Dean Lombardi Leading the Los Angeles Kings to a Complete Rebuild

Like a baby must first learn to crawl before it walks, a team must first learn to lose before they win. So much is the case of the lowly Los Angeles Kings, a team who has floundered amongst the leagues bottom-feeders for the most part of the decade. That was, until the day Dean Lombardi signed-on and proceeded to tear down the walls of the organization and start from scratch.

By unloading oversized contracts and egos, while amassing a wealth of draft picks and prospects, Lombardi has succeeded in a model that most NHL teams should mimic. A brief and failed attempt at signing second tier players to short-term contracts in efforts of staying competitive is a thing of the past. Names such as Ladislav Nagy, Dan Cloutier, and J.S. Aubin are no longer on the teams payroll.

Two of the largest moves on Lombardi's resume are the acquiring of college hold-out defenseman Jack Johnson from Carolina for two underachieving roster players (Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason), and the swapping of aging sniper Pavol Demitra to Minnesota for blue chip prospect Patrick O'Sullivan and a pick.

Lombardi has built a core of talent through the draft which includes; Anze Kopitar and current captain Dustin Brown. With an up-and-coming defensive crew starring Drew Doughty, Colten Teubert, and Thomas Hickey; and goaltender of the future Jonathan Bernier, the Los Angeles Kings have formed a nucleus of young players who will mature as a group.

Young talent also comes with the benefit of smaller contracts, allowing the Kings to lock up their key talents to long-term contracts before they have a chance to test the open market.

Similar to the recent success of the rebuilt Penguins of Pittsburgh and Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles looks forward to years of continued success.

Step 1: Making the Playoffs.

And unlike their predecessors which include the likes of the Edmonton Oilers of the mid-80's which ran into financial difficulties locking up their young studs, Los Angeles has the dollars on reserve to maintain their young royalty.