LA Kings Trade For Lecavalier and Schenn (No Not That One) And Richards Lives!

By Jeff Duarte
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Updated: January 7, 2016

So I’m hanging out with my life long, die hard Montreal Canadiens loving brother-in-law Derno and I was talking to him about how Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick and coach Darryl Sutter where heading to the 2016 NHL All-Star Game when I noticed that my phone was blowing up like it’s the 4th of July, (or for us Canadians, July 1st!) I check it to see what the fuss is all about and notice that the LA Kings had just traded the 2015 AHL playoff MVP and prospect Jordan Weal and a third round draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for … soon to be unrestricted free agents Vincent Lecavalier AND Luke Schenn! (No not that Schenn, the other Schenn that played for Philly). As a bonus, the Flyers will still eat 50% of both players remaining contracts, (WOW!)

Like Brian O’Neill, Colin Miller and J.F. Berube before him, I’m sad to see Weal go but at 5’9(ish), he was quite small for a team that plays the Darryl Sutter heavy, crash and bang style of hockey. Hopefully in Philadelphia (and in the Eastern Conference), Weal can develop into one heck of an NHL player. Thanks for everything Jordan!

The 35 years old Lecavalier, is a 17 year veteran who is best known for his years playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning and winning the Stanley Cup in 2004 but is well past his prime. Mostly used as a healthy scratch this season, he has only played 7 games while registering only 1 assist. Lecavalier still has 3 years remaining (and a cap hit at $4.5 million a season) but his agent announced today after the trade that “Vinny” plans on retiring at the end of this season, therefore null and voiding the rest of the contract.

With Lecavalier, the Kings get a veteran who wants one last kick at the can, (and by can I mean that majestic silver chalice called THE STANLEY CUP!) Plus retiring in California is never a bad thing. Lecavalier has 411 career goals and 931 career points (and was also instrumental in helping Canada win the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, which before this coming September was the last time that tournament had been held).

The prize of the trade in my opinion is Luke Schenn, (no not him, the other one). The older brother of former King Brayden Schenn, Schenn is your classic stay at home, defensive defenseman and could possibly shine with his time in LA, Matt Greene in his prime style. Away from the limelight and frenzy that comes with the more traditional (and insane) hockey markets of Philadelphia and Toronto (where Schenn played in his early years), a solid third defensive pairing with the Kings could just be what the doctor ordered for both the 26 year old and the LA Kings. Schenn is an 8 year veteran with 357 career penalty minutes.

In a conference call immediately after the trade with the who’s who of LA Kings media coverage (well except me of course), Kings’ General Manager (and Supreme Leader) Dean Lombardi had this to say about Lecavalier,

“We identified, even in training camp and moving forward, certain areas that we thought we might want to upgrade as we were watching our team this year. One of the issues was strength down the middle. I think Vinny, at this stage of his career, it’s been made clear to us that it’s all about getting one last chance to win it all. I think he’s hungry. Given his mindset and the fit on this team, I think it’s a potentially great fit in his role. So you look at a Kopitar and a Carter and a chance to put this guy in the mix, we think it’s a fit and it’s certainly worth a shot, to see if this will work.”

Lombardi was then asked about Lecavalier choosing to retire at the end of the season,

“Yeah. The player made it clear to us that was his intention. Going forward, given the players we have to sign, it was imperative. We could give him what he wanted, which was a serious shot at going out as a winner, but we could not make that commitment going forward. It kind of fit, with where he was in his career and his life and the way he described it. He wants one last shot at it and he’s going to retire after this year. Otherwise, with the players we have to sign, this would not work. So that was a key element in this, in terms of us making this work.’’

After revealing some BREAKING NEWS that injured defenseman (and Warrior) Matt Greene was done for the rest of the season and Derek Forbort had been sent back to the Ontario Reign. Lombardi continues,

“So that’s the logic there, and in terms of Luke, one of the things that was clear was the loss of Greene for the year…we’ve lost a physical element back there that we think is showing up. We see a lot of Matt Greene in Luke. He’s still a young player. We think there’s some room to grow. The idea is, he’s very familiar with Drew Doughty and some of our players. It’s a chance for him to come in and just be himself, and not have to worry about being a top pick and all the expectations and everything else. He kind of reminds me of where Matt Greene was when we first got Greener. We’ll see how it plays out, but in terms of the element he brings, with our top-four guys, I think he could be a valuable asset to the overall mix. And I like the fact, too, that Drew Doughty is very familiar with him as a person and has played with him throughout his junior career and a lot of tournaments and things. I think Drew is going to take him under his wing and get him relaxed, and let’s get our game to where it’s capable of going.’’

