Free Agency Week Wrap-Up

EL SEGUNDO, CA — While many of the National Hockey League teams were signing unrestricted free agents starting on July 1, the Los Angeles Kings parted ways with two of their veteran defensemen, one being traded away while the other bolted for greener pastures.

On June 29, just three days before the unrestricted free agent signing period began, the Kings sent defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for center Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene.

Stoll, who just turned 26 on June 24, scored 14 goals and added 22 assists with 74 penalty minutes in 81 games with the Oilers last season and ranked third on the team with eight power play goals.

The 6-1, 210-pound native of Melville, Saskatchewan tallied 13 goals with 26 assists good for 39 points with 48 penalty minutes in 51 games in 2006-07. In the 2006-07 season, Stoll had his best season in the NHL, scoring 22 goals and contributing 46 assists for 68 points with 74 penalty minutes in 82 games.

In 286 regular season NHL games, all with the Oilers, Stoll has scored 59 goals with 106 assists for 165 points with 238 penalty minutes.

Stoll scored four goals and added six assists for ten points with 24 penalty minutes in the 2005-06 NHL playoffs when the Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Finals (lost to the Carolina Hurricanes). He was originally selected by the Calgary Flames in the second round (46th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He re-entered the draft in 2002 and was selected by Edmonton in the second round (36th overall).

Stoll, who lives in Southern California during the off-season, will now live in the area year-round.

“I was excited to stay where I was,” Stoll explained. “I was here in LA when I got the call. I live here during the summer. I was pretty excited to stay here and join the Kings. It’s a great organzation and a great ownership group, a classy ownership group.”

“It’s good to have that comfort zone coming in, knowing the area, knowing the practice rink,” Stoll elaborated. “It’s a pretty short drive to the practice rink, which is nice. It just eases my way into it that much more. It’s good to have that.”

Stoll had been the subject of trade rumors after a down year with the Oilers last season.

“I was excited, shocked, I felt a lot of different things,” said Stoll. “You hear your name in trade talks for quite some time and you can’t prepare yourself until it really happens. I tried to, but once I got the call, it was a little shocking but exciting at the same time.”

Stoll suffered a concussion during the 2006-07 season and had a tough time regaining his form last season.

“It was a battle,” he explained. “The first half of the season, I struggled to find my focus and to get my game back. A couple of years ago, I had my best season but I struggled up to the halfway point last season. I felt my game got better as the season went on and I got over that. That’s behind me now.”

“You want to bounce back from an off year and I’m working hard to do that,” he added. “I’m always going to work hard in the off-season to get ready for training camp and the grind of the season. I’m fully confident that I’ll turn things around and have a great year.”

For those not familiar with his game, Stoll is a versatile, two-way forward.

“I’m just a solid two-way player,” said Stoll. “I play on the penalty-kill and power play—I usually play the point on the power play in Edomonton, but I’m not sure I’ll do that here. I take a lot of pride in my face-off ability and I just try and play every position and solid at both ends of the rink.”

“I’m jacked about being here and excited to get going.”

Greene, a 25-year-old native of Grand Ledge, Michigan, played in 46 games for the Oilers last season, recording one assist with 53 penalty minutes. He missed 34 games (November 2, 2007 to January 15, 2008) due to injury.

The 6-3, 233-pound blue liner scored a goal and added nine assists in 78 games in the 2006-07 season, and tallied two assists in 27 games in the 2005-06 season after playing his final season at Boston College that same year and then 26 games with Iowa of the American Hockey League.

During the Oilers’ Stanley Cup run in the 2005-06 season, Greene recorded one assist with 34 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games.

Greene was originally selected by the Oilers in the second round (44th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Stoll got most of the attention during a press conference call featuring the two now former Oilers, but Greene described his game rather bluntly.

“I’m just a stay-at-home defenseman,” he said. “That’s about it. I’m just excited about a new beginning.”

Visnovsky’s skating and offensive skills should fit right in with the Oilers’ style that emphasizes speed and skating.

“Although it is tough to see good players and good people move on, we feel we’ve made a step towards improving our overall offense,” said Oilers General Manager Kevin Lowe. “Lubomir is a world-class defensemen who has been one of the premier offensive defensemen over the past five years.”

Visnovsky, 31, scored eight goals with 33 assists for 41 points in 82 games last season, in what was a poor year, both defensively and offensively for the native of Topolcany, Slovakia.

In 499 career NHL regular season games, all with the Kings, Visnovsky scored 70 goals and added 209 assists for 279 points with 214 penalty minutes.

The 5-10, 188-pound defenseman, who was a 2007 NHL All-Star, was selected by the Kings in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

“It’s never easy to give up a player of Lubo’s caliber, but for the direction of this franchise, this exchange allows us to add two players who fit the long-term vision for this team,” said Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi.

“We appreciate Lubo’s service and outstanding play these last seven years in Los Angeles,” added Lombardi. ”He was not only a great player for us, but a class act.”

On July 1, the Kings acquired defenseman Denis Gauthier and a second round selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman prospect Patrik Hersley and forward prospect Ned Lukacevic.

Gauthier, 31, is a nine-year NHL veteran, having played in 489 career regular season games with the Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes and Calgary Flames, scoring fifteen goals and adding 58 assists for 73 points with 658 penalty minutes.

In 43 games with the Flyers in the 2006-07 season, Gauthier tallied four assists with 45 penalty minutes.

Gauthier spent last season with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League (Flyers’ primary minor league affiliate), scoring three goals with fifteen assists for 18 points with 80 penalty minutes.

The 6-3, 224-pound native of Montreal, Quebec is probably best-known to Kings fans for his heavy hit on former Kings center Jeremy Roenick during a pre-season game at Phoenix during the 2005-06 pre-season.

Gauthier was originally selected by the Flames in the first round (20th overall) in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.

Hersley, 22, played in 42 games this past season with the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate, scoring a goal with eight assists for nine points with 27 penalty minutes.

