflections of the team usually have merit, but I’ve yet to see a reasonable replacement suggested…

  • Matt George

    Anthony,

    “In 3 seasons as GM, the team has ended up 26th, 29th, and 25th. This team is going backwards not forward.”

    29th to 25th … backward???

  • tantrum4

    Wow I’m suprised Lombardi would even write a letter to the ungreatful fans in LA. I have rarely read anything positive by fans about Lombardi, so for him to write an open letter to you guys to let you know what’s going on behind the scenes when he knows you’re all just going to bash everything he says shows just what kind of character this guy has. It shows he actually cares what you guys think and wants to try and show you that there is a process in place but it will take time. Like he said, he knows you would rather focus on results rather than process, but some people can’t seem to understand that without process, there is no results.

    anthonyy, I’m not suprised you didn’t understand most of this letter, you seemed to miss every explanation he had for what he said. But to call Kopitar a superstar??? Come on man, 66 points is not even close to superstar material, especially when the league leader and the real superstars had almost 50 more points. That’s not a superstar, and that’s one reason why we can’t win. It has nothing to do with Lombardi, it’s what the players do on the ice that matters. Oh and by the way, O’Sullivan is not on our team and we are all tired of listening to you crying about him day in and day out, on every single post you make. Would you like me to send you an O’Sullivan poster so you can put it over your bed??

  • iansez

    Anthonys specialty is DL bashing & it stops right there. He wont step up and offer any suggestions for a replacement for pretty obvious reasons.

    DL has made progress with building the team into one that should compete for the cup, not just squeak into the playoffs. That being said he still has more work to do. So glad he traded soft Patty O’Sull for Williams, the type of player who can and will compete hard when the playoffs roll around.

  • JonG

    Actually Frolov’s name is prominently displayed on that web page. Look to the right of the article and you’ll see him listed as the team’s leading goalscorer and second leading point-getter.

    Other than the Frolov omission, I liked Dean’s letter. There is certainly cause for excitement about the Kings’ future, and I think the letter captured it well. I’m particularly pleased to see the focus on achieving the playoffs next year, which (as Rich noted) is quite a change from his recent comments.

  • CanadianKing

    I found the most interesting part of that letter to be Drewiske being part of our “young stable”
    I think it’s safe to say that he’s got one of the d-man spots locked down.

  • kings20

    DL not mentioning Fro is an ominous, horrible sign. That can’t be an accident. How do you leave off your #1 goal-man and best point producer in this letter? Not good. If he dumps Fro, I personally go to half as many games next year and will sell my Fanfest tickets. Don’t dump Fro Dean!!!!!!

  • Dionnefan

    I am excited about the Kings Long-term outlook, but as others have stated (in so many words) talk is cheap. I want to see results.

  • nykingfan

    Anthonyy

    What were you expecting DL to tell you? He’s not going to give out which F/A’s or players he’s interested in trading for.
    You also missed the point about the increase in points in conjunction with the fact that the team became one of the youngest teams in the NHL. Normally the trend would be when you get younger, your points total decreases.

    You also talk about the fact that DL didn’t draft all of these guys…he also wasn’t stupid enough to trade them away either…something the previous regime was quick to do.

    The guy has a plan and has stuck to that plan since he got here. I’ve seen enough improvement in the organization to say I believe in what he’s doing 100%…and I’m convinced success will be here shortly.
    All of the indicators he spoke of..special teams, Team defense, goaltending, etc are the most important things in developing a winning franchise.
    Somebody please tell me in the past 40 years when have the Kings had a solid young defense/goaltending core?

    The offense (5 on 5) is the easiest thing to improve on. Everyone in the league is looking to get rid of top scorers for either draft picks or young defensemen..things the Kings have plenty of.
    He’s positioned this team perfectly in the cap era to compete for years to come.
    Also, the cap is going to drop $2.5 mil from last year to this year. That means teams will be scrambling to get rid of high priced guys so they can remain at or under the cap. That’s another thing this organization doesn’t have to worry about.

    sorry guys…the job DL has done with this organization since he got here has been outstanding. There’s no reason this team shouldn’t improve enough this year to make the playoffs…and go forward for the forseeable future.
    Thanks DL!

  • Mike

    For everyone that says “what’s taking this guy so look to make a competitive team” – all you have to do is read the 2nd sentence of the 3rd paragraph…

    “Prior to accepting the challenge of leading the Kings, I made it clear that to achieve bona fide contender status the Kings needed to embark on a systematic plan of drafting and developing its own core of players.”

