Kings Article: How Much Credit Does Dean Lombardi Really Deserve For His Team’s Success?

[cyclones22]

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. That describes Lombardi's dealings over the last few years to a T. When those guys became available, he pounced. Other teams could've traded for Richards, Carter and Gaborik. But DL got it done because he was prepared for the opportunity in case it arose. And it did and the rest is history.

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

Wait... 95%... just remembered the Greene contract... It may take me a while to understand/come to terms with that one.

You should be able to figure out the Greene contract after reading this series.

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

I've gotten into some bad arguments on this board over this, but I believe Lombardi gets an appropriate amount of credit.

Not all GMing is accomplished in a vacuum of meticulous decision making. Sometimes, you're just lucky. Sometimes, the right amount of circumstances fall into place for you to capitalize. Dean has had quite a few of these instances work tremendously in his favor. Richards and Carter inexplicably being shipped out of Philly. Having B. Schenn at the absolute zenith of his value as a prospect at the same time. Carter not working in Columbus, Gaborik not working in Columbus, Smyth requesting a trade pre-2012, which was not in Dean's plan. A lot of luck has played into the building of this team, as it should have. Gotta be good to be lucky, and vice versa.

I do believe his drafting is fairly overrated, and he's produced some first round stinkers. His decision to hire and then fire TM, followed by universally panned hiring of Sutter paint him as the smartest man in the room.

He's the GM of a team that has won two championships in three years. That's all the credit you need in the end.

I hope you're not saying that hiring Terry Murray was a mistake. They wouldn't have won the Cup in 2012 without him.

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

And who was it that identified Lombardi as the best man for the job and convinced him to come to LA instead of whatever "traditional" hockey market also offered him the GM gig? How long after Taylor was fired did it take for rumors to surface that LA was going hard after Lombardi? A few days? And who was it who gave Lombardi the authority to make necessary personnel decisions, such as hiring Sutter, regardless of whether Leiweke agreed with his choice? Like it or not, Leiweke played a huge part in bringing the Cup(s) to LA because without Leiweke, there'd be no Lombardi to build a championship team.

There is no doubt that Leiweke deserves a lot of credit. Like it or not, there is no question about that.

 

[Buddy The Elf]

And who was it that identified Lombardi as the best man for the job and convinced him to come to LA instead of whatever "traditional" hockey market also offered him the GM gig? How long after Taylor was fired did it take for rumors to surface that LA was going hard after Lombardi? A few days? And who was it who gave Lombardi the authority to make necessary personnel decisions, such as hiring Sutter, regardless of whether Leiweke agreed with his choice? Like it or not, Leiweke played a huge part in bringing the Cup(s) to LA because without Leiweke, there'd be no Lombardi to build a championship team.

That's fine.. I didn't say he did anything wrong. In fact, I didn't really have much of an issue with the guy while he was here. I was merely pointing out that his shenanigans in Toronto weren't all that far off what went on in LA prior to Lombardi.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

And who was it that identified Lombardi as the best man for the job and convinced him to come to LA instead of whatever "traditional" hockey market also offered him the GM gig?

The problem with this statement is you don't know for sure if it was Lie-weekly or Anschutz himself that identified Lombardi

Remember, Nancy Anschutz is a HUGE hockey fan.

I am not saying it 100% wasn't TL, but it could have just as easily been Uncle Phil or someone else in the organization

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

The problem with this statement is you don't know for sure if it was Lie-weekly or Anschutz himself that identified Lombardi

Remember, Nancy Anschutz is a HUGE hockey fan.

I am not saying it 100% wasn't TL, but it could have just as easily been Uncle Phil or someone else in the organization

It was definitely Leiweke. Anschutz wasn't involved except to sign the paychecks.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

It was definitely Leiweke. Anschutz wasn't involved except to sign the paychecks.

Lombardi talks frequently about his conversations with Anschutz before getting hired.

If you Google an LA times article around 2010 about Lombardi. Helene wrote it. It specifically mentions Bobby Clarke warning Lombardi against taking the job.
Those conversions with Anschutz were what pushed Lombardi to the Kings.

There were all kinds of rumblings about how Lombardi was also courted by East Coast team he was leaning to them and boom... He signed with the kings. Anschutz was that reason. Lieweike was what was making DL think twice.

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

Lombardi talks frequently about his conversations with Anschutz before getting hired.

If you Google an LA times article around 2010 about Lombardi. Helene wrote it. It specifically mentions Bobby Clarke warning Lombardi against taking the job. Those conversions with Anschutz were what pushed Lombardi to the Kings.

There were all kinds of rumblings about how Lombardi was also courted by East Coast team he was leaning to them and boom... He signed with the kings. Anschutz was that reason. Lieweike was what was making DL think twice.

I was referring to who led the charge to hire Lombardi. It wasn't Anschutz. Leiweke handled all that. We're talking about different things.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

But you said "Anschutz wasn't involved except to sign the paychecks" that was absolutely not the case

 

[Buddy The Elf]

I'm pretty sure Boston was a after Lombardi. And Lombardi definitely talked to Anschutz before he took the job. He wanted to be assured autonomy.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

I'm pretty sure Boston was a after Lombardi. And Lombardi definitely talked to Anschutz before he took the job. He wanted to be assured autonomy.

Boston was after indeed after him

 

[Mitchnesses]

Boston was after indeed after him

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I hope you're not saying that hiring Terry Murray was a mistake. They wouldn't have won the Cup in 2012 without him.

That's not what I'm saying at all...how did you even deduce that from that post?

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

That's not what I'm saying at all...how did you even deduce that from that post?

You'd be surprised at how many people make that claim.

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

But you said "Anschutz wasn't involved except to sign the paychecks" that was absolutely not the case

In terms of identifying who the best person for the job was, that was definitely the case. We're still talking about two separate things.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

In terms of identifying who the best person for the job was, that was definitely the case. We're still talking about two separate things.

OK so what am I taking about and what are you talking about?

 

[SettlementRichie10]

You'd be surprised at how many people make that claim.

That's fine, but definitely never anything you'll hear coming out of my mouth. TM was vital bridge coach for this team. Kopitar was lost defensively before TM turned him into a possession juggernaut.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I took a shot in the dark and emailed Leiweke not long after Dave Taylor was let go, urging him to hire Dean Lombardi. He hinted that I'd be pleased with the announcement they will make, and days later, Lombardi was hired.

I don't know how much Leiweke knew of Lombardi, or if he consulted with others (like with Luc Robitaille), but thankfully they made the right call in replacing Dave Taylor with Dean Lombardi, and I'm pretty sure it was ultimately Dean's decision on who would stay or go when he took over. I think one of the few remaining staff members from the Taylor era is Rob Laird.

 

[lumbergh]

I took a shot in the dark and emailed Leiweke not long after Dave Taylor was let go, urging him to hire Dean Lombardi. He hinted that I'd be pleased with the announcement they will make, and days later, Lombardi was hired.

I don't know how much Leiweke knew of Lombardi, or if he consulted with others (like with Luc Robitaille), but thankfully they made the right call in replacing Dave Taylor with Dean Lombardi, and I'm pretty sure it was ultimately Dean's decision on who would stay or go when he took over. I think one of the few remaining staff members from the Taylor era is Rob Laird.

So how much credit does Ziggy Stardust get for the team's success, then?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

They could just etch my name on the Cup. I'll take that.