Here’s what TSN said in a story today:

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One report out of Ottawa had 2008 Hart Trophy candidate Evgeni Malkin on the move from the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins, while Jason Spezza’s name continues to be mentioned as possible trade bait. The latter claim was quickly disputed by the Senators’ chief deal maker.

“You guys make up more stuff than I can ever imagine,” Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray told reporters on Thursday. “I heard a rumour last night that Pittsburgh was moving one of their star players. I talked to their manager today to see if I could be included in the discussions and they kind of laughed at me.”

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Pretty much says it all.

I’m still waiting to hear from Lombardi. Chances are, he will call about five minutes after I walk out of the office. But if there’s an update to be made tonight, I’ll certainly make it.

Here’s what Dean Lombardi told the Canadian Press today. It’s pretty consistent with a) what he said after the Crawford firing and b) the exact same thing that’s said by every GM every year before the draft. They’re keeping options open, etc., etc. An enterprising reader could probably go back 12 months and find almost-identical quotes. So we’ll see what happens. Quotes like this speak to how fluid the situation is…

“On the first front, I figured I had two legitimate offers for the pick outright that I presented to ownership last week. But it was very clear the direction they want to go, which is more committed towards putting together a solid nucleus.

“As far as moving down in the draft, those are still options. That still has to remain in the equation. And I would suggest that that could go right up until we make the pick. I think the deal outright for the pick, you’re probably in or out for sure the day before.

“The one where you’re moving moving down, as I’ve done in the past, can sometimes not happen until right up to making the pick. I’ve had one legitimate proposal that deserves consideration in terms of moving back.”

Finally, we have some clarity in terms of how many draft picks the Kings will have next week — the number is 15 — and where they are. Click below to see how the picks from other teams were acquired.

Round Overall Selection

1 2nd
1 28th (From Dallas)
2 32nd
2 48th (From Calgary)
2 61st (From Detroit)
3 63rd
3 81st (From NY Rangers)
3 88th (From Philadelphia)
4 92nd (From Tampa Bay)
4 101st (From Vancouver)
5 123rd
6 153rd
6 179th (From Dallas)
7 183rd
7 185th (From Anaheim)

Continue reading “The draft picks” »

TSN.ca is doing an extensive blog about the NHL’s draft combine in Toronto, where general managers and scouts are getting a look at some of the top prospects. The only mention of the Kings so far is about Dean Lombardi talking to Nikita Filatov. I think it would be more interesting to read about Lombardi talking to Doughty or Bogosian, but oh well. The blog is a good read…

NHL draft combine blog

As part of Dean Lombardi’s North American tour to visit draft prospects, he met with Zach Bogosian this week. Here’s a short story from the Peterborough Examiner, with a couple quotes from Bogosian and the assertion, from Bogosian’s father, that Bogosian wouldn’t mind playing for a West Coast team.

Kings visit Bogosian

If you read Don’s interview with Drew Doughty a few weeks ago, Doughty made no secret of the fact that he wants to play for the Kings. Doughty, one of the top prospects in next month’s draft, could very well end up being a King, if the team doesn’t go with Zach Bogosian.

Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times, stuck in Detroit for the Stanley Cup Finals, caught up with Doughty today and he talked more about his desire to be drafted by the Kings.

Playing for Kings would be ‘dream come true’ for No. 3 draft prospect

Dean Lombardi, Michael Futa, Mark Yannetti and the gang are out all over the continent this month, having sit-down meetings with prospects and their families, and the group will be in Toronto tomorrow for the draft combine. I’ll do my best to get an update on how things looked in Toronto.