Thread: Kings trade up in Draft

The Kings continued their rebuilding efforts by trading Pavol Demitra to Minnesota for Patrick O'Sullivan (an up-and-coming prospect who should be a solid goal scorer in a few years) plus the Wild's 1st round pick (17th overall, originally received from Edmonton for Dwayne Roloson) in Saturday's NHL Draft. The Kings then selected center Trevor Lewis with that pick.

“Part of the deal that’s attractive is picking up a kid like Patrick O’Sullivan, who is tremendously talented and has already proven that he can play at a high level in the minors," said Kings GM Dean Lombardi. "His play this year in the minors for a player born in 1985 was pretty special. He’s a talented kid and we picked up another first-round choice where we drafted Lewis. Another component of this trade is that we cleared some cap space.”

CBC article on O'Sullivan's personal history

“This move was made to get younger players in a critical age group that I have feel needs to be upgraded before this franchise gets on solid footing,” said Lombardi. “We have evaluated the last couple of days, and this was a decision that was difficult to make, but the reality is that structurally our reserve list needs to be upgraded in certain areas and we have to make deals like this. We can continue puttering around, trying to be just good enough, or we can make some moves like this which might hurt short term, but hopefully pay off down the road.”

"Obviously, we’re giving up an established player in Pavol Demitra -- a very good player -- but in order to set this franchise up for being something structurally sound, I felt we had to make a move such as this and acquire more young assets,” Lombardi said.

TREVOR LEWIS played in Des Moines of the USHL, scoring 35 goals and 40 assists in 56 games with 60 penalty minutes. The 6’ 1”, 192 lb., right-shooter was born January 8, 1987 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Central Scouting Report: Has excellent acceleration and quickness and can intimidate defensemen with his ability to change direction at top speed ... can shoot the puck on the fly, does not hesitate to pull the trigger every chance he gets ... has good puck skills and maneuvers very quickly in traffic ... a good passer ... scores big goals – makes big plays and has been a “ go to guy “ for his coach playing in all game situations this season ... good on face-offs he is very effective when forechecking, forcing turnovers that create scoring opportunities ... comes to play with a lot of energy and grit – takes the body well and stands up to a challenge ... plays a solid all-around game and comes back hard to cover his man and supports his defensemen down low in his own zone ... has very good poise, is a team player with good leadership qualities ... played on the USHL Viking Cup team in 2006 ... was selected to play in the 2006 USHL All-Star game ... was the recipient of three USHL awards, player and forward of the year, the Curt Hammer Award for Most Gentlemanly Player and he also was selected to the first all-star team 2006 ... will attend the University of Michigan in the fall of 2006.

Personal Profile: Nickname is Lewie ... favorite team is the Detroit Red Wings ... favorite player is Wings’ captain Steve Yzerman ...wears jersey #11 because of Mark Messier ... says his father has had the most influence on his career because “he has pushed me through everything” and most admires him because “he is good at anything he does” ... patterns his style of play after Yzerman because “he hits and scores” ... most memorable game played was when he scored the game-winning goal in overtime during a Peewee Championship game ... most memorable hockey games watched are any from the Detroit vs. Colorado playoff series ... favorites include: Entourage (TV show), Boondock Saints (movie), Eva Mendes (actress) and Dave Matthews Band (musicians) ... if he could have dinner with any three people, he would invite: Michael Jordan – “he is a champion,” Mark Messier – “he is such a good leader and a champion,” and Scotty Bowman – “best coach ever.”

It seems clear that Dean Lombardi has officially declared his plan for the Kings organization. It looks like a full rebuilding from the bottom up and not a patch job.

Personally I like both his overall plan and this particular deal. While losing Demitra will hurt next season we weren't going to win the cup with him on the roster. Sullivan is a good young player and we'll see about Trevor Lewis. It will be interesting to see what happens with free agency and then with veterans like Conroy who won't want to wait through a rebuilding process.

What does everyone think? Can you take a 2-3 year rebuilding period or do you think we have the pieces to move forward from here?

Demitra scored 62 points in 58 games so I have to admit that I'm not feeling all warm and fuzzy about this deal. It may be better for the Kings in the long term, but I am starting to run out of patience.

Personally, i don't like the trade. Demitra suffered that eye injury which kept him out of the lineup for a while, but when he played he was productive.
Although I don't agree with the trade, I am willing to give Lombardi the benefit of the doubt and see what type of team he can put together.

I really hope DL knows what he is doing by trading Demitra. I do not like that move at all unless one of those kids is as good as Crosby or Ovechkin. He better be in the market for a pure goal scorer or two, plus a solid top 4 defenseman.

Originally Posted by grumpyricky

I really hope DL knows what he is doing by trading Demitra. I do not like that move at all unless one of those kids is as good as Crosby or Ovechkin. He better be in the market for a pure goal scorer or two, plus a solid top 4 defenseman.

with demetra gone we have a lot of space as far as the cap is concerned about 4.5 mill...then roenik is gone add another 5mill....perhaps no cup next year but we have decent young talent. I dont see anyreason why we cant persue elias and (even i hate to say it) trade norstrom and/or miller for some younger guys...thatll probably happen at the end of the year. i dont see the dman comming though...we have to work with what we got...they show moments of 'goodness'

its not a bandage he giving us its a permanet fix for the future...he is actually setting up the organization to be an absolute contender in 2 years

I guess i'll keep the cheap seats

I hope by getting rid of Demitra, is to free up some cap space to land some major free agents.

Honestly, I am tired of being in the rebuilding stage...haven't we been in a rebuilding phase since 93..My Patiece is is gone...I want playoff sucess next season.

Dean Lombardi is either a genius or a mad scientist. I think the jury is still out on this one.

As a long suffering Kings Fan since 1974, what's another five years to wait for a contending team? I mean the NY Ranger fans had to endure 54 years between Stanley Cup victories! Didn't Gretzky want to get out of town because the AEG Kings were "rebuilding" in early 1996?

As far as freeing up salary cap space.....Do you honestly believe AEG is going to make a big splash in the upcoming UFA Market? I'm sure the 4.5 million saved on Demitra's salary will end up in a London real estate project!

Hey Phil and Tim, don't even think about raising ticket prices for next year, or the year after that too!!