The 6-3, 205-pound native of Malmo, Sweden also played in twenty regular season games for the Reading Royals of the ECHL (Kings’ ECHL affiliate) where he scored three goals and added fifteen assists for eighteen points with eighteen penalty minutes. He also scored three goals with six assists for nine points with ten penalty minutes in thirteen ECHL playoff games.

Hersley was selected by the Kings in the fifth round (139th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Lukacevic, 22, played in 61 games for the Royals this past season, scoring seventeen goals with nineteen assists for 36 points with 52 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, he contributed two assists in eight games.

The 6-0, 185-pound native of Podgrocia, Serbia was selected by the Kings in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

And on July 3, veteran defenseman and team captain Rob Blake, who became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, signed a one-year contract reported to be worth $5 million with the San Jose Sharks.

Blake was on Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi's radar to be re-signed. But rather than play for a rebuilding team with little hope of making the playoffs, Blake instead chose a more lucrative contract offer with a team that is a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

* * *

Frozen Royalty will have analysis of this week’s events on Friday, July 4.

Audio: Dean Lombardi, Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Los Angeles Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi spoke with the media today via conference call regarding Sunday night’s trade that sent defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for center Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene. Stoll and Greene also spoke to the media today.

Frozen Royalty will have a full report and analysis later today. In the meantime, here is the complete audio from the two press conference calls. Please note that the Kings also have the audio from these calls on their web site. The difference is that the only edits to the audio in the versions available here are content that was totally extraneous to the calls, such as dead spots in the audio, instructions for the press conference calls, etc., have been removed.

Interview with Dean Lombardi

Interview with Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene

Qualifying Offers and Other News

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On June 25, the Los Angeles Kings made qualifying offers to the following restricted free agents:

Erik Ersberg, goaltender
Gabe Gauthier, forward
Peter Harrold, defenseman
Matt Moulson, forward
Patrick O’Sullivan, forware
Joe Piskula, defenseman
Brad Richardson, forward

Players not receiving qualifying offers were forwards Petr Kanko and Dany Roussin.

Restricted free agents had to receive a qualifying offer today, or they would become unrestricted free agents, able to sign with any team without compensation to the Kings.

In other news, on June 24, the Kings announced that they have added an additional game to their 2008-09 pre-season schedule against the San Jose Sharks that will be played at the E-Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Sunday, October 5, 2008.

From the “in case you missed it” file...

On Friday, the Kings placed goaltender Dan Cloutier on waivers. Twenty-four hours later, when he cleared waivers, the Kings bought out the remainder of Cloutier’s contract, which will have a $1.03 million salary cap hit over the next two seasons.

However, there is a glitch in the process in that Cloutier is seeking a third opinion on his medical condition. If the third doctor says that Cloutier is unfit to play, that could nullify the buy out.

Two doctors, Kings physician Dr. Ronald Kvitne, and a doctor Cloutier consulted when he sought a second opinion, have found that he is fit to play.

If the first two doctors’ opinions hold up, the contract buy out will be finalized.

Stay tuned...

2008 NHL Draft: Lombardi’s Plan Comes Together

LOS ANGELES — The 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft has now come and gone, and unlike last year, Los Angeles Kings President/General Manager has few detractors in terms of the moves he made on draft weekend.

To be sure, last year at this time, Lombardi was almost universally blasted for his selection of defenseman Thomas Hickey with the fourth overall selection and for many, the anger about that move has not dissipated all that much.

But this year, in what was the most important draft in Kings history, Lombardi and the Kings are being almost uniformly praised for their selections and shrewd dealings. Indeed, after scouring the hockey news web sites that matter, the Kings are being consistently pointed to as one of the big winners in the 2008 draft for their moves to get the players they wanted through picks and trades, and to move picks into the 2009 and 2010 drafts.

The Lynchpin

Lombardi started the first round by quickly moving to acquire another pick in the top fifteen selections when he traded forward Michael Cammalleri in a rather complicated three-way deal with the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks.

In the deal, the Kings sent Cammalleri and a second round pick (48th overall, originally acquired from Calgary in a previous trade) to the Flames in exchange for the Flames’ first round pick (17th overall) and a second round selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

The Kings then traded that 17th overall pick and their 28th overall pick to the Ducks in exchange for their first round pick (12th overall).

That trade put Lombardi’s grand scheme in motion and would prove to be a huge lynchpin to what would transpire as the first round progressed.

Executing The Plan

The Kings had the second pick in the draft and had several trade offers for it, but Lombardi used it to select defenseman Drew Doughty from the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, who was ranked first or second among draft eligible skaters by the various publications and scouting services.

Lombardi could have chosen tough, rugged defenseman Zach Bogosian instead, who was ranked right up there with Doughty. But Doughty was their man.

Perhaps the biggest reason the Kings went for Doughty was that he demonstrated a commitment to improving his conditioning.

“They put me through some tests—they wanted me to become as fit as I could to show that I was committed and I did that,” Doughty explained. “They just wanted me to realize that they wanted to become winners and I think I’m a winner and I’m going to help them do that.”

“They really wanted me to know that their pick at number two was very important to them, that they were going to build their franchise around me, so I really had to work as hard as I could,” Doughty elaborated. “I knew how important it was and how much they’re putting on me to become a very good player in their organization.”

The 6-0, 219-pound Doughty reportedly lost twenty-five pounds before the draft.

“I don’t want to be told I’m not committed,” Doughty stressed. “I love the game of hockey and I’ll do anything to become the best player I can be.”

“I’ve worked really hard this summer,” Doughty added. “One setback was my fitness and I’ve worked really hard at that. I’m going to continue to become more and more fit, and work on a lot of things on the ice, I think I can do that. Now that I’ve lost the weight, I feel so much quicker, a lot more mobile. Every aspect of my skating feels a lot faster and better.”

Another reason the Kings chose Doughty was that he wanted to wear the Kings jersey.

“It’s just unbelievable,” said Doughty. “I really was dreaming of this since I was a little kid. Right before, I kind of had the gut feeling I was going to go, but then I saw Calgary’s GM and Lombardi shaking hands and I thought, ‘oh no.’ I didn’t think I was going to go there, so I was a little worried.”

