The top five trades that propelled the LA Kings to two Stanley Cups
When Dean Lombardi took over as the LA Kings‘ general manager in June 2006, he had inherited a team with their work cut out for them.
With the exception of the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, the LA Kings never had a deep playoff run. But the Kings weren’t even close to being a playoff team in 2006.
Marred with failed rebuilds in the past, the Kings’ track record was not an auspicious one. Lombardi, however, was unfazed as he made a series of moves that helped the Kings contend not only for the playoffs but for a championship before ultimately winning hockey’s Holy Grail.
Among the moves Lombardi made were five pivotal trades that helped shape the fortunes of the once-hapless LA Kings.
Here they are: