Columbus winger Rick Nash could be a King if Dean Lombardi can discard his usual stinginess.

Game changers. There are not many of them in the NHL, and they’re rarely available at the trade deadline. When news of Rick Nash’s availability via trade broke earlier this week, the first thing that popped into my head was “We HAVE to do this. We NEED this guy”.

Nash is one of the NHL’s premiere wingers. He possesses an uncanny combination of size and pure skill that makes him special. He’s broken the 40 goal plane twice, and the 30 goal plane 4 times – his lowest goal scoring total since his rookie season was 27. And he’s done all this despite never playing with a legitimate playmaker type centerman.

Enter Kings center Anze Kopitar. Anze has been a 60+ point center in the NHL every season in his 5+ year career, without ever having the privilege of an elite, game-changing winger.

It’s a match made in heaven. Nash would likely break the 50 goal plateau playing on Kopitar’s wing. Kopitar would likely smash the 100 point plateau with a winger of that stature playing alongside him. It would make this Kings’ team much more than a potential contender. I believe it would put them over the top.

The Kings’ number one goaltender, Jonathan Quick, is giving up less than two goals a game (1.91 to be exact). He has given the team a chance to win in all but perhaps one of his 48 games played. The problem: His team is dead last in the league in scoring. Goal support at a withered clip of 2.10 per game makes Quick’s job the most difficult of any in the league. Even raising that average by .5 goals/game would give the Kings 12-14 more wins. That would give the Kings 89-93 points right now. They’d be the NHL’s top team by a very wide margin. Instead, scoring struggles have the Kings sitting at 65 points – good for 7th in the West, yet only 3 points out of first in the division behind a largely unimpressive San Jose team.

This year brought high expectations to the Kings. The acquisitions of Mike Richards and Simon Gagne were supposed to improve scoring and make the Kings Pacific Division favorites. Right now, if not for the play of Quick, they’d be buried in the division cellar behind surging Anaheim. Having already made a coaching change (which I believe has generally been positive), the man who’s job is most at risk going forward is general manager Dean Lombardi.

Lombardi, when he was hired in the Summer of 2006, preached of a 5 year plan that would make the Kings legitimate Cup contenders. While he’s done a lot to build a winning culture, the obstacle between the Kings and a serious run at the Cup is but one: they lack a goal scoring winger with game changing capabilities. Guess what? One just became available.

Dean failed at getting us Hossa, Kovalchuk, and Brad Richards. While Zach Parise would look good in a  Kings uniform, I don’t see them making nearly a good enough offer to land perhaps the game’s best American born winger. But they can get Nash.

The biggest gripes about a potential deal for Nash I’ve heard from fans on social media is “it would cost too much”. Columbus needs a good young goalie and help on defense, something the Kings have in spades. For some, the idea of giving up Jonathan Bernier (who likely won’t ever be a number one in Los Angeles), Jack Johnson, a top 6 forward/top prospect/1st round pick seems preposterous. I think people stuck in that frame of mind are missing the big picture.

We already have an all-world goalie in Quick. True, he is a UFA after NEXT season, but I’m not worried about him walking. He’s a humble kid who got a big break with the Kings’ organization when he was off most other teams’ radar. The Kings gave him his shot in front of the highly touted Bernier back in 08-09, he took the reins and hasn’t let go. I believe Quick will be a King for life. He’s the organization’s best goalie since Vachon, and could easily be number 1 on that list as he continues to improve. The likelihood that Bernier ends up being even as good as Quick, much less better than, is very slim. And I like Bernier, but right now, there’s perhaps two goalies in the league better than Quick. You’re talking a few parts per million that Bernier eclipses that at any point. Yes, he’s a nice insurance policy but at less than 20 games a year, a capable veteran backup would more than suffice. That’s just the reality of it. Bernier is the team’s most valuable asset, and the time to use him to make the team better is NOW.

