Lubomir Visnovsky and his long term contract are heading out of LA. I'm a bit surprised by this. I believe that he signed that $28MM, 5-year deal last summer. Three years ago he was the teams leading scorer. So, after one bad season, they shipped him out of town? It makes the GM look bad at fist glance. The other thing that bothers me is they got marginal return. Jarret Stoll is coming off a disappointing season himself, and Matt Greene has limited offense potential for a defenseman. They didn't immediately replace Lubo, that's for sure. I have a feeling there's more to this story than meets the eye. He must have wanted to be traded. Maybe the Kings are confident in their defensemen of the future: Jack Johnson or Thomas Hickey or Drew Doughtry coming in to fill the void. But of these guys, only Johnson is NHL ready. Outside possibility for Doughtry.
I like the move since it brings in two tough players for one expensive skill guy. And the Kings need a young physical shutdown defenseman. As a salary cap move, it could be a shrewd if Lubo continues a steady statistical decline. But Lubo will not be easy to replace. And this could look like a typical Kings disaster move, if he regains his form with the Oilers and Stoll doesn't find his mojo.
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