June 2009 Archives

In terms of the Big Three (Hossa, Havlat, Gaborik), I'll make the following predictions: Hossa will not be a King, and Havlat and/or Gaborik will be with the Kings only if they agree to short-term deals. Once you get beyond those three, I haven't the slightest idea. Way too many names, way too wide open. I don't even know if one or both of Gaborik/Havlat is open to signing short-term deals, but perhaps the lure of playing together might get it done? It's going to be a crazy day all over the continent.

As you've already seen tonight, Calgary rolled the dice with Jay Bouwmeester and won, with a five-year contract, and Montreal got Scott Gomez from the Rangers for a package that includes Chris Higgins. Neither move should be a big surprise, although it will be interesting to see if the Gomez deal starts any trends. It's been known, since the trade deadline, that players such as Gomez, Smyth and Briere are there for the taking, by teams that want to take on enormous contracts, but will other guys get moved?

A quick communication with Dean Lombardi didn't yield much tonight. When I jokingly asked what big deal he had in the works, he said that he and his staff were ``just preparing our fall backs'' tonight,'' which is pretty standard. Should be a fun day tomorrow. I'll do my best to stay on top of things, starting in the morning.

Just a note for those who might be baffled that the Kings aren't considered favorites for a certain set of twins, based on all the salary-cap space available. Think of it this way... Look for a chart of team salaries beyond next season. Look, for example, at who is under contract for 2011-2012:

Kopitar, $6.8 million
Stoll, $3.6 million
Brown, $3.175 million
Greene, $2.95 million

That's four players, at just over $16.5 million. If, then, you factor in two more forwards at roughly $6 million per year, you're talking about six players making $28 million. Assuming the salary cap doesn't go down (a risky assumption), that's half the payroll on six players. Then you're talking about filling the rest of the roster (at least 14 players) for $28 million.

Impossible? Certainly not, but consider that in the summer of 2011, Jonthan Bernier, Drew Doughty, Thomas Hickey, Oscar Moller and Wayne Simmonds will all, potentially, be restricted free agents. Can you make that math work? Maybe, but these are the kind of things that give headaches to GMs when they think about long-term deals.

Rob Blake signed a one-year, $3.5-million extension with San Jose today. I was really hoping a Blake-to-Kings rumor would pop up, for entertainment purposes.

Kings forward Dustin Brown, defenseman Jack Johnson and goalie Jonathan Quick (and yes, I did miss Quick) are among the 34 players selected to the U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey Orientation Camp, which runs from Aug. 17-19 in Woodbridge, Ill. Both Brown and Johnson represented the U.S. in the recent World Championships tournament. Here's the full list of invited players...

Goaltenders: Ryan Miller, Jonathan Quick, Tim Thomas
Defensemen: Tom Gilbert, Tim Gleason, Ron Hainsey, Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik, Brian Rafalski, Rob Scuderi, Ryan Suter, Ryan Whitney
Forwards: David Backes, David Booth, Dustin Brown, Dustin Byfuglien, Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, Phil Kessel, Jamie Langenbrunner, Ryan Malone, Mike Modano, Kyle Okposo, T.J. Oshie, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Bobby Ryan, Paul Stastny

On your list of free agents, scratch off Corey Elkins, who apparently signed a one-year contract on March 31.

Word from the Kings is that they have issued qualifying offers to all players except Vladimir Dravecky and Daniel Taylor.

From one big week to the other...

Wednesday, for those who don't keep close tabs, is the first day that unrestricted free agents can sign contracts with new teams. The Kings don't have much work to do in terms of their own UFAs, as only Derek Armstrong, Kyle Calder, Denis Gauthier and Matt Moulson fall into that category. Restricted free agents needing new contracts include Teddy Purcell, Jack Johnson, Corey Elkins, Kevin Westgarth, Joe Piskula, Drew Bagnall, Scott Parse, Danny Taylor and Vladimir Dravecky.

I'm still awaiting confirmation as to which players the Kings have made qualifying offers to, but we should find that out today.

As for the unrestricted free agents, the Kings have identified the three ``top-tier'' left wingers. Not surprisingly, they are Marian Gaborik, Martin Havlat and Marian Hossa. Realistically, the Kings' chances of landing any one of those three is iffy at best. Hossa and Havlat are likely to bring huge multi-year contracts. That leaves Gaborik as the wild card, and the Kings are likely to be interested only if Gaborik is willing to sign a one-year contract, or maybe two years at the most.

After that, there's a long list of potential targets at left wing, so anything could happen this week. As previously discussed, I also wouldn't be surprised to see the Kings go after a veteran defenseman on a short term deal. Rob Blake is available...just kidding. It should be an interesting couple of days...

The Kings' annual summer development camp is scheduled to run the week of July 6-12. Typically, it's a good event, with almost all of the Kings' top prospects participating, and Brayden Schenn said on Friday that he definitely wants to attend. As soon as I get a schedule and roster, I will pass it along.

The Kings today traded Brian Boyle to the New York Rangers for a third-round pick in the 2010 draft. Boyle, the No. 26 overall pick in the 2003 draft, played 36 games for the Kings and totaled eight goals, two assists and 46 penalty minutes.