“I would’ve been glad to go anywhere, but just because I loved LA so much when I was a little kid, it’s just unbelievable to be here,” added Doughty. “Wayne Gretzky was my idol growing up. Not only was he my favorite player on the ice, but I thought off-ice, he also dealt with the media very well. So I just loved him growing up. I just loved Wayne Gretzky when I was a kid and that’s what made me follow the Kings.”

After the selecting Doughty, Lombardi also had the 12th overall pick from Anaheim via Calgary...or did he?

Lombardi actually turned around and dealt that pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the 13th overall pick and a third round selection in the 2009 draft—it was now clear that Lombardi had a player targeted and knew that he could still get him by moving down in the draft and picking up another pick next year.

After Buffalo chose defenseman Tyler Myers, Lombardi selected the rugged, tough defenseman with a serious mean streak that he did not get when he chose Doughty over Bogosian by selecting 6-4, 185-pound Colten Teubert from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.

So instead of choosing one defenseman that had some of what Doughty brings to the ice along with some of Bogosian’s characteristics, Lombardi got two defenseman—he got all of what Doughty brings and the tough, physical defenseman the Kings lacked.

“Doughty’s hockey sense was off the charts,” said Lombardi. “I think everybody back there has a pretty good handle of what type of player he is and how special he could become. But the rub was, when people looked at comparisons between [Doughty and Bogosian], was Zach’s toughness and competitiveness. I think we got that in Teubert. If you could put them all together, it would be great. I think that element was really lacking in our group.”

“I still believe strongly in what this type of kid brings, with his leadership, his toughness, his commitment,” said Lombardi. “He has some work to do, there’s no doubt about it. But he has a presence about him. If all goes well, that could be a special group back there. I just think that’s critical if you’re ever going to win something that matters.”

This is where it becomes clear that not only did Lombardi have a clear plan going into this draft, but that he executed it about as well as he could have.

“That’s why, when we did the deal, we had to get up into a certain area,” Lombardi explained. “We weren’t just going to trade Cammalleri unless we were sure we could get this guy. We set a target from eleven to thirteen—this is where we had to be to ensure ourselves that we were getting him. I was dealing with three or four teams. I was offered some good players who could’ve helped us now, but they didn’t fit within what we’re trying to do in terms of the core we’re trying to put together.”

To be sure, Cammalleri’s trade value after his outrageous $6 million/season salary demand last summer has dropped in a big way.

“[Cammalleri] was a good player, but it was clear that he was probably a one-year asset for us going forward,” Lombardi explained. “It was very clear that ownership wants to get a young nucleus together that can stay together and our chances of keeping Cammalleri in that nucleus didn’t look very good on the heels of last year’s salary demands.”

“Our chances of moving him and maximizing value weren’t looking very good,” Lombardi elaborated. “We went through the entire market this week and prior to it and I got a pretty good handle on what the league thought of him in terms of my ability to get a return.”

“I couldn’t get anyone to trade with me outright,” said Lombardi. “What was clear to me was I couldn’t get into where I needed to be—it’s not only that Teubert was the guy we really wanted. There were some pretty good players in that layer. But to give up Cammalleri, we thought we had to be in that layer, hopefully with Teubert being there.”

“It was clear to me that I couldn’t get in there by trading him outright,” added Lombardi. “Those teams thought that was too high. Once it was clear to me that I couldn’t get in there, then I tried to start working on sprucing it up, so to speak, by using [the 28th overall pick] or our [second round picks] in combinations. When that didn’t work, I tried to find another partner, and that was Calgary.”

“I told [Flames general manager] Darryl [Sutter] last night that I was fine on our part that he was going to give me [the 17th overall pick] for Cammalleri. The second [round pick] flopping was OK with me because I want to move some picks into next year anyway. But like I told him, 17 is not enough for me to get what I want.”

So Lombardi had to find yet another willing trade partner.

“I didn’t feel [Teubert would] be there, I was thinking he’d be gone in that 13-15 range,” Lombardi explained. “I had to go to all those teams picking 11-14 and say ‘OK, would you take 17 and 32.’”

Enter Brian Burke and the Ducks.

“We paid a big price with [the 28th overall pick], but I was prepared to pay it to get a player with these elements,” said Lombardi. “There was a chance that I could’ve traded that pick and moved down two if I wanted to get cute, thinking that Teubert would fall a couple of spots. It was an opportunity to move back maybe two or three spots and take a chance that my guy would be there. But I wasn’t too enamored with doing that, but it was a thought.”

Nevertheless, Lombardi was still able to move down in the draft a little bit and pick up an additional draft pick next year.

“When Buffalo called, I told them I won’t trade with the other team if you tell me who you’re taking, as long as you’re not taking my guy,” said Lombardi. “I don’t have to take the risk, you don’t have to take the risk that somebody else is going to slide move into that slot. So we go off to the side and I’m going to write down the guy I’m taking and you write down who you’re taking. If we don’t match, then it’s a third round pick in 2009. If we do, nobody’s at a loss for wares.”

Indeed, when the dust finally settled after the first round, Lombardi picked up one of the consensus top-ranked skaters in the draft with the number two pick and parleyed a player he would undoubtedly lose after the 2008-09 season and a couple of draft picks into another highly-ranked, tough, physical defenseman with a mean streak that he so desperately needed.

With that, the picture became crystal-clear...Lombardi’s grand scheme was coming to fruition, probably as close to perfection as he could get.

The Day After

On Saturday, the draft started up again with rounds two through seven and Lombardi continued to make moves to build his reserve list, although a couple might be classified as risky.

One of those possibly risky moves was the selection of 6-0 190-pound defenseman Vjateslav Voinov with their second round pick (32nd overall).

The same risks go for the Kings fifth round selection (123rd overall), forward Andrei Loktionov, a 5-11, 187-pound out of Voskresensk, Russia.

The selections of Voinov and Loktionov are not being labeled as risky because of their play, physical stature or the other usual things the pundits point to when criticizing a prospect. Rather, it is because they are from Russia, a country the NHL does not have a transfer agreement with.

