Well, it's official. The Kings will not have Ilya Kovalchuk on the roster next season. He officially re-signed with New Jersey today. That deal set a few other dominoes falling as Simon Gagne was traded to the Lightning, clearing cap space for Philly. I would have liked to have either guy on the Kings, barring any locker room issues. Hockey is very much a team sport, and even a player as talented as Kovalchuk can do more harm than good in the wrong setting. Gagne would have been less of a locker room risk and more of an injury risk. If Justin Williams has taught us anything, it's that an injured player does you no good.
What now? The Kings still have some cap room. The big fish was not landed. There are rumors about Marc Savard being traded from Boston. I think it's crazy-talk. Savard would be awesome to acquire, but I don't put it in the realm of possibility. The Kings just signed 5 young players to one-year deals, so maybe that gives them some extra trade bait? Time for Lombardi to get creative.
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