I'm still waiting to hear back from Dean Lombardi, who is no doubt decompressing somewhere in Montreal, but here are a couple quotes from Michael Futa and Mark Yannetti, the Kings' co-directors of amateur scouting, regarding the draft:

FUTA: ``We're really excited. We had a big night (Friday) night getting Brayden Schenn and we built on the momentum today. The day unfolded really well for us. I think the theme of our draft this year was competitiveness. We got a good mix of players with a lot of skill, but they will also be tough to play against.''

YANNETTI: ``Things went really well for us today. The first two guys we targeted, we got, and the rest of the draft pretty much went according to our plan as well.''

It's all over in Montreal...

The Kings entered the day with one second-round pick (35), one third-round pick (74), three fourth-round picks (96, 117 and 120), two fifth-round picks (126 and 138), two sixth-round picks (156 and 179) and three seventh-round picks (186, 198 and 203).

They traded 74 to Atlanta for 84 and a third-round pick (107), then traded 107 and 138 to Atlanta for a third-round pick in 2010. The Kings also traded 117, 120 and 203 to Atlanta for a fourth-round pick (95). In a move unrelated to this draft, the Kings traded Brian Boyle to the New York Rangers for a third-round pick in 2010.

Here's how the Kings drafted today:

Second round: 35-Kyle Clifford, LW (Barrie, OHL)
Third round: 84-Nicolas Delauriers, D (Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
Fourth round: 95-J.F. Berube, G (Montreal, QMJHL)
Fourth round: 96-Linden Vey, RW (Medicine Hat, WHL)
Fifth round: 126-David Kolomatis, D (Owen Sound, OHL)
Sixth round: 156-Michael Pelech, C (Mississauga St. Michael's, OHL)
Sixth round: 179-Brandon Kozun, RW (Calgary, WHL)
Seventh round: 186-Jordan Nolan, C (Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
Seventh round: 198-Nic Dowd, C (Wenatchee, NAHL...committed to St. Cloud State)

Including first-round pick Brayden Schenn (Brandon, WHL), the Kings selected four OHL players, three WHL players, two QMJHL players and one NAHL player. They drafted seven forwards, two defensemen and one goalie.

I should be getting comments from Dean Lombardi later today...

With their second seventh-round pick (No. 198), and presumably their last pick of the draft, the Kings selected center Nic Dowd from Wenatchee of the North American Hockey League. Dowd is 19, listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, and was born in Huntsville, Ala. Dowd had 16 goals and 33 assists in 43 games last season.

Jordan Nolan, the Kings' first pick in the seventh round (No. 186) is the son of former NHL coach Ted Nolan. He turned 20 this month and has already played the full four seasons in the OHL.

Here's a video of Nolan, in red, delivering a knockout...

Brandon Kozun, the Kings' sixth-round pick (No. 179) will likely draw some obvious comparisons to Justin Azevedo, the Kings' sixth-round pick from last year. Kozun is listed at 5-foot-8, one inch taller than Azevedo, and they both fell into the late rounds despite putting up big goal-scoring numbers.

Kozun was a teammate, in Calgary, of Kings goalie prospect Martin Jones. He scored 19 goals for the Hitmen in 2007-08 but jumped to 40 goals last season. Kozun lists Calgary as his hometown but apparently was born in Los Angeles.

With their first seventh-round pick (No. 186), the Kings selected center/winger Jordan Nolan from Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL. Nolan, 20, is listed at 6-foot-3, 223 pounds and is about the 20th Kings draft pick from this year with a slew of fight videos on YouTube. Sense a trend? Last season, Nolan totaled 16 goals, 27 assists and 158 penalty minutes in 64 games.

With their second sixth-round pick (No. 179), the Kings selected right winger Brandon Kozun from Calgary of the WHL. Kozun is listed at 5-foot-8 and 162 pounds and is listed as being born in Los Angeles. Kozun, 19, had 40 goals and 68 assists in 72 games last season.

Brian Boyle has been traded for the New York Rangers' third-round pick in 2010. From talking to Dean Lombardi last week, his hope had been to get a second-round pick for Boyle.

Michael Pelech, the Kings' first sixth-round pick (No. 156), has already played four years in the OHL and should be eligible to sign a pro contract at this point. He turns 20 in October.

Here's a Pelech fight video. A little dark, but Pelech is in the white uniform.

With their first sixth-round pick (No. 156), the Kings selected center Michael Pelech from Mississauga St. Michael's Majors of the OHL. Pelech is 19 and measures 6-foot-2, 202 pounds. Last season, he had 19 goals, 46 assists and 121 penalty minutes in 68 games.

David Kolomatis, the Kings' fifth-round pick, has some ties to the Kings already. The 20-year-old defenseman was signed to his junior team, Owen Sound of the OHL, by current Kings co-director of scouting Michael Futa, who was Owen Sound's general manager. In fact, Futa signed Kolomatis on the same day (in 2006) that he signed Trevor Lewis.

Kolomatis spent three seasons in Owen Sound. OHL coaches voted Kolomatis as the third-best ``offensive defenseman'' in the league this season, when he had 18 goals, which doubled his total from 2007-08.