This means that the Kings are taking quite the risk of wasting a pick on a player who could decide to play in Russia for more money.

But Lombardi said that both players have expressed a strong desire to play in North America, so he does not feel that he is taking a huge gamble on them.

But with all the money being tossed at Russian players by the new league in Russia, that could easily change at any time until a new transfer agreement is in place, so that risk will hang over Lombardi’s head for the foreseeable future.

But aside from that, Lombardi added players who will fill spots on his reserve list and could turn out to be more than just minor league roster fodder.

“I think, obviously, on the front end, it again trended towards defensemen,” Lombardi said of the draft’s second day. “I think we’re pretty happy with the guys we got.”

“Particularly with [defenseman Andrew] Campbell [selected in the third round, 74th overall after a trade with Buffalo] and Voinov, we add two more kids who are good prospects to our system,” Lombardi added. “As I said yesterday, the defense part of our reserve list has become stronger. The key right now is to develop them as men and develop them as players. If we don’t do that, this is not going to be a great day.”

Lombardi also made a deal that could help the big club next season, trading a second round pick (61st overall) to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for 23-year old center Brad Richardson, who spent parts of three seasons with the Avs.

But Lombardi was focused more on the young prospects he just brought into the fold.

“I think we’ve taken a huge jump when you match us up now,” he said. “If you look at Nashville’s back end—so much of what they’re building there with Suter, Hamhuis, Weber, they added Blum last year—there are some similarities where their emphasis is there and the strength of that reserve list.”

“I just think we’ve taken a huge step with those four guys [Jack Johnson, Thomas Hickey and now Doughty and Teubert] and don’t forget that kid [Alec] Martinez,” he added. “This kid’s going to challenge for a job too and we’ve got a couple of other kids in the minors and they’re not going to give up either. We’ve got a lot to look forward to and get some players out of there.”

“I think we finally got something we really liked and we’re pretty happy back here.”

In the end, whether or not the 2008 draft turns out to be the turning point in the success (or lack thereof) of the franchise hinges both on the development of the selected prospects and if Lombardi was right about his choices.

Under The Gun?

Without question, especially after a 2007 draft that many fans perceived as one in which Lombardi’s selection of Hickey was the wrong choice at the number four spot and, far more importantly, with the Kings moving into the third year of what Lombardi said would be a three-year rebuilding program when he took over the reins two years ago, there was more riding on this draft than anything else during his tenure.

Indeed, that means there was much more pressure on Lombardi to perform this time around. One source was ownership—Kings CEO and Governor Tim Leiweke.

“I got pressure put on me by my owner who said, ‘I want the best Kings draft in history,’ Lombardi explained. “So I went back and looked at the history and I think the best draft was Larry Murphy, Bernie Nicholls, Daryl Evans and Jim Fox. That was the pressure put on to try and beat that.”

“Unfortunately, the Kings traded Larry Murphy a year later, so that didn’t work out,” Lombardi elaborated. “So that’s a little internal pressure which is good. It was a challenge to this staff. I guess we won’t know until down the road.”

Whether the source is ownership or the Kings’ small, but fiercely dedicated fan base, there is a great deal of pressure this time around. But don’t try telling that to Lombardi.

“The fact of the matter is, I don’t know what draft isn’t important,” he said. “If you look at any draft, there’s three ways to build a team. The draft, free agency and trades. You can’t make trades unless you draft well. No general manager is stupid. You’ve got to have things to trade. So unless you draft well, you don’t have the cards to play, so to speak, to trade.”

“In the end, it’s all about developing them,” he stressed. “It’s a great step for the organization, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

Under the circumstances, that is the understatement of the year for the Kings.

* * *

In other news, late last week, the Kings placed embattled goaltender Dan Cloutier on waivers and on Saturday, bought out the remainder of his contract.

As a result, the Kings will take a $1.03 million salary cap hit in each of the next two seasons...a miniscule price to pay to get a goaltender who reminded people more of swiss cheese or a sieve than an NHL goaltender during his disastrous stint with the Kings.

Dan Cloutier...PLEASE...do yourself a big favor. For your own sake, retire from hockey. Your playing days are over. There is more to life than playing hockey and it is well past the time for you to enjoy your family and shift your career aspirations to something else.

2008 NHL Draft: Live From The Los Angeles Kings’ Draft Party - UPDATED

Greetings from the Nokia Theatre where the Los Angeles Kings are hosting a party for their season ticket holders...all anxiously awaiting what they will do in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft, which begins at 4:00 PM PDT in Ottawa.

Frozen Royalty will have several live updates as the afternoon/evening wears on, so be sure to check in frequently.

The early word from here is that the Kings will retain the second overall pick, according to Luc Robitaille, Kings President, Business Operations. Of course, anything could change up to the time the pick comes up in Ottawa...

The Kings have traded Michael Cammalleri in a three-way deal involving the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks. Cammalleri goes to Calgary, the Kings 28th overall pick goes to Anaheim, who also gets the Flames’ 17th overall pick. The Kings will get the 12th overall pick out of the deal. The question now is...what else will Lombardi do? What do you think of the deal?

The Kings kept the second overall pick and selected defenseman Drew Doughty.

More details on the Cammalleri trade...The Kings sent Cammalleri, and a second round pick (48th overall, which was originally from Calgary) to the Flames. In return, the Flames sent their first round pick (17th overall) and a second round selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft to the Kings, who then traded their 17th and 28th overall picks to the Ducks in exchange for their first round pick (12th overall).

Now what do you think of the deal?

The Kings also traded the 12th overall pick (first round) to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the 13th overall pick and a third round pick in the 2009 draft. And with the 13th overall selection, the Kings selected defenseman Colten Teubert.

Frozen Royalty will have a complete story on the 2008 draft sometime on Saturday night where we will cover everything the Kings did in Ottawa on Friday and Saturday, including the players selected and all trades.

The story will also include comments from the Kings draft picks, most notably, first round selections Drew Doughty and Colten Teubert, and Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi.