    If you don’t understand that this takes time then you’ve never paid attention to the Detroit Red Wings.

  • variable

    maybe d.l. is up to something…?

    RICH…

    did something generate this type of response from d.l.? did he write something like this…a post-season state of the union speech…same time, last year?

    the fro omission is not surprising…however, the addition of jj jr. is interesting, fresh off a week where sr. had mysterious communications with barry smith/KHL and waxed nostalgic about a 2/12 year-old negotiation w/a former team (?!) for the sake of fans…that’s the needle in the hay…

    maybe d.l. knows that jr.’s father is a bit of a kook and until jr. and/or agent speak, there’s no serious reason to respond…maybe the lack of any enforceable international/NHL agreement forbids him to flex his muscles and fully address the “incident”…

    i still say the fro situation is 50/50…i mean, who really knows at this point…i’m not even sure if d.l. knows he’s sure on what to do until they are able to talk…

  • jleung

    Johnson was mentioned. Twice.

    I don’t read the omission of Frolov as a sign that he’s gone. Here’s the only logical place that he would have been mentioned:

    Quality players and teammates such as Dustin Brown, Kopitar, Jarret Stoll and Greene have signed long-term contracts, solidifying their commitment to our vision.

    I read that as, “you better sign a long-term hometown discount if you want to stick around.” Likely in response to Frolov’s recent interview where he basically says “I’m a winner and the team’s best goal-scorer, pay me my money.”

  • Brown23

    tantrum4,

    As you mentioned in one of your post about you saying “Kopitar a superstar??? Come on man, 66 points is not even close to superstar material, especially when the league leader and the real superstars had almost 50 more points. That’s not a superstar, and that’s one reason why we can’t win.”

    I agree with you Kopitar is not that superstar, yet. Kopitar though indeed has the potential to become one. His skill, skating, scoring touch, playing solid two-way hockey is all there. My only thing for him is to get in top notch shape this off-season with more strength training and cardio. If he can do that his game would rise to the next level.

    But to be that “SUPERstar player” is not just about a player that could put up 90+ points in reg. season and not show-up for playoffs (ex.- Joe Thornton). They need to be-able to step-up when the game is on the line, especially in the playoffs. That to me is a SUPERstar player.

    I get tired of seeing alot of these players in the NHL get over-paid when they not worth that much (ex.- Thomas Vanek) because teams giving out that type of money to some of these players is only gonna make other matters worse with one player saying one thing about one player getting paid such’n'such, so now they expect that much too atleast. So then stuff starts to go hangwire.

  • JDM

    I’m apathetic to the letter. I trust in DL, but I’m not going to applaud or boo-hoo anything that hasn’t happened yet. My hopes are high, but they are always are and have been for 15 years when it comes to the Kings.

    This made me laugh though,

    anthonyy said:

    “He’s truly polluted.”

    Nice choice of words.

  • KingsQueen949

    Guess what, Dean? The Kings may have gotten better, but so did EVERYONE else! Therefore, we’re the “sameole, same ole”!

  • 28 KINGS

    Anthony, your true colors couldn’t have shown anymore clearer than your latest rant.

    “In 3 seasons as GM, the team has ended up 26th, 29th, and 25th. This team is going backwards not forward.
    And this joker has the nerve to brag about improving just 8 points.”

    I’m pretty sure you didn’t read the article. He explained exactly why 8 points is an improvement. Oh, and last time I checked, 25 is above 29.

    “And lets go over the teams roster.
    Out of all its players there are only a few solid potential – close to franchis players. These are players who are integral to their position in the line-up.”

    Lombardi has been here 3 seasons and hit on Doughty in year 3, with the potential of hitting on Bernier (yr 1)and Hickey(yr 2) as other franchise players. Taylor had a 10+ yr head start, and really has only Kopitar and Brown as a franchise players if you want to call them that. Kopitar has a long way to go to achieve “Superstar” status.As for Frolov, he has moments of dominance, but he’s not even close to being considered a dominant player(see Malkin,Ovechkin).

    “Why doesn’t he explain to us this spooky and childish obsession he has with ex-flyer players”

    Your choice of words here is rather spooky and childish. Why does he even need to? Does everything really need to be explained to you, only so you can call him a liar and proceed to tear him down?

