The new Los Angeles Kings have been busy in recent weeks. 3 weeks in charge – 5 trades – 8 players in – 8 players out. Several notable veterans have been sent packing – including Hasek, Conroy, Legwand and LeClair.
GM Siemsen “We have traded away some expensive veterans and we are trying to bring in some solid building blocks for the future of this franchise. Some of the guys we’ve traded away can definitely still play and help out wannabe cup-contenders. That’s not where we are now. The guys we’ve brought in are guys that will be around for quite a while. It’s a long road ahead – but at least we’ve started to move forward”
PLAYERS IN
D - Barret Jackman, Steve McCarthy, Brian Pothier
We have added a trio of mobile defencemen. Jackman can become a defensive rock for years to come for this team. McCarthy has excellent puckskills for our powerplay and Pothier is a late bloomer in the big leagues and could have several good years ahead of him as a (very) poor mans Scott Niedermayer. He can log huge minutes, run the powerplay and kill penalties.
F – Nikita Alexeev, Jason Blake, Dainus Zubrus, Brian Boyle (and Boyd Devereaux)
In Blake and Zubrus we have found 2 legit top-6 forwards and Alexeev is showing potential to develop into one. Prospect Brian Boyle also shows potential to become an interesting player for us down the line.
GM Siemsen
“We are pursuing more roster-adjustments, but each situation is touch and go, really. We have to be careful with the money and contract situations ... there are several pitfalls in the market. We have to be careful and not fall in.
For starters we plan to lock up new acquisitions Jason Blake and Brian Pothier to multi-year deals. Both players have indicated that they would be interested in signing long-term deals if the deal is good - but we’ve had problems opening up communications with their Agents. Hopefully the lines of communication will open up soon”
PLAYERS OUT
Ryan Kesler
Craig Conroy
Domenic Hasek
Chris Therien
David Legwand
Clarke MacArthur
John LeClair
Ian White