About Johnson: I like Jack. He’s having a better year, he’s going to beat his career best mark in goals if he scores just one more; and he’s cut his minus rating at least in half at this point. Every time Doughty is out for any reason, Jack gives us a glimpse of what he was made to be: A number one defenseman. Part of me hates the idea of dealing him, he’s a great guy and made a big commitment to the club signing a 7 year extension last season. But, Johnson’s age (24), along with the length and reasonable cap hit of his current contract make him a very valuable asset. He’s never going to get a chance to fulfill his destiny as a number one guy in LA. Unless, we deal our current number one…

I’ll go on record as saying, I love Drew Doughty. He’s a fantastic kid, with a childlike love of the game you can’t help but like. I do think this season’s performance is an anomaly for him, he missed all of camp over that contract dispute (or rather, his agent held him out for a bigger payday because he has a personal grudge with Lombardi). Doughty is a rare talent that any team in the league would love to have. That said…If Columbus GM Scott Howson calls me and says “We’ll give you Rick Nash for Drew Doughty”, I make that deal without blinking. Nash is a game changer, exactly the type of player the Kings need to get to the next level. With Slava Voynov, who is better suited to a top 4 role than a 3rd pair spot, more than NHL ready; and the fact that Johnson steps up his play by orders of magnitude every time Doughty is out of the lineup, while fans might be disappointed, it would instantly make the Kings a better team.

The other name that’s been thrown around in rumors regarding Nash is Captain Dustin Brown, another fan favorite. I love Dustin and would like nothing more than to see him be the first King to touch the Cup. He’s an outstanding human being, his work ethic and willingness to do the dirty work, as well as his presence in the community make him an important cog in the machine. But, Brown has been playing with a tentativeness to his game for several weeks. I have often thought to myself  ”He looks like he knows he’s on the way out”, though I have no legitimate info that would make that more than a hunch. If we all take our fan glasses off for a minute, would you rather have a top line of Nash-Kopitar-Williams or Brown-Kopitar-Williams? We all love Brownie but Nash isn’t going to come cheap. The Jackets aren’t going to beg to take Penner or Stoll off our hands, they’re going to want a roster player with value.

Provided it isn’t gross overpayment, I don’t mind giving up a lot to get Nash. As I’ve stated many times, he’s a game changer. There are very few of those in the entire league, and they’re rarely available. If we’re talking getting a guy like Nash, I think absolutely NOBODY on the Kings’ roster except Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick should be untouchable.

Acquiring Nash could help boost scoring, and help the Kings reach the promised land, Lord Stanley’s Silver Cup, without Jon Quick needing to put on the greatest display of postseason goaltending in NHL history. I’d bet Quicker would appreciate it too.

Ultimately, I think either landing or not landing Nash will be what decides Dean Lombardi’s future as Kings’ GM. He’s whiffed on three game changers so far. This is his chance to silence his critics and make the Kings a team opponents fear. If he fails, the Kings could well be another first round casualty (unless Quick steals at least one series). It’s likely that AEG cleans out the front office if that happens. Lombardi knows this. My hope is that he realizes in time that lowball offers, just as with big name free agents, don’t work with big trades. This move could define the franchise.

Time to put up or shut up, Dean.

GO KINGS!

JS

The bad news: Jack Johnson will miss tomorrow night’s game at Calgary. The good news: Johnson should be ready to play by the Kings’ next game Dec. 26th in Phoenix. The perplexing news: The Kings recalled D Alec Martinez from Manchester and Martinez is expected to be in the Kings’ lineup tomorrow night.

What makes the move confusing from my point of view? Well, for one, Davis Drewiske played much of last night’s game at forward. Drewiske has been solid all season long, and is a MUCH better option from a defensive point of view than Martinez on any day of the week. Also, Peter Harrold, who has been a healthy scratch often of late, can play D if needed and is also probably a better defensive option than Martinez. Martinez’s lone NHL game was this season’s opener against Phoenix, and he didn’t make a good impression. While he looked like he might be ready to jump to the NHL at times during the preseason, Martinez made several bad decisions with the puck in the defensive zone, and his play was more or less directly responsible for three of Phoenix’s goals in that 6-2 blowout loss. While a single game does not a career make, I can’t help but think that Thomas Hickey would’ve been next on the callup list if not for his injury.

This in my mind, raises questions about Terry Murray’s confidence in Drewiske. From my perspective anyway, Drewiske is better in his own end than Randy Jones, who seems at this point to be a permanent part of the Kings’ lineup; and dare I say better defensively than Jack Johnson has been much of the time. Furthermore, how would you feel if you were Harrold, much praised for his ability to be a utility guy, but very sparsely used this season. Would be interesting to pick the brains of both Terry Murray and Dean Lombardi regarding both of these players.

Kings at Flames, tomorrow night in Calgary.

GO KINGS!

-JS

Jack Johnson has been the subject of much debate among Kings fans at least dating back to last season. Was Jack really part of what GM Dean Lombardi refers to as his “Core Group”? Would he ever reach his potential after being a first round (third overall) pick? Does his father want him to end up in Pittsburgh with his buddy Crosby or in Detroit? Would Jack be traded as part of a deal for an elite scoring winger? Does Jack even want to stay in LA?

