Redemption For Dean Lombardi: LA Kings Acquire Ryan Smyth

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

“Ryan is the type of player who fits with our team,” said Lombardi. “He fills an important need as he is a competitive, gritty, scoring left winger, and he fits with the overall identity we continue to build here.”

Lombardi has been preaching character, leadership, competitiveness and grit since he arrived in Southern California and Smyth is definitely a skilled winger who has exhibited all of those characteristics throughout his NHL career—he will set a solid example for the young Kings.

Further, Smyth is known for driving hard to the net, parking his butt there, scoring the tough, dirty goals and paying the price to do it, something the young Kings did not do anywhere near enough last season, a deficiency that head coach Terry Murray has pointed to as a problem.

One can only hope that the Kings’ young forwards watch and learn.

“I don’t get the unbelievable-looking goals,” Smyth told LAKings.com. “I get the so-called greasy goals, the ones around the goal crease area. I pay the price in front of the net and I battle hard for the team. I drive the net pretty hard.”

“Over the years, that has been one of my strengths,” Smyth added. “I look to continue that as I move forward with my new team.”

Smyth just completed the second year of a five-year contract worth $31.25-million (a $6.25 million annual salary cap hit) that includes a no-trade clause that he waived to join the Kings.

“Everything was handled very well and professionally,” said Smyth. “Colorado and LA had the conversation, and my agent approached me. Colorado said they had an offer on the table and they asked if I would think about it with my wife. We talked it over and got back to [agent Don Meehan]. The process went from there and we are very excited.”

The Avalanche are starting a rebuilding program of their own.

“That was a part of the process between myself and Colorado,” Smyth explained. “They said they were going to rebuild and they were given a green light to get rid of some salary. I just wanted the opportunity to go and play with some good young players. I wanted a chance to make a run.”

“They have great young players,” Smyth elaborated. “I’ve always thought the world of Anze Kopitar since playing against him at the World Championships in Austria where he dominated. To play with him and Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown—these are great young players and I’m excited about that.”

Another big positive from this deal is that Lombardi was able to dump Preissing, who was never able to get untracked under Murray's new system that stressed defense, and his four-year, $11 million contract. He had two years left on the deal with a $2.75 million salary cap hit in each year.

With the NHL salary cap expected to drop considerably in 2010-11, moving Preissing's salary off the books gives Lombardi greater fiexibility with his roster and could help him re-sign his own players, such as Drew Doughty, and even bring in an unrestricted free agent, should one or more who are the right fit be available.

So what is the downside to the deal? Easy. Smyth is 33 years old, is on the downside of his career and has a bit of an injury history. In fact, Smyth has played all 82 games just four times in fourteen seasons.

But Smyth’s positives outweigh the negatives and just as July 1 was the time for Lombardi to gamble, Smyth is also worth the risk—this was a very solid trade for Lombardi and the Kings.

One more thing...Smyth also plays rather well in Los Angeles.

“My first game was at the Forum in Inglewood,” said Smyth. “My first NHL shift was against Wayne Gretzky. Overall, I have seemed to play well in LA. I look to continue that now.”

“It is a great transition for my family and myself, and I just want to be a piece of the puzzle,” added Smyth. “I want to contribute to the winning side. I look forward to getting settled in as a family.”

This article was originally published on Gann Matsuda’s Frozen Royalty, where you can find more in-depth coverage of the Los Angeles Kings and the NHL.

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