Marleau - Frolov - Heatley Swap??

I really dont see how Heatley makes it to training camp, but if he does, I wont be surprised.

Couldnt be happier that his family was booing him out of the building in Calgary.

There he is!!

Welcome back :___:

Haha thanks, couldnt take it anymore, things were just getting soooooo stupid around here. Spezz took control which I was waiting for, good on him.

cas wrote:I dunno Prags? I lost hope two weeks ago and nothing has happened since...

It had to be a female. Once a woman loses all hope you can go ahead light up since that bus ain't coming.

Did that sound the way I think it sounded?


Good.

OK, looks like there is zero chance of Heatley going to LA.

From the LA Times today (excerpt, click on link for full text):

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/08/kings-fan-fest-dany-heatley-not-invited.html

Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi isn't interested in bringing disgruntled Ottawa forward Dany Heatley to Los Angeles, even though the prolific Heatley might solve the Kings' goal-scoring problems.

Acquiring Heatley, who asked to be traded from his first team, Atlanta, and more recently asked the Senators to deal him, would be "too risky," Lombardi said, an emphatic response that drew applause from the audience assembled at the Nokia Theatre for the final day of the Kings' first Fan Fest.

Lombardi's unequivocal answer also should silence the Heatley-to-L.A. rumors that have refused to die, probably fueled by the ample cap space the Kings will have and their need for a pure scorer.

"I would like to focus more on this group reaching its potential," Lombardi said. "A big part of this process is culture, making an identity. What does it mean to really be a King?"

Apparently, it doesn't mean whining when things don't go well and being a bad influence on a group of young players who are only now beginning to become leaders and forge an identity as a team.

"Do I want to bring in a Dany Heatley with all that baggage? It might work," Lombardi said. "But I don't think we're in a position where we can afford that. ...

Maybe a change of environment and he grows up. But my point is, do we need to take that risk right now? It scares me.

"If your core is established and they've proven they can win, it's different. I think you can take that swing. I don't think we're in that position yet. Because if we're wrong, [Anze] Kopitar and [Dustin] Brown and [Drew] Doughty and these guys lose control.

"He becomes the room and then you have a huge problem. And he's not going to be controlled by them. That leadership group is not strong enough yet to deal with a guy who can change your team. I'm not saying those kids can't do it. It's still in the formative stages. I don't need to put that burden on them.They've still got to perform and go to another level."

I really like his outlook for his team. Thanks DTR.

Yeah, it makes sense to be patient. If he's worried about the room not having the leadership yet, wait 'til Schenn and Hickey enter the scene.

They're wonderfully set up. That blue-line is going to be so ridiculously good if they can keep most of the pieces.

Can't stand Lombardi as a GM, not that I disagree entirely with his outlook, but that man has no idea how to build a winner, he just knows how to scout tallent and hope for the best.

There is a lot more then just drafting tallent and Lombardi has no idea how to really build a winner. I think staying away from Heatley for LA is actually a pretty good idea but he is exactly the kind of player (on ice) they are lacking.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't in LA.

N4L wrote:Can't stand Lombardi as a GM, not that I disagree entirely with his outlook, but that man has no idea how to build a winner, he just knows how to scout tallent and hope for the best.

There is a lot more then just drafting tallent and Lombardi has no idea how to really build a winner. I think staying away from Heatley for LA is actually a pretty good idea but he is exactly the kind of player (on ice) they are lacking.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't in LA.

N4L> Heatley would have given the Kings that veteran firepower they need, but looks like Deano and Hex have nixed it.

Hey, if the Kings miss the postseason, that will speak for itself.

Still some cards to be shuffled, and the big poker tournament starts about 30 days from now.

An NHL season being marathon, cagefight and crapshoot rolled into one, things change...and so does a GM's attitude depending where his team is in the pecking order.

Dany might still end up in Hollywood, who knows?


Personally, I'm thinking Mike 'G-Man' Gillis might make a monster move for DH. The Nucklers need a cannon.

N4L wrote:Can't stand Lombardi as a GM, not that I disagree entirely with his outlook, but that man has no idea how to build a winner, he just knows how to scout tallent and hope for the best.

There is a lot more then just drafting tallent and Lombardi has no idea how to really build a winner. I think staying away from Heatley for LA is actually a pretty good idea but he is exactly the kind of player (on ice) they are lacking.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't in LA.

They can comfort themselves with the thought of a team featuring Kopitar, Brown, Moller, Schenn, Purcell, Doughty, Hickey, Teubert, Johnson and Bernier.

But I do think they're going to have to bite the bullet eventually. You can't just keep losing and bringing in young talent: at some point you have to start trying to win.

Lombardi *did* acquire Ryan Smyth as an older guy, but he's kind of the anti-Heatley.

That Justin Williams deal was a little bizarre too, but it shows he's not complacent.

I dont think the Kings have a snowballs chance in hell at making the playoffs with their current roster. They are what? The 4th best team in their division at best? Anahiem and San Jose are in another league and I think Dallas is going to bounce back this year and even if they dont, they are still better then the Kings. If the Yotes over achieve at all this year, Kings finish in the basement of their division let alone anywhere near a playoff spot.

After that, Frolov will walk and they got absolutly nothing for him. Keep on pilling up those prospect Dean, no one does it like you.

ASQ is bang on, all the kids there are tallented and playing on a losing team, how is that going to change? People will use Pittsberg as an example but last time I checked Mario was still the captain of that team when Crosby arrived and has been there to support him since he's been there. LA has nothing of the sort, not that I think Heatley would help with that at all either.