Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Did Lombardi luck into the assets which were used to acquire Richards and Carter? Williams? Stoll and Greene? No, he didn't luck into any of those assets. They were there and available for him to use when he felt the time was right, and it was so right. The Kings don't win in 2012 with Simmonds and Schenn on the roster instead of Richards and Carter. Lest we forget how Richards set the tone in Round 1 of the 2012 playoffs.
It's all great because they won, but the price for Richards was a lot to finish 13th overall.
Is it process or results? I was, and still am, pro-the Richards trade. However, they hadn't made it out of the 1st round yet. As we saw, they were still several moves away from winning in 2012 after Richards. Do you give up Schenn and Simmonds when you're still several moves away? Is that what a building team does? What proof did Lombardi have they were ready? One of those moves being lucking out that Carter was available? The results were great, but if we're going to rip Lombardi for things like Lucic, then the theory behind Richards is the same. It was a huge risk, which was inching toward not paying off. Both for the team, and individually. 18 goals and 44 points was not what anyone was expecting out of Richards, no matter how defensive the team was. The Kings finished 12th overall in 10-11, and then finished 13th overall in 11-12. That wasn't the expectation after the summer of 2011. They could've finished 13th overall without the Richards trade. Game 1 against Vancouver is why Lombardi made that deal, and the Kings do not win the Cup that year with Schenn and Simmonds.
The results back then were great, but the process was the same as anything that's been done after June 2014.
Here's a fun exercise. This is a 23-man team made up of the Kings' draft selections and prospect signings from 2006 through 2017.
Pearson-Schenn-Toffoli
Kempe-Loktionov-Simmonds
King-Shore-Lewis
Clifford-Dowd-Nolan
Deslauriers-Andreoff-Vey
Muzzin-Doughty
Martinez-Voynov
Forbort-Hickey
Jones-Bernier
Jesus Christ that forward lineup is horrendous. I guess you can throw Moulson and Purcell into the mix if you think that makes that group look better. It still stands out how poor this organization has been in finding top six talent.
This is why it cost so much future to just get out of the 1st round in 2012. In the rebuilding phase of Lombardi's plan, he got Bernier, Lewis, Hickey, Doughty, Teubert, and Schenn in the 1st round. Bernier was the backup when they got good, Lewis was a solid foot soldier, Hickey was a miss that they lost on waivers, Doughty was a slam dunk, Teubert was a miss that they had to package with another 1st to get any value, and Schenn was dealt fairly quickly in a win now move. Normally, that series of events shouldn't win. Trading Schenn for Richards was like trading Jokinen for Palffy. The Kings finished 11th overall in 99-00. 13th overall in 00-01, then went on sort of a miracle run of their own that year. 12th overall in 01-02.
Not only did they miss on winning while either/both Kopitar and Doughty were on their ELC's, but just to get out of the 1st round, it cost a 1st in 2011, a 1st in 2013, a 23 year old, a 20 year old 5th overall pick, and a wasted 13th overall pick.
Before the end result, did Lombardi miscalculate on getting Richards? Obviously not to the extent that Blake has done after getting Kovalchuk, as they were at least competitive when Murray was fired. Just a couple points away from a playoff spot at the time, not dead last. 8-6-3 through 17 games back in 11-12 too. Kopitar had 21 points. Richards 12. Gagne had 11. Penner had 0 goals and 2 points. 41 goals as a team, 34 today. 38 GA back then, 55 today.
When Murray was fired, Kopitar had 28 points in 29 games. Richards 20 points. Williams had 4 goals. Brown had 5 goals and 15 points. Doughty 2 goals, 8 points. Penner, 2 goals and 5 points.