Lombardi continued and said that it was “imperative” that Lecavalier does indeed retire at the end of the year so that the Kings could pay “others,” (*cough* Kopitar *cough*) He wanted to act now so that the new players could “get into the fabric of the team” and that it gave him “flexibility” at the trade deadline if things don’t work out.

“This is a good deal for Philadelphia. This works for them. Hopefully this works for both of us like every deal should.”

Flyers GM Ron Hextall is the former LA Kings’ (and Dean’s) assistant general manager (before Rob Blake) and along with Dean (and others) helped the Kings build the team to win their first Stanley Cup victory in 2012.

As I was still processing this sudden trade and thinking, “WELCOME TO LA VINNY AND LUKE!” my phone buzzed again and revealed that the Washington Capitals announced that they had signed former King Mike Richards to a 1 year, $1 million pro-rated contract, (according to @CapFriendly, that means the Capitals only have to pay him $500, 000). Apparently another former famous King and current “Cap” Justin Williams helped the troubled Richards get into the organization by putting in a good word for him.

As per the great duo of Puck Daddy’s Josh Cooper and Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports Canada, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was quoted as saying after signing Richards,

“I targeted him at the end of the summer. We wanted to monitor his situation with the Kings organization, and whatever was happening off the ice. As the possibility of him playing with the NHL, we pursued him more aggressively.”

In regards to Richards legal troubles and upcoming court date later this month,

“It’s a pending court case that’s coming up. There’s a preliminary hearing at the end of January. We feel comfortable that it will not be an issue. He’s pleading not guilty going forward, and we think it’ll work out in his favor.”

With the Capitals sitting first overall (as of this writing) in the NHL, the organization is hoping to finally get over the hump of getting past the second round of the playoffs and finally winning their first ever Stanley Cup. To help get them over that hump, the hopes is that veteran leaders with successful Cup experiences like Williams and now Richards can help stars like Alex Ovechkin to learn what it takes to become a Champion. Whether Richards is successful in his comeback or not, time will tell but I for one will be cheering for him. Without Richards, the Kings would NOT have won the Stanley Cup in 2012, so therefore they wouldn’t have won it in 2014 either. Best of luck to you Mike and all the best, and to you too “Stick!” Unless of course you guys meet the Kings in the Stanley Cup Final, (If that ends up being the case then YOU’RE BOTH GOING DOWN!!!)

When asked about his thoughts of Mike Richards signing with Washington, Lombardi had this to say,

“What I think…I think now that everything is out in the open and the team can work with him without things being hidden, I think he’s got a great shot. There’s nothing being hidden anymore. So now, you look at Washington, we all know that Justin Williams is a winner. Certainly when Michael first got here, I’ve always talked about that series in Vancouver, when we won our first Cup, how he set the tempo. I think, given the breadth of what I learned after, and what he was going through, I think — like I’ve always said — the frustrating thing was, you weren’t allowed to know. I think that this is a great opportunity for him. I think he’s got a great chance, and I’ll be pulling for him now. Hopefully he gets through all those issues. I think he’s got a great chance, when the people who are with him every day can now work with him and help him, instead of being kept in the dark.’’

Rich Hammond of the Orange County Register was on top of all the latest Kings news yesterday.

Kings GM Deal Lombardi’s full comments on today’s trade and Mike Richards: https://t.co/8rslnrtA4e

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) January 7, 2016

Derno – Um, who did the “Habs” get?

Me – Huh? What?

Derno – Who did the “Habs” get?

(I totally forgot that my brother-in-law, the Montreal Canadiens loving Derno was right here beside me).

Me – What do you mean?

Derno – Did Marc Bergevin get anyone? The “Habs” need some scoring!

Me – I don’t think they got anyone. As far as I know it’s just the Kings, Flyers and Capitals who got anyone today.

Derno – Hmm. I can’t believe the Kings ended up with Lecavalier. That’s crazy!

Me – I know right? Plus Philly is paying for half of his and Schenn’s contracts too!

Derno – WHAT!?

Me – I KNOW! IS DEAN LOMBARDI A GENIUS OR WHAT?!

Derno – That’s crazy, so crazy. Maybe Bergevin can still get Steven Stamkos or Ryan Johansen from Columbus or something? The “Habs” seriously need to do something!

Me – Um …

Derno – What happened?

Me – Johansen has just been traded to … Nashville.

Derno after a long pause and full of frustration, “CensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Yeah, Bergevin is good but DEAN LOMBARDI IS THE MAN!!!

Oh and yeah, Doughty, Quick and Sutter were selected to go the NHL All-Star Game! (Wow, what a crazy LA Kings’ newsday!)

Derno – Did any of the “Habs” make the All-Star game?

Me – <Sigh>

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