With their fifth-round pick (No. 126), the Kings selected defenseman David Kolomatis from Owen Sound of the OHL. Kolomatis, 20, is 5-foot-11, 189 pounds, and totaled 18 goals and 28 assists in 63 games last season. He also played four games with Providence of the AHL, under an amateur-tryout offer.

Linden Vey, who went to the Kings in fourth round (No. 96 overall), just completed his second full season with Medicine Hat of the WHL. Vey, a right wing, totaled 24 goals and 48 assists in 71 games. He is 5-foot-11, 179 points and turns 18 next month.

Hockey's Future says, ``The Wakaw, Saskatchewan native is of average size and weight, but delivers above average results in most facets of the game. He's a leader and a grit player who inspires with a solid work ethic.''

Here's a video on Linden Vey, the Kings' fourth-round pick (No. 96) from Medicine Hat of the WHL.

The Kings' fourth-round pick at No. 107 was made by Florida, and the Kings also gave up one of their fifth-round picks (No. 138) to the Panthers for Florida's third-round pick in 2010 (edit, and thanks for the info).

Also, the Kings sent their final pick (203rd overall, seventh round) to Atlanta in the swap that landed them Berube at No. 95.

Here's what the Kings have left:
Fifth round: No. 126
Sixth round: Nos. 156 and 179
Seventh round: Nos. 186 and 198

Jean-Francois Berube is a 17-year-old goalie who, in 20 games with Montreal Juniors of the QMJHL last season, had a 2.66 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. He is 6-foot-1 and was listed as the 10th-best North American goalie by NHL Central Scouting.

Hockey's Future said about Berube, ``J-F Berube caught the eyes of many despite his limited work this season. The big butterfly goaltender is always square to the shooter and moves quickly between the pipes. In fact, some say the only real flaw this Quebec native has is the lack of playing time and exposure.''

Berube played behind Jake Allen, who was St. Louis' second-round pick last year. Berube did a quick interview on the NHL Network after his selection.

Q: Does your size (6-1) help you as a butterfly goalie?
A: Yeah, of course. I'm a butterfly goalie, so I move pretty fast on my knees and I'm pretty fast on my feet too.

Q: How did you feel your season went?
A: I didn't have a chance to play a lot because I had Jake Allen in front of me, so I take every opportunity to perform on the ice and it was a good season for me.

Q: What did you learn from him?
A: Just his personality. He's working hard every day and I try to eat healthy.

Q: What do you know about the Kings?
A: It's an incredible team and I'm pretty excited to jump on the ice.

The Kings traded two of their later fourth-round picks (Nos. 117 and 120) to Atlanta to get the No. 95 pick they used on J.F. Berube.

The Kings traded up, to the No. 95 position, to take goalie Jean-Francois Berube of the QMJHL. Then, with their No. 96 pick, they took winger Linden Vey of the WHL.

Nicolas Deslauriers, the Kings' third-round pick (No. 84 overall) just finished his second season with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL and had 11 goals, 19 assists and 80 penalty minutes in 68 games. He's 6-foot, 198 pounds and a left shot.

ISS had Deslauriers ranked as its 181st-best prospect and describes him as...``Good offensive ability, defensive play needs work, good mobility, good outlet pass, hard shot.''

Here is the Hockey's Future profile on Deslauriers.

With the 84th pick (third round), the Kings selected Nicolas Deslauriers, a 6-foot, 198-pound defenseman from Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL.

The Kings traded their third-round pick (No. 74) to Calgary and will now pick at No. 84 in the third round. No immediate word on what they also got in return. (It appears to be Calgary's fourth-round pick, No. 107 overall)

Clifford is in the dark uniform...

Kyle Clifford (6-foot-1, 200 pounds), the Kings' second-round pick (No. 35 overall) ended with a rank of 182 among North American skaters, but had received some buzz, as Red Line Report had him listed as its 50th-best prospect.

Last season, in his second season with Barrie of the OHL, Clifford had 16 goals, 12 assists and 133 penalty minutes in 60 games. Red Line Report compares Clifford's style to that of Chris Neil and says there is ``no fear in his game, and has shown a propensity to score some key goals.''

International Scouting Services analysis: ``Clifford is a straight ahead player with an edge. Skating is just OK - has heavy feet and needs to make sure he keeps his feet moving to get speed - skating has shown improvement over the season. If straight pass in not available does nice job of advancing pucks. During offensive plays and cycles makes it very difficult for D to contain him with his good size and strength. Responsible in D zone making strong plays getting pucks out. Plays physical style of game looking to finish hits and make contacts.''

With the 35th overall pick, the Kings selected Kyle Clifford, a winger from Barrie of the OHL.

Thanks to reader Jayson for finding this in a Hockey News story. Ken Campbell reports that the Kings have hired Alyn McCauley as a pro scout. McCauley, as you probably remember, had to retire in 2007 because of serious knee problems. McCauley was an assistant coach at Queen's University last season and now, at age 32, will be a scout.

McCauley back in

That should be all for tonight. Who will be up with me at 7 a.m. for the start of the second round?

International Scouting Services ranks Brayden Schenn as ``excellent'' in puck skills, shot, physical play, competitiveness and hockey sense, and ``very good'' in size/strength, skating, offensive play and defensive paly.