For now, here are links to the audio of the press conference calls held with Doughty, Teubert and Lombardi during the first round of the draft, held on Friday:

Interview with Drew Doughty

Interview with Colten Teubert

Interview with Dean Lombardi

Los Angeles Kings And The 2008 NHL Draft: Defining Moments

LOS ANGELES — No matter what Dean Lombardi does over the next couple of days in terms of draft selections and trades, those actions—or inactions—will be the defining moments of his tenure to date as the President/General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings.

Indeed, with Lombardi apparently intending to take giant steps towards a youth movement in the 2008-09 season as part of the first (actual) rebuilding effort in franchise history—something he has been building towards since he took over the reins from Dave Taylor, nothing else has been more important since he joined the Kings back in April, 2006.

To be sure, what Lombardi does over the next two days will, in all likelihood, determine if the Kings can turn things around and become a Stanley Cup contender in the foreseeable future, or if they will continue their long history of doing little more than circling the drain.

If you have been following the hype leading up to the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft, which starts at 4:00 PM PDT on Friday (televised on Versus in the United States), the pundits have the Kings doing everything from selecting defensemen Zach Bogosian or Drew Doughty with the second overall pick, trading down, packaging a veteran player or two to acquire an additional first round pick...the list goes on.

I will leave most of the prognosticating and predicting to others...there is way too much of that going around anyway. But conventional wisdom, along with a few rumblings heard along the way, point to Lombardi keeping the number two pick and selecting either Bogosian or Doughty—either one would be a gem on a team that has big holes on their blue line, both with the Kings and throughout their minor league system, in terms of legitimate number one or number two defensemen.

There is also a better-than-average chance that forward Michael Cammalleri will be traded, possibly in a package deal involving another Kings veteran, in exchange for an NHL-ready defenseman or so the Kings can acquire another top-10 or top-15 pick in the first round, perhaps going after highly-rated center prospect Nikita Filatov.

And with the Kings having fifteen picks in this draft, the potential for additional deals is tremendous, and other teams are clearly interested in acquiring some of those draft picks. You can bet Lombardi will be wheeling and dealing after the number two pick, no question.

Whatever the case might be, when the dust settles, especially after the first round on Friday, but also after rounds 2-7 on Saturday, one thing is crystal-clear.

Dean Lombardi must not screw up this weekend.

Whether or not Lombardi screwed up in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by selecting defenseman Thomas Hickey with the fourth overall pick, quite frankly, remains to be seen. However, the pick is more suspect now than it was on Draft Day last June because Hickey did not have the eye-opening season one might expect such a high draft pick to have. In fact, Hickey’s numbers declined slightly from his 2006-07 statistics.

Indeed, after the selection of Hickey was announced, you could hear a loud gasp, both at the Kings’ draft party in Hollywood and throughout the network of web sites, blogs and chat forums dedicated to the team.

Once the shock and disbelief dissipated, the stunned silence quickly turned into anger, as many fans viewed Hickey as a smallish defenseman who was not the best player available at the number four position in the 2007 draft. As a result, the angry comments began to fly in Lombardi’s direction—the invective hurled reflected the many years of deep-seated anger and frustration that a massive multitude of Kings fans still feel—many fans are still up in arms about the selection of Hickey to this day.

Again, the jury is still out on whether these enraged fans are correct or not. However, it is quite clear that the fans are watching Lombardi very, very closely and have raised the stakes for this draft even higher.

Nevertheless, while fan reaction is important in terms of whether or not they will support the team, Lombardi must stick to his plan of building the Kings into a contender from the ground up, regardless of fan outcry. But the question is, will he make the right choices towards that goal?

The troubling factor here is that Lombardi has a reputation for being a maverick at the draft table, known for going off the board and making unorthodox moves that often leave people scratching their heads—last year’s move to select Hickey was certainly one of those decisions.

This year, it would seem that sticking to conventional wisdom in terms of the second overall pick would be wise, unless Lombardi is presented with an offer that no one in their right mind would refuse. Indeed, Bogosian and Doughty appear to be “can’t miss” prospects who would also fill the biggest holes in the Kings’ lineup.

After that, if Lombardi can swing a deal to pick up a better-than-average NHL-ready defenseman or another high-to-mid-round pick in the first round without giving up too much, that would be icing on the cake.

Kings fans might even nominate Lombardi for sainthood if he could pull that off.

But if he gives up too much in such a deal, or if he makes a poor decision with the second overall pick—and those are just two potential pitfalls, Lombardi’s three-year rebuilding plan will surely extend to five or six years...or beyond, sending the Kings deeper into the abyss, otherwise known as irrelevance.

Aside from their Stanley Cup run in the 1992-93 season and a couple of huge playoff upsets of the Edmonton Oilers in 1982 and the Detroit Red Wings in 2000, the Kings have given their fans more than their share of frustration and grief—they deserve far, far better and should not have to continue to be told to be patient for several more years.

As such, what Lombardi does or fails to do in terms of draft picks and trades over the next 48 hours or so will unquestionably be the defining moments of his tenure with the Kings, not to mention that of the franchise for the foreseeable future.

In short, and as stated earlier, Lombardi must not screw this one up. There is way, way too much riding on his success (or failure) at the draft table this time around.

Pre-Season Schedule Announced

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On June 16, the Los Angeles Kings released their 2008 pre-season schedule, which includes “split-squad” games on September 22 to open the exhibition season.

ALL TIMES PACIFIC
Home games indicated in bold letters

September 2008 (pre-season)

09/22/08 - Mon. - Phoenix Coyotes - 7:30 PM, Staples Center
09/22/08 - Mon. - St. Louis Blues - 5:05 PM, Sprint Center, Kansas City
09/24/08 - Wed. - Colorado Avalanche - 6:00 PM, Pepsi Center
09/27/08 - Sat. - Colorado Avalanche - 7:00 PM, MGM Grand, Las Vegas
09/30/08 - Tue. - Anaheim Ducks - 7:30 PM, Staples Center
10/01/08 - Wed. - Anaheim Ducks - 7:05 PM, Honda Center
10/04/08 - Sat. - Phoenix Coyotes - 7:00 PM, Jobing.com Arena

Crawford Firing Not The Big Story

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On June 10, when the Los Angeles Kings fired head coach Marc Crawford, they clearly indicated a major course change in the direction of the franchise...

