As we all know, Luc Robitaille will be inducted into the hall of fame. Here’s Gann Matsuda’s tribute and story:

TORONTO — On June 23, former Los Angeles Kings left wing Luc Robitaille was named to the 2009 class that will be inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame on November 9, 2009, in Toronto.

Along with Robitaille, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Steve Yzerman were named in the players category, while New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello was named in the builders category.

Robitaille, the highest scoring left wing in National Hockey League history and the all-time Kings leader in goals, played in 1,431 career regular season games with the Kings, Detroit Red Wings (where he won a Stanley Cup in 2002), New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. “Lucky” scored 668 goals and added 726 assists for 1,394 points over his 19-year NHL career.

In 159 playoff games, Robitaille scored 58 with 69 assists for 127 points.

“This is a tremendous achievement for Luc, his family and the entire Kings organization,” said Kings Governor/Chief Executive Officer Tim Leiweke. “We have always been honored to have the greatest left winger represent our franchise and our fans, and we are thrilled to now share Luc with the Hockey Hall of Fame.”

Robitaille said he was excited when he got the call.

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INTERVIEW WITH DEAN LOMBARDI: In part 2 of this series, Los Angeles Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi talks about the progress the Kings have made in their rebuilding efforts. Look for part 3 of this series right here on Frozen Royalty coming soon.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — When Dean Lombardi became President/General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings on April 21, 2006, he took command of a sinking ship.

His National Hockey League lineup had a bit of talent, but it was one of the oldest in the league and was not good enough to make the playoffs. The rest of the Kings’ system was mostly devoid of young talent, the result of the Kings mismanaging assets from the big club to the minor and junior leagues.

Indeed, the ship was sinking fast. You could even say it was already starting to go down by the bow.

Lombardi quickly realized that drastic changes were necessary in order to save the ship and in just a little over three years, the Kings went from one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest. Their system went from one that had almost no legitimate prospects to one with about a dozen prospects that other NHL general managers have coveted.

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Gann Matsuda scored an interview with Dean Lombardi recently. He talked about some his findings in the KingsCast Hockey Podcast Episode 12: Post Season Blues. Here’s part one of the in depth interview.

INTERVIEW WITH DEAN LOMBARDI: In part 1 of a series of stories based on an interview with Los Angeles Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi, Frozen Royalty looks at the Kings’ improved defense and goaltending in the 2008-09 season. Look for part 2 in this series coming soon.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Looking back at the 2008-09 season for the Los Angeles Kings, what likely stands out to most is their 14th place finish in the fifteen-team Western Conference, not to mention the fact that they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

Indeed, to many, that is nothing more than utter failure and it is difficult to argue with that.

But Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi is looking beyond the standings to gauge his team’s progress since the 2007-08 season and he is looking at his team’s marked improvement on defense. One look at the numbers tells much of the story.

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 Post Season Blues [34:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

KingsCast returns for a final podcast of the season. In this episode we interview well-respected LA Kings Blogger Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty and talk about his thoughts about the past and the future. We also get into the draft, trade rumors and a look to this important offseason.

What a morning for those of you who were following us on Twitter. For those of you who aren’t as easily distracted as I when it comes to news about the Los Angeles Kings, a rumor started this morning that the Kings had traded Jack Johnson and the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft to the Anaheim Ducks for Chris Pronger.

Now, I called B.S. on this one the minute I heard it but then the inter-webs exploded. Andy Strickland, who has ties to Pronger, reported that the deal was done and then retracted it. Then The Score, who is very reliable, also reported it was a done deal. This set off hundreds of re-tweets and a collective grown from Kings fans. I spoke with someone at the Kings who hadn’t heard anything about it. A deal like that would have trickled its way through the organization like wild fire.

While even I questioned my judgement, in my heart of hearts I knew it couldn’t be true. Chris Pronger is a great defenseman but sending Jack Johnson and the #5 is a ridiculous overpayment and is opposed to what Dean Lombardi has been trying to build. Since Pronger was traded in Anaheim, Kings fans have developed a nice bit of hatred for the 6’6″ defenseman. Some have speculated that this was a three-way deal for Vincent Lecavalier but trades like that only happen in NHL ’09 and on hockey rumor sites.

So, Kings fans, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Jack Johnson will not be a Duck and Chris Pronger will not be a King. All is well with the world. The Kings are still picking at #5 and we still need a scoring winger.

Had the deal gone down, what would you think?

If the excellent three-part interview with Terry Murray kept you wanting more, Gann Matsuda at Frozen Royalty has compiled the audio as well.

Listen on Frozen Royalty

A little late to the part here it seems, but here’s part three of Gann’s interview with Terry Murray. Check it out!

LOS ANGELES — The 2008-09 Los Angeles Kings placed a heavy load of responsibility on a roster laden with young talent at key positions. Predictably, the results were somewhat mixed and Kings head coach Terry Murray talked about a few of his key, young players in a recent interview.

Starting on the upside, goaltender Jonathan Quick did not start the season with the Kings, but after being recalled on December 16, 2008 and then winning the starting goaltender job after Jason LaBarbera was sent packing to the Vancouver Canucks on December 30, he showed that he just might be the answer in goal that has, outside of Rogie Vachon and Mario Lessard, eluded the Kings for most of their existence.

Quick (photo at left) played in 44 games, earning a 21-18-2 record, a 2.48 goals-against average, a .914 save percentage and four shutouts—all impressive numbers on a team that ended the season three games below the .500 mark.

“I thought Jason played good for us, but at the end, I think he wishes he had played better for us,” said Murray. “That certainly was a comment he made to me as he was on his way to Vancouver [on the day he was traded]. We talked in the office. He certainly wanted to have contributed more and be a better player for the LA Kings and it just didn’t seem to work out. Unfortunately, that’s kind of the way things go sometimes.”

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It’s a long off-season for Los Angeles Kings fans so when Keith and Chris needed some LA Kings hockey, the sought it out at the Toyota Sports Center.

Part 2 of Gann Matsuda’s exclusive interview with Terry Murray.

LOS ANGELES — For the Los Angeles Kings to be an improved team in the 2009-10 season they are going to have to generate a lot more offense than the 2008-09 Kings did while building on their much-improved defensive play.

A major factor in whether or not they will be successful towards that end will be their off-season conditioning and strength program, something Kings head coach Terry Murray cannot stress enough.

“[I hope] this off-season does great things for the players we have in our organization, meaning that the off-season program, the commitment to doing things so that you’re going to mature physically and come into the training camp totally ready, physically strong, confident and just build from that solid foundation that you’ve put in place through hard work in the summertime,” Murray explained.

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Part one of Gann Matsuda’s exclusive interview with Kings head coach Terry Murray. Really good stuff from Gann that’s a must read for Kings fans.

LOS ANGELES — With the Stanley Cup Finals in full swing, it has now been close to two months since the 2008-09 season ended for the Los Angeles Kings, who missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Over that period. Kings head coach Terry Murray has certainly had time to reflect on his first season with the team, especially their improved defensive play.

Indeed, when Murray took the reins of the Kings, one of the first things he said when he was introduced at a press conference in July, 2008 was that the Kings needed to cut down on goals against and it was clear from day one of training camp that defense and checking would be emphasized.

“That was the main focus coming into the first day of training camp when we met as a big group,” said Murray. “I talked to the players about the focus of the training camp and the priority was to cut back on scoring chances and cut back on goals against. The players gave tremendous focus and commitment to that.”

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