ISS touts Schenn's leadership traits and compares his style to that of Doug Gilmour. Red Line Report compares Schenn to Mike Richards and Rod Brind'Amour.

The Kings have 12 more picks tomorrow...

Second round: No. 35.
Third round: No. 74.
Fourth round: Nos. 96, 117 and 120.
Fifth round: Nos. 126 and 138.
Sixth round: Nos. 156 and 179.
Seventh round: Nos. 186, 198 and 203.

Q: Can you talk about being selected today by the Kings?

A: I feel great. It feels great to be apart of an organization that is going forward. They are going in the right direction, which is the main thing, and they have some good young guys like Doughty and Hickey that are building blocks as well. I am happy to be a piece of the puzzle.

Q: Did you know who would select you?

A: I had no idea. I had a lot of nerves. I was told nothing all day. That was the case pretty much all year, but I am happy to be apart of the L.A. organization.

Q: What did you talk to the Kings about during your interviews?

A: Simple questions really. I think they try and get to know you as a person. I think that is their main goal really.

Q: Are you familiar with the way the Kings are developing?

A: Yeah. I have watched Drew Doughty play, and obviously he is a great player, and Thomas Hickey is a guy I have played against along with Colten Teubert. Those are three guys I know pretty well. I pay close attention to all the teams in the NHL and I know of a lot of the players with L.A. I am happy to be with the organization.

Q: What do you bring to the Kings?

A: A two-way game. I am a forward who has some grit and I see the ice pretty well. The main thing is that I play physical. I bring an all-around game.

Q: What do you know about Los Angeles?

A: It is a big city obviously. I have never been there and I haven't seen it.

Q: Did Dean say anything in particular to you as you walked up on the stage?

A: I honestly don't remember. This is such an exciting time and you don't remember too much. I am pretty sure he said, 'Congratulations, we are happy you are with us and you are with our organization.

Q: Where do you expect to play hockey next year?

A: I am only going to first worry about having a good summer. I can't get my hopes up too high. I want to come in with a good attitude and I want to come in good shape too.

Q: The Kings have a summer Development Camp. Do you see yourself taking part in that?

A: Absolutely. I am getting ready for it and I am getting excited for it.

Q: What advice has your brother given you?

A: To be ready for camp. That it is a big difference going from the junior ranks to the pro ranks. You also never know what they are going to throw at you, or what you should expect.

Q: Any disappointment not going to Toronto?

A: It was no disappointment at all. I am happy to be with the LA organization. I am a King now so I can't worry about the Toronto thing. That is behind me.

Lombardi, joking about keeping Brayden Schenn away from Brian Burke, and his thoughts about Schenn:
``That was the main reason we took him, knowing that it would totally piss off Burkie. It was worth it. Everybody thought there was a line after the first three and the first five. We were going to be pretty happy with whoever was there.''

Lombardi, on Schenn's attributes:
``His No. 1 attribute is his competitiveness. This is a good player and a kid who doesn't quit. There was a playoff game against Calgary, and he hurt his shoulder but he first refused to leave the game and then he refused to leave the bench.''

Lombardi, on whether he fielded a lot of offers for the pick near the end:
``It really got quiet at the end, last night. I knew pretty early that I couldn't move up. I had offers to move down, and maybe two years ago it would have made sense to get more picks, but right now it makes more sense to get a player like this. I don't think we had a tough decision.''

Lombardi, on how Schenn projects:
``You can never say (for sure), but I think you're looking at a playoff (team)-type No. 2 (center). There's a little Mike Ricci in his game. That's the way most people characterize him.''

Lombardi, on how Schenn can improve:
``The biggest thing is his skating. His hockey sense is top notch. He has the ability to make the small plays and he has no fear. He has the chance to grow into a leadership position.''

Lombardi, on whether trade talks about Dany Heatley are done:
``I'd say that's probably safe to say. It's safe to say there are some concerns. We know that, at some point, we're going to have a make a significant move, but I believe that it has to be a heck of a player. Let's just say there are certain concerns (about Heatley), and there can't be any questions.''

Here's NHL.com's profile on Brayden Schenn. I will have comments from him and Dean Lombardi a bit later.

Brayden Schenn profile

The Kings have selected Brayden Schenn.

First five picks have gone to plan: Tavares, Hedman, Duchene, Kane, Schenn.

According to its website, TSN (through Brent Wallace) is reporting that the NHL salary cap will be $56.8 million next season, a slight increase (about $100,000) from last season. That would be something of a relief for teams that haven't exactly been thrifty in the last couple years, although it has been expected that the cap would remain close to its current level. The summer of 2010 could be a different story...

Quick communication with Dean Lombardi from Montreal this morning. He says there's nothing going on right now involving the No. 5 pick and/or Dany Heatley and says ``we probably will not leave here with big dog - if anything, it will be after July 1 I think.''

Should be an interesting day around the league! We'll get the live chat going a bit later, so check back...

Daryl Evans reported, on the Kings' Twitter feed, that ``Ryan Clowe's name came up today in trade circles here in MTL. From what I've heard, the Kings have shown interest.'' Interesting, particularly since that's not a name I had heard come up before.

