Dean Lombardi: Gambling Big On Justin Williams

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Despite seeing his team fail to qualify for postseason play for the sixth consecutive season, Los Angeles Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi expects his team to end that long drought in the 2009-10 season.

One glaring flaw with that expectation is that he seems be banking rather heavily on winger Justin Williams to not only provide a significant boost to the offense, but also to stay relatively healthy.

But Williams has hit the 30-goal mark just twice in his career and has otherwise struggled just to remain in the lineup, suffering from a myriad of injuries, including two serious knee injuries, casting serious doubts on his ability to regain his 30-goal form.

Indeed, the odds against Williams returning to form, let alone staying healthy, would seem to be very, very high, if not astronomical.

Nevertheless, Lombardi is counting on Williams to add to the offensive production of his younger players to help lift the Kings into the playoffs.

“All of our young players should get better,” Lombardi said during an interview on June 13. “You’ve got Justin Williams for a full year. Yeah. If I just look at the numbers, I do think it’s possible.”

“Don’t forget...we’ve got a lot of insight into Williams,” Lombardi explained. “I knew him from his draft year and we had him in [Philadelphia], so we know him inside and out as a person, which is a huge advantage.”

Lombardi likes Williams’ competitiveness and the way he thinks the game.

“Williams is a competitor,” said Lombardi. “He was a late first rounder. One of the reasons he fell was because he wasn’t a great skater at the time. But just like [Philadelphia Flyers forward] Mike Richards, everyone overlooks his hockey sense and his competitiveness.”

“Williams is a smart player,” added Lombardi. “He makes a lot of subtle plays and that’s reflected in his numbers when he was healthy.”

Remaining healthy has been more than a challenge for Williams, but Lombardi is willing to gamble on that, despite the seemingly high odds.

“As far as injuries, I don’t think he’s injury-prone,” Lombardi stressed. “I guess you take a risk with any player, but Williams is not a soft player. He will play hurt and he’s only 27 years old. This is not an old player and he’s signed for three more years.”

Lombardi alluded to the fact that Williams is now in his prime, despite the injury factor, and said that he fits well in the Kings lineup.

“Williams is that in that [Matt] Green-[Jarret] Stoll phase where they’re middle group guys who can clearly be a part of this when we’re contenders and I like the idea that he’s got a [Stanley Cup] ring,” said Lombardi. “So I get a 27-year-old with a ring who knows what it takes to win, is a proven 30-goal scorer on two occasions and I know from his character that he’s a competitor.”

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