    “Lombardi: Additionally, I am pleased with the development of several of our younger players currently with the Manchester Monarchs such as Kevin Westgarth, Jonathan Bernier, Thomas Hickey, Viatcheslav Voynov and Trevor Lewis, all of whom have continued to make positive strides.”

    Where does the word CORE come up in this quote about Westgarth? I’m sure there are enough letters in there to spell it.Let’s try…

    HiCkey…..C
    VoynOv…..O
    BernieR….R
    WEstgarth..E

    Yep, it spells core alright.

  • Tim Chaney

    I’m not convinced that DL can produce a winner next season. I also have a problem with what seems to be an attitude toward guys that fight in arbritration (POS). I hope he doesnt trip out on fro, and that there can be an acceptable agreement with jmfj. everybody is so young. there is no true gritty vet to lead. not a 3rd or 4th liner, a real “play off beard” that makes everybody dig deep. even if we get a gaborik or kovalchuk, we still need a passionate guy. does brownie have it in him? not yet perhaps. we have plenty of good prospects, but at this rate i question if its enough this year (2010)to make, and advance, the playoffs. trying not to be impatient, but after being a fan for 35 years i want my team to get that cup. if only anschutz really gave a damn… oh yeah, i wish dl would stop acting like ivanans and westgarth were the second coming of mcsorely and probert… i would love to have a guy like that.

  • deadcatbounce

    One thing a lot of us forget is that we’re just fans and DL really doesn’t owe us any kind of explanation. He sure isnt going to tell us the same things he tells his employees, i.e. the players, and any manager who discusses that kind of sensitive information with friends, casual acquaintances or fans would be in breech of his employers confidentiality agreement.

  • Brown23

    Deadcatbounce, “were not just fans” as you said. Were fans of the game for which makes the sport for which being we do pay for their salaries whenever we to buy tickets, souvenirs, and etc… So whatever it may be that DL has going on that has to do with the LA Kings, that us fans do have the right to know straight from the horses mouth of DL.

  • cristobal

    Lombardi is on acid.

    When do we ship out for Jonestown, Reverend?

  • 28 KINGS

    “cristobal said:

    Lombardi is on acid.

    When do we ship out for Jonestown, Reverend?”

    You and Anthonyy are in seats 1 and 2.

  • Moondoggie

    It was a nice letter; it outlined the Kings future and it underlined that DL is sticking with “Da Plan”. I liked all of it but then again, I bought into DL’s plan as soon as he announced what he intended to do. Again, we all knew it would be tough to watch, “growing pains” so to speak. But what he’s done with this team in such a relative short time is nothing short of miraculous.

    The Kings are now the envy of the league in young talent and draft picks. This next season, we’ll have a bonified No. 1 goalie coming in, Jon Quick, not an AHL maybe. This in itself should mean at least an additional 10 wins. The blue line is solid, period. Interesting comment CanadianKing, I also took notice of Drewiske being mentioned as part of the defensive core. Does Voinov or Hickey make the team this year?? It’s going to be an interesting battle.

    The two big questions, who will sign with LA in the off season and whom or where will they draft? Trade up? Trade down for a scorer? Time will tell but this next season should be a most interesting and exciting one for LA…..

  • Seattle757

    I don’t understand what Anthonyy and a few of you have against Lombardi. Here is a GM who came in and stuck with a plan to rebuilt this team from the inside.

    The Penguins, Avalanche/Nordiques, heh, even the Ducks, missed the playoffs for many years straight and through the draft and sticking to a plan build up their teams to be Stanley Cup winners.

    The Kings never knew what they wanted to do, they would start a youth movement and then change their minds and go get old folks. How many times did the Kings trade away high draft picks that went on to become superstars? Tom Barraso, Ray Bourque, and Phil Housley come to mind. Young players in the team that were traded for players at their end of their careers like Alexei Zhitnk, Robb Stauber (it’s because of him that we went to the Stanley Cup Finals), Daryl Sydor, and I can keep going.

    Winning teams aren’t born overnight, people keep trying to blame DL, but he has stuck with a vision that past GMs have not been able to do.

    Those young teams that kept missing the playoffs in the past 15 years, look at them now- Penguins, Avalanche, Lightning, Ducks, Hurricanes- they all rebuilt from within and became Stanley Cup Champions.

    So stop trying to blame it all on DL, at least he is building something and not destroying it. Patrick O’Sullivan is gone, I hated that trade for Justin Williams, but I moved on, trades are part of sports.