A reminder that you can follow the Kings' Twitter updates -- still waiting that first Lombardi missive -- at ``LAKingsHockey,'' and that you can also receive these blog updates at ``insidethekings.''

At this point, nothing really new to report. You can bet there are lots of discussions taking place tonight in Montreal, but if anything gets done, it probably wouldn't happen until very close to draft time. That's what history dictates, anyway. At the moment, there's still no reason to expect that the Kings will do anything except draft Brayden Schenn at No. 5 (assuming he's there), but anything could happen over the next 24 hours.

It's entertaining to see that Kings executives have been ``tweeting'' from Montreal, although I have taken note that Dean Lombardi has yet to ``tweet.'' I'm eagerly anticipating how the verbose Lombardi will express himself in 140 characters or less...

Should be fun tomorrow. Assuming there are no Internet issues at the Kings' office, there will be plenty of blogging, and a live chat going as soon as I get set up. Stay tuned for that. As always, if there's news, I'll let you know.

Ryan Kennedy, my colleague at The Hockey News, wrote a nice blog item today about the potential drama involving the No. 5 overall pick held by the Kings. Ryan particularly gives a good breakdown of a likely scenario, one in which Toronto's Brian Burke might attempt to jump up to the No. 4 or No. 5 spot in order to grab Brayden Schenn and complete the Schenn daily double.

THN.com Blog: Intrigue surrounds No. 5 pick

I asked Dean Lombardi to give some quick thoughts, almost like a word-association test, about some of the top prospects in the draft...

JOHN TAVARES: ``Certainly the first thing that jumps out is that he's talented. Great hands. Sees the ice. Makes plays. Strong. Potential No. 1 center.''

VICTOR HEDMAN: ``A horse. Potential top-two defenseman. Size. Can really skate. Sees the ice. One of those guys with the potential to be a 25-to-30-minute guy.''

MATT DUCHENE: ``Smart. Clever. Makes a lot of plays. High character.''

EVANDER KANE: ``Scores goals; his No. 1 asset. Finds ways to get open and has that sixth sense around the net. Great release. Good skater. His No. 1 attribute is finding those areas where goal scorers seem to know where to go.''

BRAYDEN SCHENN: ``Smart. Competitive. Does all the little things. Rises to the occasion in big games.''

MAGNUS PAAJARVI SVENSSON: ``Speed. Elite skater. Certainly has some talent, but the thing that jumps out at you is that he might be as good a skater as you can find. Explosive, fast, quick, and he does have some talent. He's not just a skater.''

Sad/odd news from London today, as the Daily Mail reported that Jarret Stoll has called off his wedding to Rachel Hunter. The paper says Stoll ``suddenly called off their engagement by emailing guests informing them the August 14 nuptials were off.'' Today is Stoll's 27th birthday, and I'm guessing this isn't the way he wanted to spend it... As always, Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports has a humorous take on the story.

OK, back to hockey.

Here's the story I wrote today for the newspaper -- some of you probably remember them -- about Luc Robitaille's selection to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Kings great Luc Robitaille selected to Hockey Hall of Fame

Here are a couple videos put out by the Kings in honor of Luc Robitaille's Hall of Fame selection today. I put them after the ``jump'' here, because I know some folks have issues with the blog loading with videos. The first is a highlight/tribute video and the second is an interview Luc did today with Heidi Androl.

Luc, of course, is still heavily involved with the charitable foundations he and his wife, Stacia, started a few years back. They hosted an event in Las Vegas last weekend, at which Gavin Rossdale performed, and Robitaille will once again host his popular charity poker tournament during the Frozen Fury weekend in Las Vegas.

Here are the videos...

On a busy day, Luc Robitaille was gracious enough to take a couple minutes and talk about his Hall of Fame induction today. Robitaille got the congratulatory call this morning from Pat Quinn, who is co-chair of the 18-person selection committee.

``Mostly it was just relief,'' Robitaille said. ``When I got the call, I was relieved. I saw the 416 (Toronto area code) come up and I just felt relieved. I figured that if they were calling me, it wasn't going to be bad news. ... I have always thought of myself as a King. This is where I started and this is where I always wanted to end. The fans of L.A., it feels like I grew up with them. For everyone who was there with me in 1986, until the end, they know how much this means to me and to the Kings.''

I asked Robitaille, who obviously had been anticipating this day for a while, when it first truly occurred to him that he might become a Hall of Famer.

``I remember the year after I retired I thought, `Is it three years or five years that you have to wait?''' Robitaille said with a laugh. ``People always said, `Oh, your numbers are good enough,' but I didn't think about it a lot. Last year, someone said to me, `Next year's class is going to be great, with Stevie (Yzerman), Brett (Hull), yourself and Brian Leetch. I guess that's when it really started to hit me, but I didn't know if it would happen.''

Also, I asked Robitaille to re-tell one of my favorite hockey stories, which is about the day he got drafted in 1984 at the Montreal Forum, in the ninth round, after he sat in the stands all day waiting for his name to be called.