All that talk can, temporarily at least, be put to rest as of Friday morning. Though the deal comes as no surprise to Kings fans in the know (Matthew Barry of Hockeybuzz reported this as a done deal as early as Wednesday of this week and the word was all over the web), the restricted free agent defenseman has signed a 2 year deal to stay in Los Angeles as part of a Kings’ hockey club that should be decidedly improved for the 2009-10 season. Rich Hammond of Inside the Kings reports the deal comes in at a cap hit of $1.425 million per season.

This turns out to be an excellent deal for the Kings. $1.425M/per is a steal for a guy with that much pontential and in my mind, it at least shows some willingness by Johnson to get out on the ice and show us what he’s capable of for the next two years. Obviously any reports that Johnson was seeking upwards of $5M/season after spending much of 2008-09 on the shelf were false. Jack gets to prove himself for two seasons in LA. If he performs, he will be an arbitration eligible RFA heading into the 2011-2012 season and will have earned his big raise. Probably the best possible compromise for both sides right now. Still awaiting public comment from either Dean Lombardi or Jack Johnson on the deal.

Hammond is also reporting that the Kings should be announcing a new contract for Teddy Purcell, likely on Monday. More details on that when it happens.

So, the next logical step for the Kings is to get a contract extension worked out for Alexander Frolov. Frolov, who lead the Kings in goals with 31 this past season, has, much like Johnson, been the subject of speculation regarding his future with the team. He’s been mentioned in every trade rumor involving the Kings, and although the enigmatic winger insists he wants to stay in LA, no one seems to be sure if management is sold on him.

From my perspective anyway, Frolov is possibly the most talented guy on the team. He’s the best with or without the puck. He makes things happen on the ice. Dean Lombardi has been forthright in his questioning of Frolov’s work ethic and his desire to win. The fact of the matter is, Frolov has been a key cog in the Kings’ machine longer than Kopitar and Brown and has the proverbial crown tattooed on his derriere. He’s a fan favorite, and trading him or allowing him to walk as a UFA come July 2010 sends the wrong message to the young players on the team. Unless he’s part of a deal that sees a guy like Ilya Kovalchuk heading to LA, I’d like to see Alexander Frolov in a Kings’ uni for years to come.

Some interesting rumblings on the net about Chicago needing to dump salary and shopping forward Patrick Sharp to interested teams. Since it’s a salary shed, it will probably be a pick(s)/propect(s) type of deal. Sharp is a quality hockey player, a guy who missed 21 games last season and still managed 26 goals and 44 points. He’s a top line wing in Chicago, but he’s a natural center and could very easily be the #2 center the Kings need. Dean Lombardi is familiar with Sharp from their days together in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. If I’m Dean, I’m offering new Chicago GM Stan Bowman our 2010 first round pick a prospect for Sharp, who I believe could be a huge contributor in LA. Will be interesting to see how this situation plays out.

Waiting for a press release from Jack Johnson and/or Dean Lombardi, hopefully later this afternoon.

-JS

From Rich Hammond’s Inside the Kings blog:

Here’s the news out of El Segundo today…

– Jack Johnson is expected to play tomorrow at Dallas.

– Drew Doughty did not skate today and is unlikely to play tomorrow.

– Erik Ersberg will start in goal tomorrow.

Doughty is still listed as day to day but isn’t expected to miss any significant amount of time.

So, here goes the question: If you’re Terry Murray, who do you scratch from the lineup upon Jack Johnson’s return? There are three obvious choices:
A) Tom Preissing – who has spent much of the year in Murray’s doghouse and has been a permanent fixture in the press box prior to the Doughty injury.

B) Denis Gauthier – who has been workmanlike, but was responsible for turnovers that led directly to two Detroit goals last night.

C) Peter Harrold – who has looked in over his head a lot of the time this season.

My vote goes to Gauthier, at least in the interim. But I have a feeling it will be Preissing yet again.

Kings are in Dallas at 11AM tomorrow. Set your alarms.

-JS

Jack Johnson suffered an “upper extremity injury” (read: arm) in last night’s game with San Jose. TSN.ca reports that Johnson could miss up to 3 months.

TSN.ca is also reporting in Ice Chips that the Kings have claimed defenseman Kyle Quincey off waivers from Detroit. No official announcement made by the club regarding Quincey though.

-JS