...that is, if you believe what many of the pundits and some fans are saying in the aftermath of the firing of the Kings’ 21st head coach.

But don’t you believe it, not for one minute.

Indeed, it seems far more likely that, if anything, the Kings are staying the course that President/General Manager Dean Lombardi set when he was hired more than two seasons ago.

Crawford Out Due To “Fit”

Crawford was hired on May 22, 2006, and earned a 59-84-21 record with the Kings. He was best available option at the time of his hiring, to be sure, he was the “biggest name” available. But his fiery, in-your-face style does not work well with today’s National Hockey League players, especially the youngsters.

“The young players that are in the draft, and as we see more prevalent coming through the system—this is one of the advantages of going out on the road, meeting kids myself, meeting parents—I think the ability to communicate and build trust with young players is critical because the fear factor with young people is not there anymore as it was in the past,” said Lombardi.

“So the question is...is it change your ways or is it adapt to the people we’re dealing with? I think we’ve all had to do that. Even [assistant general manager] Ron Hextall says it’s very different from when he came up through the ranks when dealing with players, the impact the agents now have—these kids have agents at 14 years old. They learn in junior hockey now that if you don’t like going somewhere, you can manipulate the team you want to play for.”

The team plummeting out of playoff contention by mid-December also did not help matters, even though Lombardi said that was not the most important factor in the decision.

“If you’re only going to evaluate it on the past, the season ends disappointingly, sure,” Lombardi explained. “We weren’t as good as we thought. I think we should’ve been better. But is that enough to make a change? I didn’t really think so, particularly with a coach who had a good track record with other organizations. But then you look again, just like a player, where does he fit into your overall plan?

“We’re talking about a guy with a lot of wins,” Lombardi continued. “But this is different from Colorado or Vancouver. This is not an easy team to coach when you have to go out and get bridge free agents to bide time for your young players and build something through the draft and through your system.”

“You have to be realistic in terms of your expectations because you’re not able to build the camaraderie. I go back to free agency back on July 4. Six or seven guys—not the way to go and that’s a harder team to coach. I don’t think Marc ever confronted that type of building scenario, even though he had a wealth of experience. When you’re in that situation, the bridge towards the build, I don’t think he had to face that yet.”

Indeed, Lombardi must share much of the blame, even though he did not have much choice for his actions, for Crawford’s situation last season. Given the fact that Lombardi handed him a roster made up of young, inexperienced talent at the top end and not much else outside of over-the-hill or drastically underperforming veteran players, it is quite clear that Crawford really did not have much to work with—he was going to be hard-pressed to keep his team in the playoff hunt, although his team should have been able to stay afloat until at least the All-Star break and should have been able to stay out of the basement of the league standings (the Kings ended the season tied in points with last place Tampa Bay).

In any case, for the rebuilding Kings, it is clear that Crawford is not the right man for the job going forward as the Kings dive deeper into their youth movement, which is the real story here.

Staying The Course

To be sure, the firing of head coach Marc Crawford, although a big story in relation to the Kings, was really not the biggest story to surface from the Kings on Tuesday. Rather, it was the revelation that the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), who owns the Kings, is supportive of Lombardi’s efforts and vision for the future of the team and is not interfering in hockey-related decisions as they used to do from the time they took over as owners through Dave Taylor’s run as general manager.

“There’s no doubt we’re committed to the way we’re going after my meeting with ownership this week,” said Lombardi. “It’s more evident than ever that they’re committed to building a young core—for the lack of a better term, the old-fashioned way.”

“Ultimately, it comes down to a meeting with ownership and their commitment to staying with this plan, because in the end, their philosophy is what dictates the plan, and they’re not changing the course in terms of building a young core the old-fashioned way,” added Lombardi. “It’s safe to say that we might be accelerating it, so there’s more of a commitment than ever to doing it this way.”

This news is probably shocking to many long-time Kings fans who are skeptical of AEG and their motives.

“The only thing I wanted to hear from ownership was a commitment to stay with the idea of building with young players,” said Lombardi. “That was it. Seeing where some of these young players might be in terms of using them, there is a school of thought that says that, in a perfect world, you completely back off instead of trying to play a 21-year-old or a 19-year-old and use your minor league time to its fullest. That’s not totally irrational, but it’s also not practical at times.”

“When I put all these plans together, the only thing I want to hear from ownership is are you still committed to building through the draft and with young players? If anything, they’re stronger on that now than they were when I got here. The challenge now is to not only get the young players but to keep them because of the way the money is going.”

Lombardi added that many organizations become skittish after a horrendous season like the one the Kings just had.

“The thing you see from organizations time and time again, when it gets a little hard, it’s easy to switch course,” he explained. “When you’re in these situations, ownership has a right to say, ‘this is not what we expected,’ or, ‘we have to make an adjustment here.’ Or the easy thing is to do a hybrid and then get caught in between trying to put together the muscle to win a Cup and ‘let’s try and do it, but let’s do this that might hurt us down the road.’”

“All I heard was, ‘no, you continue on this route to put together a core that’s going to make us a contender,’” he elaborated. “They said to stay with this and, if anything, go even harder at it.”

For a team that has only talked about rebuilding prior to hiring Lombardi but never actually went through with it, rather, going the “hybrid” route that Lombardi described, this is significant. It is a powerful indication that they are committed to rebuilding and, even more important, allowing their hockey people to make the decisions and run the show, something they never allowed before.

And about that rebuilding movement...many hockey pundits and long-time fans are saying that the Kings are switching gears by heading into a total youth movement.

BZZZT! Wrong! Try again!

Clearly, Lombardi has had the Kings on a rebuilding plan since he arrived on the scene on April 21, 2006, and even though he said that here in Southern California, tearing down a team and totally rebuilding it won’t work, it is quite clear that despite what he said two years ago, a total rebuild is exactly what he has been doing all along.