``I had one hot dog every hour,'' Robitaille said with a laugh. ``I think I ended up eating six hot dogs. That was the year, if you remember, that Mario (Lemieux) said he wasn't signing with the Penguins. We got to draft day, a Saturday, and it was a big deal because they called Mario's name and he didn't go to the draft table or anything. There was a delay, and it was like Pittsburgh didn't know what to do and the league didn't know what to do. So I sat and waited. It was 7 o'clock at night and I was still waiting in the Forum, up in the white seats. When I heard my name, I ran downstairs. The security guy, he didn't want to let me on the floor, but I told him that I just got drafted.

``I got to the Kings' table and there were just a couple guys left there. Rogie (Vachon) was there and (former assistant GM) John Wolf was there and a couple scouts. They had me write down my name and address on a card. When we got to August, and I hadn't heard anything from them, I was afraid that I wrote down the wrong address. So anyway, I met those guys at the table, and I met John Wolf and he said, `We don't really have anything to give you, but here,' and he gave me the Kings pin off his jacket. I took the subway home and I was just so excited.''

A bit later, I'll post a couple videos, courtesy of the Kings. Here are a couple more comments from Robitaille, as released by the Kings, plus one from Tim Leiweke:

Luc Robitaille, the Kings' all-time leader in goals scored and the highest-scoring left winger in NHL history, was selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoon.

Robitaille, who retired after the 2005-06 season, made the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, along with fellow players Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Steve Yzerman.

Now the Kings' president of business operations, Robitaille, 43, had a 19-year NHL career, 14 of which were spent with the Kings, and totaled 668 goals and 726 assists in 1,431 NHL games. Robitaille helped the Kings reach the 1992-93 Stanley Cup Finals and won a championship with the Detroit Red Wings in 2001-02.

A ninth-round draft pick of the Kings in 1984, Robitaille faced early criticism for his questionable skating skills but won Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) honors in 1987 and was selected to the eight All-Star Games.

The induction ceremony will be held Nov. 9 in Toronto.

(I should be getting some comments from Luc this afternoon...)

The Hockey Hall of Fame will announce its 2009 class tomorrow afternoon, with Luc Robitaille among the top candidates. Only four players can be inducted each year. Who would you vote for? Here's a poll with eight strong candidates. Select no more than four...

Dean Lombardi, and members of his front-office team, will be heading to Montreal today to start a week of meetings and draft preparations. At this point, given everything that's out there, I'm fairly confident in saying that the most likely scenario is Atlanta taking Evander Kane at No. 4 and the Kings taking Brayden Schenn at No. 5.

Who will the Islanders take first? Amazingly, that's still unknown, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them take any of the top three prospects (Tavares, Hedman, Duchene). Latest word out of Tampa Bay is that the Lightning will take Hedman if he's there at No. 2, and likely would take Tavares if Hedman goes first. That would set up Duchene to Colorado.

The wild card in all this could be the wily and unpredictable Brian Burke, who is thought to want to make a splash at the draft. One of the top three picks might be out of Burke's grasp, but he is known to be very fond of Schenn, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Burke make a run at the Thrashers or the Kings.

It's hard to remember a less-predictable draft in recent years.

Here's the third part of the recap from yesterday's GM breakfast...

First of all, a Happy Father's Day to everyone out there.

Here's the second part of the GM breakfast recap from yesterday. The third and final part will be coming soon...

I'll do my best to post a recap of each question/answer from this morning. The participants were general manager Dean Lombardi, assistant GM Ron Hextall, director of hockey operations and legal affairs Jeff Solomon and chief marketing officer Chris McGowan. I think recaps are a better way to handle it than a transcript, because a transcript would be ridiculously long and the Kings, who allow me to attend, like for those folks who attend to get the full flavor. Understandable.

Here's the first part of it...

Sitting outside after the two-hour GM breakfast in El Segundo. Not a lot of ground broken, other than Jim Fox's announcement that all games will be in high definition next season. You had the usual "No, the Internet rumors aren't true" answer, some Cammalleri/O'Sullivan dead-horse beating, and some charts. Most interesting? Probably some cold water being thrown on a Heatley acquisition, a discussion of Loktionov and Lombardi's thoughts on trading the No. 5 pick vs. keeping it. I will post a quick summary this afternoon.

The Denver Post reported today that former Kings forward Adam Deadmarsh has been named video/development coach of the Colorado Avalanche. Deadmarsh, of course, was also a member of the Avalanche before he got traded to the Kings in 2001.

"My family and I are excited to come back to Denver," Deadmarsh said in a team press release. "Hockey has always been my life, and it's great to begin my coaching career with the franchise I won a Stanley Cup with."

The Avalanche also named former NHLer Steve Konowalchuk as an assistant to new coach Joe Sacco.

Drew Doughty was selected to the NHL's All-Rookie Team, along with goaltender Steve Mason (Columbus), defenseman Luke Schenn (Toronto), and forwards Patrik Berglund (St. Louis), Bobby Ryan (Anaheim) and Kris Versteeg (Chicago).

Doughty becomes the seventh King (and the eighth selection) on the All-Rookie Team, which began in the 1982-83 season.

