Despite reports earlier in the week, the Kings have yet to agree to a new contract with Patrick O’Sullivan. Camp opens for veterans tomorrow, Friday the 19th and Rich Hammond of the L.A. Daily News reported earlier today that O’Sullivan didn’t report to medical exams today with the rest of the vets and has been asked not to attend camp until a contract is worked out.

Hammond has an interesting conversation with Lombardi regarding that you can read HERE. Of concern is that, while fans have felt this may have been the case for weeks now, Lombardi admits that the two sides are “not very close…”.

Of note is that O’Sullivan is represented by agent Don Meehan, whom Lombardi has had trouble negotiating with in the past. The Kings have expressed a desire to get O’Sullivan locked into a long term contract, while Meehan may be looking to get his client a shorter deal so that he can angle a pay raise sooner if his performance merits. It’s unknown what Meehan is asking for salary-wise for O’Sullivan at this time but it seems obvious that Meehan and Lombardi are playing hardball. Meehan may be trying to milk the fact that the Kings need to sign O’Sullivan to reach the cap floor.

Despite the apparent impasse, I would expect the Kings to get O’Sullivan signed before the season begins. O’Sullivan is considered part of the team’s young core and the club will almost certainly retain his services despite the fact he’s been linked to unsubstantiated trade rumors with several teams.

More as it develops.

-JS

The Los Angeles Kings have signed restricted free agent center Jarret Stoll to four-year contract and restricted free agent center Brad Richardson to a two-year contract, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced Monday. Per club policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

Source: lakings.com

Rich Hammond of the LA Daily News is reporting in his Inside The Kings Blog that Richardson and Stoll’s contracts were worth the following:

Brad Richardson gets $575,000 this season, $600,000 next season. Jarret Stoll, as previously reported, gets a four-year, $14.4-million contract.

AM 1260 in Edmonton is reporting that the Kings have signed Center Jaret Stoll to a 4 year deal at 3.1-3.4 million a year.

Nobody from the Kings has made a statement about this yet, waiting on an official announcement from the team.

Stay Tuned
-JS

One thing most certainly on the minds of many King fans is the status of unsigned RFA’s Patrick O’Sullivan and Jaret Stoll. The long wait with little word has made a few people nervous, especially with the KHL lingering on the horizon in Russia and a lot of trade rumors, albeit unsubstantiated swirling around.

O’Sullivan, who scored 22 goals and had 31 assists in 82 games in 2007-08, is considered a part of the teams young core and at 23 is thought to have considerable upside and potential. He was acquired from Minnesota in the trade that sent Pavol Demitra to the Wild. It’s safe to assume that O’Sullivan’s agent is looking for a big payday for his client. It’s also safe to assume that the Kings are trying to avoid having to overpay for his services. As training camp nears it’ll be interesting to see what transpires.

Stoll, acquired this offseason along with defenseman Matt Greene in the Lubomir Visnovsky trade, had 14 goals and 22 assists in 81 games for Edmonton last season. He is expected to fill the second line center role that Michal Handzus failed to seize last season. Stoll plays a good two way game and is excellent on face offs. He’s already a Los Angeles resident and recently married model/actress Rachel Hunter.

I had a bit of an expectation that the Kings would be announcing the signings of these two players today after the Labor Day holiday in the States, but another day passed without comment on any negotiations with these players.

Should we worry? Most likely not. While missing out on UFA’s like Brad Stuart, Rob Blake (both retreads anyway) and Brooks Orpik; and the excruciating wait for O’Sullivan and Stoll to sign new contracts has prompted some fans and members of the press to claim that the sky is falling, I don’t believe it to be the case. Kings management knows the value of both of these players. GM Dean Lombardi gave up assets for both of them. Neither will leave LA unless there’s something of at least equal value coming back.

Expect to see both men signed and at training camp when the veterans arrive in El Segundo on the 22nd of this month, just less than three weeks away.

The only real news to report for today is the invitation of 20 year old Calgary Hitmen (WHL) goalie Marty Jones. This was reported both by the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun today.

Rich Hammond also reported in his Inside The Kings blog that former Kings associate coach Mike Johnston, who was considered a prime candidate for the Kings head coach job now occupied by Terry Murray, is about to be named the head coach and general manager of the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks.

-JS