Indeed, if you look at the young core of the team, which includes forwards Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Patrick O’Sullivan, Alexander Frolov and, if he is not traded soon, Michael Cammalleri, they range in age from 20 to 26 years of age—all still young by NHL standards.

In goal, the Kings were horrible once again last season, although Erik Ersberg gave fans a glimmer of hope near the end of the season. Yet unproven, Ersberg could wind up as the Kings’ top goalie while the Kings wait for blue chip prospect Jonathan Bernier to develop further in his first year with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate).

Where the Kings need the most help is on the blue line, where they are still relatively old.

“We have the illusion of being young because our better players are young,” Lombardi explained. “But in terms of our overall make-up, particularly on the back end, there’s a transition that has to take place where we, in fact, become a young team.”

Indeed, with elder statesman Rob Blake likely still in the Kings’ plans and with holes to fill while waiting for young defenseman prospects to develop down on the farm, the Kings’ blue line corps will not be getting a lot younger just yet, even with the likely selection of a high-potential defenseman prospect in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft on June 20.

The Kings clearly have had huge holes on defense and on their third and fourth lines. So what did Lombardi do to fill them? He signed unrestricted free agents such as Scott Thornton, Brian Willsie, Kyle Calder, Ladislav Nagy and Michael Handzus. And knowing that goaltending was a problem, he took a shot in the dark with Dan Cloutier. Lombardi also signed defenseman Rob Blake for a whopping $6 million per year for two seasons.

To be quite sure, trading for Cloutier and then signing him to a contract extension was a blunder of epic proportions, and Blake and Handzus have been major disappointments. The rest were really nothing more than inexpensive placeholders—filling a roster spot, biding time for young prospects to develop and eventually fill those roster spots.

That time is upon us, as a few prospects will undoubtedly move into those roster spots next season.

“We’ve had time, since the playoffs ended in Manchester, to evaluate where those kids are in terms of being in our lineup,” said Lombardi.

And with fifteen selections in the 2008 draft, including the second overall pick, the Kings development system will get a big boost just over a week from now. Indeed, the train that is the Kings’ youth movement is about to hit top speed.

With that second pick, the Kings just might land a youngster who is ready to play at the NHL level already.

Maybe.

“You look at the draft picks that are out there—I spent a lot of time in Toronto and down the stretch trying to gauge whether one or two of these players could be ready [for the NHL],” said Lombardi.

Lombardi Will Take His Time On New Head Coach

Don’t expect the Kings to name a new head coach very soon, as it appears that they are going to be quite deliberate in their search.

“We haven’t had time to look at candidates at this stage,” said Lombardi. “For the most part, we’ll start our search after today and look for what you hope will be the right fit as you project your roster. That’s the hard part that started to become clearer to us in the last month or so—the direction we were going with the timing of the youth, so to speak.”

“We’re not going to rush into anything,” added Lombardi. “This is a critical hire. We’ll get through Development Camp in July and hopefully, make the right gut call in the end. We’re going to take our time, go through the process and hopefully, get the right guy.”

Lombardi indicated that associate coach Mike Johnston was the only one of the current assistant/associate coaches who would be considered.

“There’s two things there,” said Lombardi. “I haven’t had a chance to meet with them yet. I want to talk to Mike Johnston about the possibility of being considered for this role.”

“I think right now we’ve committed to considering Mike Johnston,” added Lombardi. “I think he’s pretty well-respected in the industry and I think that’s where we’re leaning right now, but that doesn’t mean we won’t open it up.”

With big-name head coaches such as Joel Quenneville and John Tortorella out there, presumably looking for new jobs, Lombardi explained the situation that candidates will face.

“Guys that have options—they have to decide which challenge they want,” he explained. “It’s not only a guy who fits with where your team is and where you want to go. But that candidate has a different landscape for every organization.”

“If you go to San Jose or Ottawa, for instance, there’s no question those teams should be Cup contenders.” he elaborated. “Everything’s been built, the infrastructure is in place. Now go ahead, ride everything to the top. Or do you want to get on the ground floor, build with young players, help establish a culture, and maybe go through the hard times but have the satisfaction of starting something from the ground up?”

“The hockey people are starting to look and say ‘hmm...there might be something pretty good there if they can get the back end [established] and keep the youth up front, that could be a good place to go and grow with,’” Lombardi stressed. “That’s important because every [team] brings its own challenge, and that individual has to want that challenge or you don’t want him.”

Lombardi also said that previous experience as an NHL head coach would not necessarily be a requirement.

“I’m not married to [NHL] experience,” he said. “I’m not afraid to hire inexperience if I feel its the right guy and he wants this type of challenge.”

Kings Fire Head Coach Marc Crawford

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On June 10, the Los Angeles Kings fired head coach Marc Crawford, who coached the team for the last two seasons.

“We appreciate Marc’s commitment the two seasons he has been here,” said Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi. “However, we believe that in evaluating where we are at and, more importantly, where we are going as an organization, we feel this coaching change was the right decision to make. We wish Marc the best in his future endeavors.”

Crawford, who was the Kings’ 21st head coach, was hired on May 22, 2006, and earned a 59-84-21 record with the Kings.

Although Crawford's firing does not come as a total surprise given his team’s poor showing, it was certainly not expected. And given the fact that his teams were made up of young, inexperienced talent at the top end and not much else outside of over-the-hill or drastically underperforming veteran players, it is quite clear that Crawford really did not have much to work with.

As such, this move makes one question how much of it was to deflect the heavy criticism being aimed at Lombardi and his staff by fans who are no longer willing to wait for their team to be a consistent winner and contend for the Stanley Cup.

And with John Tortorella, who was recently fired by the Tampa Bay Lightning now available, one has to think he is the leading candidate to replace Crawford.

Check back after 2:45 PM PDT, or thereabouts. Lombardi will hold a press conference call at 2:30 PM PDT, so Frozen Royalty will have more comments and details at that time.

Kings Acquire Fifth Round Pick In 2009 Draft

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On June 4, the Los Angeles Kings traded defenseman prospect T.J. Fast to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a fifth round pick in the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Fast, 20, was selected by the Kings in second round (60th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. In 71 games this past season, Fast scored 17 goals and added 37 assists for 54 points with 92 penalty minutes with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League.