Jimmy Carson 1986-87
Steve Duchesne 1986-87
Luc Robitaille 1986-87
Rob Blake 1990-91
Jamie Storr 1997-98
Jamie Storr 1998-99
Lubomir Visnovsky 2000-01

Here's how the NHL awards were handed out in Las Vegas tonight:

Hart Trophy: Alexander Ovechkin
Norris Trophy: Zdeno Chara
Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas
Jack Adams Award: Claude Julien (former Kings coach Andy Murray was second)
Calder Trophy: Steve Mason
Lady Byng Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk
Selke Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk

The Kings haven't officially announced the hiring of Tim Adams as their new strength and conditioning coach -- or really announced that the former coach isn't returning, for that matter -- but Adams is now listed on the staff directory as the new coach.

Adams was the strength and conditioning coach for the Oakland Raiders during the 2003 season, but did not return in 2004. During the 2003 season, four Raiders players tested positive for the steroid THG, but Adams was never tied to any part of that scandal.

An enterprising reader named Harry passed along these links about Adams, so if you'd like to learn more about him, you can read...

Making Best Better, Adams' website.
Raiders Hire Tim Adams, Raiders.com
Inside The Raiders With Strength Coach Tim Adams
Introduction by Kim Goss - Editor of Bigger Faster Stronger Magazine

The end... Thanks for all the great questions. They covered a wide variety of topics and covered some good ground. In the next few days, we can start looking at the draft and who might go fourth and, more importantly, fifth.

Here's the sixth round. The questions keep trickling is, but I think one more set of answers after this should wrap it up. Then we can get on with draft talk...

Round five of the questions and answers. Looks like there's at least one more to go...

Picking up from yesterday, here's the fourth set of the open forum questions and answers...

The third set of questions and answers...

The second set of questions and answers...

Here is the first set of questions and answers from this morning. Feel free to continue posting questions if you'd like...

Robert Czarnik, a third-round pick of the Kings last year, has been selected to attend the U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in New York from Aug. 7-15. This camp is intended to evaluate prospects for the 2010 World Junior Championships.

Czarnik totaled five goals and 11 assists in 36 games during his freshman year at Michigan this season. He earned a bronze medal with Team USA in last year's Under-18 World Championships.

Hopefully we can start to get past some of the stuff from the weekend, so maybe some open-forum questions to cleanse the palate? The draft is fast approaching, and I'll be trying to get some quick interviews with people such as Lombardi, Futa and Yannetti, but until then, if there are any that I, or fellow readers, might be able to answer, feel free to post today. Thanks...

I'm away for the day, but here's what I can tell you via iPhone. Dean Lombardi sent me a text message that simply said, "Rumors not true." That's about all I can tell you right now. I will update if I hear anything different.

The answer to the Marc Crawford $600,000 question is exactly as a couple readers posted. There was a payment attached to Crawford's option year (which would have been the 2009-10 season), and Crawford's contract with the Stars should eliminate the Kings' obligation to make that payment. So the Kings don't really ``get back'' $600,000, which was how it was initially worded to me. They actually ``save'' $600,000, which makes much more sense.

For reasons that I'm still not completely certain, the Stars' hiring of Marc Crawford means a $600,000 windfall to the Kings organization. I have sought clarification from the Kings' Jeff Solomon, because I'm not certain how Crawford was still on the Kings' payroll. Unless my initial information was wrong, Crawford signed a three-year contract in May 2006. I'm told that there were no compensation issues, so that's not it. Any contract experts out there?

Former Kings coach Marc Crawford has been officially hired as the new coach of the Dallas Stars. There's quite a Kings connection among the NHL coaching fraternity now. There's Crawford, Andy Murray and Pat Quinn (former Kings coaches), Wayne Gretzky, Rick Tocchet and Dan Bylsma (former Kings players) and Bruce Boudreau (former Manchester coach). Did I miss anyone?

Anyway...Crawford. Here's what new Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk said...

``I am very excited that we have been able to secure Marc Crawford as head coach of the Dallas Stars," Nieuwendyk said in a statement. ``Marc is a winner with extensive experience in this league, and I am confident he will get the most out of our hockey club. ... Dave Tippett did a very good job in his six seasons here with the Stars, however it was my feeling that our team needed a new direction moving forward.''

What do you think?

In some weird type of Kings cross-karma, TSN reported today that the Dallas Stars have asked for permission to talk to Marc Crawford, who is still technically under contract/getting paid by the Kings. Dave Tippett, a former Kings assistant under Andy Murray, had a 271-156-28-37 record as Dallas coach, but the Stars finished 12th in the West this season. When I ran into Crawford during the Ducks' first-round series, he expressed an interest in returning to coaching.

As you might imagine, heads are spinning in Ottawa after yesterday's news that Dany Heatley wants to be traded from the Senators. This morning, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen included the Kings (in addition to Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and the Ducks) as theoretical trade partners for the Senators, citing Alexander Frolov and the No. 5 pick as a theoretical deal.

On the other hand...fellow Ottawa Citizen reporter James Gordon threw some cold water on a Kings-Sens possibility -- alluding to Frolov as a ``soft, inconsistent replacement'' -- and painted a not-so-pretty picture of the end of Heatley's time in Ottawa.

