Sturm In The Forecast? Kings Reportedly Dealing For Bruins' Forward

From www.Kingscast.net

The Kings are taking a shot on Marco Sturm. That is if he passes his physical, not a done-deal just yet. Quite the bargain, as the Kings only have to grant the Boston Bruins a conditional draft pick for the 32 year-old forward.

I understand the acquisition is nothing to get immediately excited about. Sturm comes to Los Angeles on the Injured Reserve, still recovering from tears in both his ACL and MCL suffered in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. He’s familiar with the Pacific Division, spending more than seven seasons with the San Jose Sharks. He’s a proven scorer with 466 points in 855 career games, but his production has been halted due to recent injuries.

For the second time in less than two years, Sturm is missing substantial time with a knee injury. He was able to recover and contribute with 22 goals and 15 assists in 76 games last season with Boston, a similar return in Los Angeles would be a boost to this struggling offense. This is a low price, low risk, high reward deal, which makes it difficult to not be pleased with the addition. We’ve got a versatile forward here, do his abilities overcome the knee injury?

If he comes back healthy, you can expect at least 20 points from the guy. He may not be first-line material on most teams, but could he solidify the wing slot alongside Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown? We’ve got options with Sturm, and I’d bet money Terry Murray experiments with him on the top line. He still has the potential to be a dependable asset to the offense, you can’t ignore the numbers and experience he’s got to his name. The physical presence he brings is attractive, as is his transition in being solid in the defensive zone.

Sturm has yet to play a game this season, but he’s been skating in practice with the Bruins. Apparently confirmation on the trade from both the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings is hinging on results from his physical. Not sure if he’s seen medical staff yet, but it’s got to be the determining factor in finalizing the deal. I’m assuming everything clears with today’s heavy speculation swirling from a number of qualified sources.

I’ve got high hopes for the battered veteran, who has a chance to provide stability, leadership, and offensive production. Wouldn’t that be nice.