In two seasons with the University of Denver of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the 6-1, 190-pound native of Calgary, Alberta scored eight goals with 34 assists for 43 points with 66 penalty minutes in 97 career regular season games in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.

Photo courtesy Tri-City Americans.

Los Angeles Kings To Face St. Louis Blues In Pre-Season Game at Kansas City’s Sprint Center

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On May 29, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they will face the St. Louis Blues in a pre-season match-up at the new Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri on September 22, 2008, at 5:05 PM Pacific time.

The Sprint Center, which opened in October, 2007 is owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which also owns the Kings and Staples Center.

“We are very excited about this event,” said Luc Robitaille, the Kings President, Business Operations. “It will be great to have professional hockey and the NHL in Kansas City and we look forward to playing the Blues in the beautiful, state-of-the-art Sprint Center.”

The game will be the first hockey game to be played at Sprint Center.

“Sprint Center is delighted to host two storied franchises at our first-ever pre-season NHL game,” said Brenda Tinnen, Sprint Center General Manager and Senior Vice President.  ”We look forward to welcoming hockey fans from throughout the region—showcasing both Kansas City and our venue.”

It’s About Time

LOS ANGELES — It’s about time.

Since the National Hockey League returned from the 2004-05 lockout, they have been playing a schedule that had teams playing their division rivals eight times and other teams in their conference four times, hoping to highlight and intensify rivalries, thus raising fan interest.

Although the league is enjoying record attendance since the lockout and league revenues, expected to exceed $2.5 billion this season (a league record), are on the rise, and television ratings are now higher on Versus than they were on ESPN before the lockout, there has been nothing to indicate that divisional rivalries have had anything to do with the increased interest in the NHL.

It certainly seems that the increased interest would have developed with or without the division-heavy schedule, that has done little more than make players tired of seeing the same teams over and over and make fans miss seeing their favorite teams in the other conference—yours truly has heard players from many teams and fans alike complain about the schedule this past season.

For example, this past season, Pacific Division teams did not face teams in the Southeast Division, which includes the Atlanta Thrashers, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals.

Indeed, fans of Pacific Division teams did not get to see their team play against superstars such as Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin, who is the heavy favorite to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player.

The unbalanced schedule also meant that, for example, Los Angeles Kings fans did not get to see teams from the Northeast Division, which includes the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs for three seasons until they finally showed up at Staples Center this past season—they had not played in Los Angeles since the 2003-04 season.

For long-time hockey fans, not being able to see their teams face all of the other teams in the league at least once did not sit well and the division-heavy schedule has been the focus of criticism since the day it was announced. But finally, at long last, the NHL is doing something about it.

During Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters that each team will face every other team in the league at least once.

“Every team will play every other team at least once, either home or away,” said Bettman. ”We’re moving from ten inter-conference games, almost doubling it going to eighteen. You’ll see everybody in the other conference home or away and if you see them home one year you’ll see them on television the next year. But there will be at least one game.”

“And for three inter-conference setups, there will be a home and home,” added Bettman. ”And we’re in the process of formulating who is going to be playing who in those home and homes. And they may rotate over time.”

While there has been significant interest in moving back to a more traditional schedule, Bettman said that the interest was not overwhelming.

“It was a move intended to create more inter-conference play, because while not a majority of our fans, but a substantial number of fans and clubs were vocal about wanting to move in that direction,” Bettman explained. ”We thought that was a good step in that direction.”

“If you look at it our best attended games are actually the divisional rivalry games,” Bettman elaborated. “So I want to see what impact it has on the business.”

The “new” schedule will be studied next season and adjusted, if needed. But as of now, it appears that money will prevent the league from going back to a true, traditional schedule where every team plays every other team at least once in each team’s home arena.

“There is not overwhelming sentiment that a home-and-home should be played against every team at the expense of the divisional games,” said Bettman. ”So whether or not we shorten the pre-season and go to 84 regular season games and play a little more inter-conference is something that at some point may get further discussion and might get traction.”

A huge reason for not going back to a true, traditional schedule is cost.

“I’m not getting an overwhelming sentiment from the clubs that everybody’s anxious to play home-and-homes for the reasons I said,” Bettman explained. “And also travel. I think travel is going to become more and more of an issue.”

“It is getting, not just for those who go to the gas pumps, flying, chartering, which all our teams are required to do, is going to get astronomically expensive, and while travel is an expense item, it’s also a wear and tear item on the players.”

While a return to a true, traditional schedule is highly unlikely, the NHL is making the right move by moving to a schedule that ensures each team will face all the other teams in the league at least once. The players seem to prefer that and fans should be able to see all the other teams in the league play against their favorite team, either at home or on television when their team is on the road.

Indeed, this is a good thing for the league and, as stated earlier...

It’s about time.

Inside The Kings: Inside The War Room

Rich Hammond has a fantastic piece on the Inside The Kings blog, this time he got more than a glimpse of how the Los Angeles Kings evaluate players by sitting in during one of their “war room” meetings.

You can read his fascinating story here. Kudos to Rich for the fine work!

New From KingsCast: Prospect Preview

OK...so they lied.

We all thought their “Season Finale” was just that, but Keith Korneluk and Chris Kaliszewski just had to leave us with one last gasp to end the 2007-08 season with their Prospect Preview episode of KingsCast, the official fan podcast of the Los Angeles Kings.

Always recommended listening. You can find it at Prospect Preview.

Kings, AEG Sure Have A Lot Of Nerve-Redux

Editor’s Note: The following op-ed piece was originally published on June 30, 2006, the last time the Los Angeles Kings announced that they were raising ticket prices. It is being published once again strictly for background purposes since the Kings are once again raising ticket prices under similar (not the same) circumstances. It is not being re-published to express an opinion on the current price increase.

The Los Angeles Kings and the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), headed by Philip Anschutz and Tim Leiweke, the entertainment and real estate conglomerate that owns the Kings, sur