TSN reported today that Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa. Hmmm...a 28-year-old, 6-foot-3, 40-goal scoring winger...I wonder who could use one of those?

Of course, they don't come cheap. Taking into account the relative costs -- either a big free-agent contract or giving up prospects/picks -- which player would you rather the Kings acquire: Gaborik, Heatley or Lecavalier?

Jack Johnson is not asking for $5.5 million a year, regardless of what you might read. That comes from Dean Lombardi, who would probably know such things. Again, I'll advise the same thing I advise all the time. Pop some popcorn, read the rumors, enjoy them and try to forget about them the moment that you click to another page.

The Kings are negotiating with Johnson's agent, not his father, which is good for everyone. There's no real urgency because there's no need for urgency at the moment. There can't be an offer sheet and there can't be arbitration, so it's quite different from the O'Sullivan stuff from last year.

Sorry for the lack of posting of late, but I've been caught up in five other things and we're in that lull period right now. The Kings' management is scattered around the continent, and Lombardi is getting ready to hit the road again and visit with some potential draft prospects. I'd imagine things will start heating up in a week or so, but I'll stay on top of things throughout. The Lecavalier reports aren't totally false, but they're old. More like a burning ember than an inferno, to give a mediocre analogy.

Oh, forgot one thing. I saw the item, as did several of you, about Tom Preissing selling his home. I asked Lombardi about it, but there's no other shoe waiting to drop, at least not at the moment. I'd still be surprised if he's Kings property by the start of training camp.

In its annual spring organizational rankings, Hockey's Future ranked the Kings No. 4 in terms of prospects, behind St. Louis, Montreal and Nashville. The site lists the Kings' top five prospects as Oscar Moller, Thomas Hickey, Jonathan Bernier, Colten Teubert and Teddy Purcell. I would consider it a bit shaky to call Moller a ``prospect,'' since he essentially spent a full season in the NHL, but that's splitting hairs.

Hockey's Future also took a look back at the Kings' 2004 draft class and said it ``appears to be one of the worst in recent memory.'' Can't argue that one...

The Kings took a staff of five, led by Dean Lombardi, to last week's draft combine in Toronto, and Lombardi said the staff conducted roughly 60 interviews during the week. Prospects also underwent standardized physical testing, and Lombardi said the Kings talked to some prospects two or three times. Helene Elliott of the L.A. Times talked to one of them, Evander Kane, about his thoughts, and I got a little insight from Lombardi about what he thought of the week...

LOMBARDI: ``As far as the interviews go, you're mostly just confirming or denying the things you should be finding out during the year. It's hard to gauge how much stock you should put in the interviews. Some of those kids are really beat up, because by the time you get to them, they might already have done 27 or 28 interviews. It's still a worthy process, but you still have to do most of your work during the season. It helps you narrow the field a little bit.''

I asked Lombardi if, given the makeup of the Kings' roster and prospect pool, he would definitely be taking a forward at No. 5 if the Kings keep the pick.

LOMBARDI: ``No, you've still got to go with the best player. Now, if your layers are pretty much the same, you might lean toward what you don't have. You want to get the most value out of that slot. You're probably right in saying that the draft, after Hedman and a couple other guys, does trend a little more toward forwards. If you're in that top layer and (a few players) are really close, we'll probably look toward a forward.''

As an aside, and this comes from nothing but my own intuition and opinion, I still think the Kings are likely to trade the pick. Lombardi made another vague reference to a trade during our conversation, and the fact that he's talking about publicly about trading the pick -- something he never did in the previous years -- is a decent indicator to me.

For all the negativity that gets tossed around, sometimes there's just a nice little story that says a lot about a person. On Thursday, a group of Kings will participate in a fundraising event for Los Angeles firefights. That's not terribly notable, since players participate in charity events all the time. What is notable is that one of the players involved is Derek Armstrong (along with Matt Greene, Peter Harrold, Sean O'Donnell and Jarret Stoll).

It's notable because Armstrong is due to be an unrestricted free agent in less than a month, with no guarantees that he will remain a member of the Kings organization. At a time when some players, with stronger contractual ties, seem to be shopping their wares oversees, a move like this says a lot about Armstrong's character.

More information on the event, if you're interested, can be found at hopeforfirefighters.org

I had a couple questions about this over the weekend, so I got an answer from Dean Lombardi. If you're maintaining a list of Kings prospects, you can now scratch off the following four names: Bryan Cameron, Matt Fillier, Josh Kidd and Linden Rowat. They have not been re-signed by the Kings and will be eligible either to be drafted again this month, or for free agency.

What are the Kings losing? Cameron, 20, scored 37 goals in the OHL this season. Filler, 20, was a 20-goal scorer in the QMJHL. Kidd, a 20-year-old defenseman, played 33 games for Manchester last season. Rowat, a 19-year-old goalie, had a 3.07 goals-against average in the WHL and then played two games for the Ontario Reign.

By the way, looks like you can flush my ``Pens in 6'' prediction. This weekend's lesson? Never underestimate the power of the Evil Empire...

I got some quotes from Lombardi about last week's draft combine, which I will try to post a bit later. He's in Pittsburgh now, for a GM meeting and some work with Team USA.