I'm still skeptical whether Leiweke is really out of the picture .... hockey-decisions-wise.Originally Posted by JohnnyUtah
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No I don't believe the Kings have not been serious about winning in the past.
But maybe some free agents would look at the Kings and see a team that has missed the playoffs for 3 years in a row and maybe would question whether they were committed to winning. I think with the hiring of Lombardi and Crawford, I don't think free agents will look at it that way.
It is kind of a bad example because a huge reason Scott Niedermayer came to Anaheim was to play with Rob, but I remember when he signed he made a comment about the Ducks hiring Brian Burke and how he as shown he can build a successful team. I think free agents will look at the Kings and feel like it an organizaion headed in the right direction with these hires.
Seeing Gerber/Ward, Miller, Roloson and Bryzgalov lead their teams into the Conference Finals...do you really think Garon can't do it too?
I suppose, but I'd be surprised if the players and their agents are that simplistic. I think they probably all have really good ideas of who "wants to win" and who doesn't. And I would imagine that they would see the same things we have...that the Kings tried like hell and got snakebitten with injuries. I mean, they got Palffy...added Deadmarsh and then Allison to try to win. It didn't work, but they tried like hell. Conroy and Demitra sure had some good things to say when they signed...really similar to what Niedermayer said when he signed with the Ducks.
Well, if he is, he'd better tread carefully. You only get to make scapegoats out of the GM and coach so often before the finger gets pointed at you. I'm more curious as to how much input Crawford has on personnel decisions. I'm thinking that Deano makes the calls for the most part, since it's his second stint as a GM and the critical first year. Not a time to go deferring decisions or sharing power when you're trying to realize a vision.
As for bringing in some gritty vets like Nolan, etc. I have no problems as long as they are (1) on short, cheap contracts (2) don't block the progress of younger players and (3) aren't too slow for today's game. I don't remember Nolan being particularly fast, and I do remember him being particularly injured. Valeri Bure, part 2?
And, to echo other posters, I love that we now have some frickin' credibility. This HAS to help when Deano goes fishing in free agency. And maybe with a high-profile coach we'll even see some media coverage! Oh shoot, I got carried away, didn't I?
Assumign Crawford is our man, I'll withhold judgment on him for now. There's definately some positives with him, but also some negatives. I want to see what moves he and Lombardi make.
But I do agree, considering the options for coaches out there, he is probably among the top 3 candidates.
The concern I have about Garon is that he seems to be lacking in stamina (either mental or physical) and that is something that can be worked around in the regular season but not the playoffs.
I just don't understand what happens to goalies. They'll be great for a year or two and then stink it up. Almost all of the big-money goalies in the past few years have turned into busts (Giguere, Nabokov, Khabibulin, Theodore etc.) while the obscure guys can become superstars overnight. Brodeur is about the only guy playing who has been consistently outstanding.
I don't understand it, but it would make me very hesitant to blow a big chunk of payroll on a "big name" goalie.
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