New On HockeyTalk: Dean Lombardi: Los Angeles Kings Are Ahead Of Schedule

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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