BREAKING NEWS: Visnovsky Traded

The Kings have traded 31-year old defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Oilers for 25-year old forward Jarrett Stoll and 24-year old defenseman Matt Greene.

The Kings essentially dumped 5 years, $28 million on Edmonton, while getting younger, and creating some salary cap space. Stoll will be an unrestricted free agent next year, and Greene has two more years before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

It's likely the Kings will re-sign veteran free agent defenseman Rob Blake, and sign defenseman Brad Stuart, whom they traded to Detroit at the trade deadline this past march, once free agents can officially sign with new teams. The Kings, however, are not expected to be very active in the free agent market with top-tiered free agents.

Stay tuned Tuesday evening for a recap of Day One of the Free Agent Frenzy!

Tampa Hires Former Kings Coach

Yup, you guessed correctly if you said the "Mullet Man" himself, Barry Melrose. Melrose, who coached the Kings for three seasons from 1992-1995 and lead the Kings to their only Stanley Cup Finals appearance in his first season as head coach, was hired away from ESPN by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Melrose had been an ESPN studio analyst since he was fired from the Kings in 1995. He replaces recently fired John Tortorella, who is being courted, ironically, by the Kings to be their next head coach.

Entry Draft - Day One

The Kings were very busy on Day One of the Entry Draft yesterday, first, taking offensive defenseman Drew Doughty with the second overall pick, then trading captain Michael Cammalleri to Calgary as part of a three-team trade with Anaheim that netted them the 12th overall pick. That pick was then traded to Buffalo to get the 13th pick, where they selected another solid defenseman, Colten Tuebert. Both Doughty and Tuebert are expected to make immediate impacts on the Kings starting next season.

Here's TSN.ca's take on both picks:

• Bob McKenzie: "[Doughty's] got a level of hockey sense that cannot be measured. His smarts are off the scale. [He's] an offensive player, but his defence is under-rated. This is a guy that will absolutely be in the NHL next year."

• Pierre McGuire: "[Teubert] is such a good pick. Put that pick with Drew Doughty on defence and you've really got something in Los Angeles. He's physical and he loves to get after people. The Kings are building the smart way - strength on the back end, just like Detroit."

And Gare Joyce of ESPN.com:

• "The Kings had to decide between Doughty's hockey sense and [Zach] Bogosian's toughness. Score one for skill and first-pass offense."

• On taking Teubert 13th overall: "Hard-rock ying to Doughty's skilled yang. Kings goaltending and blue fine fully reloaded. [GM Dean] Lombardi can go to the market for immediate first- and second-line scoring."

As for Cammalleri, my thinking is the Kings made the move to clear cap space, knowing they probably were not going to re-sign him after this upcoming season as he is an unrestricted free agent. There is the possibility that Lubomir Visnovsky could be next, as well. In the meantime, Dan Cloutier was placed on waivers and the Kings are expected to buy out the remainder of his contract. Stay tuned...

Crawford Fired

Well the Kings finally undid a mistake they made two years when they hired Marc Crawford as head coach: they fired him. Crawford was fired on Tuesday after a two-year run and a last place finish in the division and conference standings this past season. Crawford still had one more year left on his contract, but it was obvious with the team in a youth movement that Crawford wasn't a good fit; he never really was.

So where do the Kings go next? Well, several other teams are looking for new coaches, including Tampa Bay, Ottawa, and Atlanta. Several other coaching vacancies were filled in recent days, leaving the Kings number one rumored candidate according to the St. Pete Times via The Fourth Period still available: John Tortorella. Tortorella led Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup in 2004, the year before the lockout, and could bring in a style of play that would fit the young Kings.

Stay tuned...