    We will get our chance to win a Stanley Cup and it’s frustrating to not win year after year, but I feel this run with DL will be different. I see a core of young players and I see them going for that cup!

  • BW

    Somebody needs to tell Deano:

    1. The Kings’ first line is getting killed 5 on 5. Brown, Kopy, JJ, Doughty are all in the 30 worst plus minuses in the NHL. Their combined -67 compares to Detroit’s top four who are +105.

    1b. The team’s new attention to defence may not be as good as you think. You did have 32 fewer goals against this year, but that came at the expense of offence which was down 24 goals. Net, you improved by 8 goals, not enough to turn you into a contender any time soon.

    2. Justin Williams is a hard worker, gritty and tough but not a proven scorer. 8 years in the league, had two 30 goal seasons 3 and 4 years ago, his next best season was 17 goals in 2001-2.

    3. Even if you think he won’t re-sign with you, not a good idea to deliver a slap in the face to your leading goal scorer, Frolov, by leaving him off your letter. Many teams see him as a highly talented forward who has been wasted. Watch how many teams line up when he becomes a UFA. How are you going to replace his 30 goals?

    4. When you get a player like Brian Boyle, a feared leading scorer on a top 5 NCAA team, you should probably trade him as a prospect while his market value is high rather than trying to turn him into a) a defenceman, then b) a grinding forward, blowing his confidence in the process.

    5. Cammy looked pretty good this year for Calgary. Tim Gleason was a standout in the playoffs for Carolina. Tommy K looked pretty good this year for the Canadiens. Look for POS to hit 25-30 goals with Edmonton next year. Combined with disappointing free agent performances, maybe you need to look at how you assess NHL talent.

    6. Deliver results and you won’t need to sell hope.

  • Big Rob in Dallas

    The reason he didn’t mention Fro is because he is already an established player. I am a glass is half full type of guy. You have to be if you’ve been a Kings fan as long as me.

    PS When are we taking that trip to Jonestown??

  • Dan H.

    This is a tip of the hat to the fans, nothing more. Until they actually win it doesn’t mean anything.

    As for the not having a gritty veteran, I think you’re discounting what Handzus did for the team last year. He took it for the team all year and did everything they asked for and gave up the body more for shots than anyone..save maybe Greene when he took one off the forehead.

  • GoKings09

    I agree with Big Rob and other that think his omission of Frolov is not a major deal and everyone is blowing it out of proportion and reading into things way too much looking for ways to criticize DL(anthony/cristobal) or take it as an indication of what DL thinks of Fro(everyone else)

    He mentions players 4 times in this letter

    1) young players on the kings-Fro wouldnt qualify since he’s now 27 i believe

    2)young players in manchester that are showing promise of being on the kings in the future-obviously Fro wouldnt be mentioned here

    3)yound defenseman-Fro obviously not said here

    4)quality players signed to long term contracts. Fro could join this list but at the moment he has one year left on his contract so not long term

    5)players with history of “winning experience”-sadly Williams is the only player we have that knows all about winning the Cup and what it takes to be in the playoffs and succeed but once again not a big deal not to mention Fro.

    So i ask all of you that are freaking out over Fro being left out. Which of these categories should Fro have been mentioned so we fans don’t overreact and worry about him being traded???

  • historyguy

    anthonyy said:

    This guy must think we’re all stupid.

    No, Anthonyy…he doesn’t think we’re all stupid. He just thinks you are.

  • http://www.jacobrandallfoundation.com/Members/Diabetes Baka

    Good Day. There are admirable potentialities in every human being. Believe in your strength and your youth. Learn to repeat endlessly to yourself, ‘It all depends on me.’ Help me! Can not find sites on the: Information on diabetes. I found only this – jonas brother diabetes. Diabetes, while their minds say lower, again predetermined math and to a lesser diseaseother info diabetics are then alternative and there is no refinement to explain. Diabetes, paul langerhans’ widththe, archibald, even received to include this clean wellbeing. With best wishes :-( , Baka from Republic.

  • http://www.fbliker.net Celena Balon

    There is a really helpful site that allows you to “like” anything you want. Take a look: http://www.fbliker.net

  • http://www.ticketssos.com/ResultsEvent.aspx?sortcol=date&sortord=asc&pid=2541&event=Monster+Jam+Trucks Burton Elgert

    Augusta is a bit……conservative ( thats the only word I could think of that would not get bleeped) I would imagine that not only could they check tickets against a master list …but also ask for ID upon entry to the grounds. It is after all….Private Property