After blasting the Kings for their inactivity on the first day of free agency, it’s only right that I address the move they made a couple of days after free agency opened its doors. Dean Lombardi and the Kings were able to acquire Ryan Smyth in a trade for Kyle Quincey and a bag of pucks. Needless to say, it certainly makes July 1st a little more palatable.
It’s no secret that the Kings were absolutely desperate for a Top 6 winger that is capable of putting the puck in the net. More to the point, the Kings needed a winger, any winger, preferable a left winger to help one of the worst offenses in the entire league last season. Enter Captain Canada.
Hey, at least the Kings showed that they were willing to kick down some money for a valuable winger!
The one and only reason why Lombardi was able to pry him away from the Avalanche: his salary. He has 3 years left on his existing contract with $6.25 million cap hit per year. The signing immediately puts him behind Anze Kopitar as the 2nd highest paid King player—both making over $6 million per year. Any time you’re making that kind of investment, there will be a hint of hesitation. But in this case, it looks like an almost ideal fit.
Quincey’s acquisition and play upon his arrival was one of the best parts of the Kings 2008-09 season. He immediately made the power play better and used his bomb from the point to create scoring opportunities for forwards down low on redirections and tip attempts. Unfortunately, his play tailed off significantly towards the end of the season.
Some people could say it was because of his back problems that eventually caused him to have surgery to fix a herniated disc. Others will point to this as a pattern, as he started his career in Detroit with a significant promise before being relegated to Grand Rapids (and eventually released).
Whatever the reason, Kyle Quincey’s play from the first half of last season makes him the focal point of the trade for the Avalanche. He’s a good defenseman that has showed promise at the NHL level who is signed to a very good contract for another season (Quincey is making $525,000 next season before he reaches RESTRICTED free agent status). But like I said, there was more to the trade that just the 23 year old defenseman. They also picked up Tom Preissing and his contract that has 2 more years at $2.75 million. Additionally, the Avs will pick up the Kings 5th round pick in the 2010 Draft. Yeah, a bag of pucks.
For the Kings, this was a win-win scenario. They picked up the scoring winger that they so desperately need, added leadership that has been a common characteristic with every Lombardi acquisition over the last couple of years and they were able to shed Tom Preissing’s contract that was looking more and more like a giant albatross. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Preissing make the Avs and thrive in Colorado—but it wasn’t going to happen here. Maybe it was a system thing and maybe it was a chemistry thing; Preissing never showed the offensive skill and all around capabilities that he showed during his run to the Cup Finals with the Senators. On a personal level, I hope he succeeds for no other reason than he is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.
As sad as it is to see Tom Preissing (the good human being) leave town, it’s a joyous occasion to see his contract come off the books. When you take into account that the Kings were shedding his dead-weight contract, Ryan Smyth’s contract suddenly seems so much more manageable.
One question I have is with Lombardi’s justification for trading for Ryan Smyth, despite his history of injury problems. Wasn’t that exactly the reason that he gave to the media for NOT going after Marian Gaborik and Martin Havlat? I understand that Smyth has been the apple of Lombardi’s eye for a few years—but please don’t say that injuries are a huge concern when you’re last 3 big trades brought Ryan Smyth, Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll to Los Angeles. They’ve had more question marks than a Jon and Kate custody lawsuit.
Regardless, the Kings 2009-10 roster is starting to take shape. For the first time since the beginning of the decade, the Kings have 4 wingers that are legitimate Top 6 forwards. Smyth will join guys like Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov and deadline acquisition Justin Williams. There’s always room for improvement (and Lombardi should never close the door on upgrading ANY position), but those players along with Anze Kopitar give the Kings two scoring lines that their fans can be proud of.
Another angle that makes the trade look like a coup for the Kings is the leadership and mentoring qualities that Ryan Smyth will bring to the Kings. You couldn’t create a better teammate for guys like Brayden Schenn, Anze Kopitar, Oscar Moller and Dustin Brown to learn from if you tried. He’s the player that displays the ultimate combination of heart, grit, leadership and talent as well as anyone this side of Steve Yzerman. If you have any questions about how his former teams (and fans) feel about him, check out the video of his first trip back to Edmonton after he was traded. Hell, they even had a press conference for his return!
Can you imagine a young, talented team learning how to play the game from a guy that has that kind of skill-set? All we have to do is to get Dean Lombardi to stop comparing every single acquisition to Mike Ricci and we’ll be fine.
For those of you that know him for his dirty work that he does in front of the net and his leadership duties for Team Canada, remember that he’s a pretty skilled guy too! Here’s an example of what he did to the Kings cornerstone of the future last season:
There’s no question that the addition of Rob Scuderi made a player like Kyle Quincey available to move for a forward. On paper, the Kings have upgraded both their forwards and the defensive corps without giving up future pieces. Only time will tell, but for the first time in a while, I’m looking forward to THIS year. Not next season, not a few seasons from now—I’m ready for October to see what THIS collection of players can do. For the first time in a while, I can actually say that I’m a Kings fan and respect myself while I’m saying it.
