Ryan Smyth to Kings in trade with Avs for Preissing, Quincy & 5th Rnd Pick
‘Captain Canada’ is coming to Los Angeles. In need of a gritty, experienced, leader-y, decent and slightly aging Left Winger, the Los Angeles Kings have acquired the 6’1″ & 190 lbs. forward in exchange for Tommy P, Kyle Quincy (& his eyes) with a 5th round pick in the 2010 draft. The Avs dump Smyth’s $6,250,000 average a year salary, the Kings dump the inactive and disappointing Tom Preissing along with his $2,750,000 a year salary along with Quincy (an above average D-Man but odd man out) and throw in an uneventful 5th Round Pick.
Advantage, Kings. Since things didn’t quite work out with Hossa, Gaborik or Havlat, Deano went ambulance chasing with teams needing to shred payroll and scored with the Colorado Avalanche. The LA Kings get a strong, Deano-approved “Character Guy” and leader who’ll help groom the kids and someone who isn’t afraid to crash the net and get dirty in the corners. At first glance the salary seems high, but he’s worth it. Gotta spend money to make money. He is exactly what this team needs in this situation. Smyth is a big piece to the puzzle that is the LA Kings, he will help establish that ‘culture’ that’s been missing and he will help in recruiting hockey talent in the near future.
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I like how our top 2 lines are shaping up.
i like this pick up, but i wish we did not have to part ways with Quincey. he was a geat asset to our team and a fantastic puck moving defensemen. i would have preferred someone from our young prospects, but colorado does need immediate help. more salary dumping should be expected. i cant wait to see our power play goals rise to the upper half of the league. Symth will definitely open up space for kopi and brownie since he likes the mucking and grinding part of the game..i think we should expect at least 2 more acquisitions because we need another checking center since Army will probably be let go. another second line center would be nice, but that is asking for too much.
Even with a rough season on a terrible Colorado Avalanche squad, Smyth was still able to notch 59 points. Keep in mind that Matt Moulson and Kyle Calder played on the top line to start the season and Calder rounded our the second line. This gives us a tough top six to play against.
Taking a hard look at our team now, I think we can finally ice a squad that has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. He's not slick like a Hossa or a Gaborik but our team is far better with Smyth on it.
I really liked Kyle Quincey but I like Jack Johnson a lot more. With the addition of Scuderi, our defense is better than last season. Johnson should spend more time up on the powerplay and his offensive skills will start to shine through.
Let's take a stab at the team:
Smyth-Kopitar-Williams
Frolov-Stoll-Brown
Moller-Handzus-Simmonds
Ivanans-Lewis-Zeiler
Doughty-Scuderi
Johnson-Greene
OD-Drewiske
Quick
Ersberg
i wanted to share this response from a diehard Kings fan like ourselves. This person has had season tickets 2 rows from the glass since the forum days. he currently practices law and also teaches sports law on the side. in fact, he was my grauatae school professor a few years ago. So we are not the only fans who are frustrated with the kings lack of progress in the free agent world. Keep in my mind, this was posted prior to the Symth trade.
“The first day of NHL free agency was a bad day for the Kings, but a good one for the Clippers — they are no longer the worst-run team to call Staples Center home.”
Rick Walden
I still think the Islanders and the Coyotes are the Clippers of the NHL, but based on a lot of things, the Kings aren't too far behind. It'll be interesting to see if Tavares (NYI) and Griffin (LAC) can do enough to help turn their respective clubs around.
Agreed, Chris. Phoenix and Long Island are at the top of the heap for comparisons to the Clippers. I'd tack on Atlanta as well.
I think LA is getting it together (finally). I believe we'll make the playoffs.
i agree, i think this is the year we finally turn the corner and make the playoffs..If we do not, many of the diehard Kings fans, myself included, will find it difficult to spend more money on season tickets..especially if the economy does not change.
Moulson is now an Islander..hopefully he will have a better chance in cracking thier lineup since they need help in all areas..we will always remember him for his famous goal over Giguere's shoulder
hi this is a nice post with a nice article.
hi this is a nice post with a nice article.
Beauty article, Scott, very enjoyable read. Thanks especially for the link to that outstanding article by E, one of my favourite hockey writers anywhere. You and she both captured the reason Smytty’s ugly mug wound up on my own Puckmore. The whole time he was the face of the Oilers, fans of both Edmonton and their opponent could count on the Oil putting up a battle. They wouldn’t always win it, but the team was always respectable at the very least, the enitre time he was here. Since he’s been gone, not so much.