LA Kings: Top five Stanley Cup-contention trades
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:
LA Kings Trade Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason for Jack Johnson
Just a few months into his tenure as the LA Kings’ general manager, Dean Lombardi made a splash.
In September 2006, Lombardi acquired one of the top prospects in the game in Jack Johnson.
Taken third overall in the 2005 Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, Johnson was projected to be one of the best defensemen in the NHL.
Lombardi believed the Indianapolis native was too good to pass up and traded Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason for Johnson’s services. The Kings also acquired Oleg Tverdovsky in the deal, although he only appeared in 26 games for the Kings.
As for Johnson, he would become a full-time King the following year. Yet, while the team struggled early on, the blueliner was a significant factor in not only helping the Kings return to the playoffs in 2010 but also helping to set the table, if you will, for a greater team accomplishment.
LA Kings Trade Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn for Mike Richards
In the offseason of 2011, LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi traded fan favorite Wayne Simmonds and promising prospect Brayden Schenn to the Philadelphia Flyers.
In exchange, the Kings received Mike Richards, who was known more for his leadership qualities than his offensive prowess — although his 23 goals and 66 points in 2010-11 was nothing to scoff at.
While Richards’ production declined in his first season in Los Angeles — a still respectable 18 goals and 44 points — the native of Kenora, Ont., upped his game in the playoffs with 15 points in 20 games. Richards’ efforts were just one factor towards the Kings winning their first Stanley Cup in 2012. Richards would even be integral in the Kings’ second championship win in 2014.
As for Simmonds and Schenn, they enjoyed their successes after Los Angeles. The latter even won a Stanley Cup in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues.
As for Richards, controversy would follow him soon after the Kings’ second Cup win, leading to his departure in 2015.
Nevertheless, this trade was one of the most important Lombardi and the Kings had made to solidify themselves as Cup-contenders and, ultimately, Cup-winners.
LA Kings trade Jack Johnson for Jeff Carter
Despite his role in turning the LA Kings into a Stanley Cup contender, Jack Johnson was not part of the team when the silver-and-black reached the top of hockey’s proverbial mountain in June 2012.
Instead, Johnson was traded a few months earlier to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for star center Jeff Carter.
On the surface, it appeared as though the trade was the result of two big contracts being swapped for each other. But, there was more to it than that.
Being a former Flyer himself, Jeff Carter had a great friendship with the aforementioned Mike Richards off the ice and great chemistry with him on the ice. However, an off-ice story that included excessive partying from both sparked concern.
No concern was needed.
Jeff Carter fit in right away with the Kings — scoring six goals in 16 games and eight in 20 playoff games — helping his new team win the Stanley Cup.
Fans may have struggled to part ways with Jack Johnson at first, but this trade certainly worked out for the best as Jeff Carter wasted little time in becoming one of the most popular Kings in recent memory.
LA Kings Trade Lubomir Visnovsky for Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene
When your team has had a constant for seven years, it is admittedly difficult to part ways.
That was the case in 2008 when the LA Kings traded Lubomir Visnovsky to the Edmonton Oilers.
GM Dean Lombardi was on a mission to turn the Kings into a serious contender. Yet, while seeing a fan favorite like Visnovsky may have been a tough pill to swallow, seeing the players who came from Edmonton in return definitely helped ease the pain.
In exchange for Visnovsky, the Kings acquired Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene.
For Stoll, he was a consistent offensive threat. As for Greene, he was as fearless as they came, using his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame to his advantage.
Greene had a knack for dishing out heavy hits while literally laying it all out of the line to block a shot; Stoll, meanwhile, was more than reliable offensively. In fact, his career-high 68 points in 2005-06 helped the Oilers made an unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final — to Game 7, no less.
Both Stoll and Greene wound up to be two of the more significant pieces to the Kings’ championship puzzle, if you will, in both 2012 and 2014. Stoll even topped one series off with an overtime-winning goal to cap off an opening-round upset of the President’s Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks in 2012.
If the on-ice contributions of Greene and Stoll weren’t enough, both have remained with the organization following their retirements, with Stoll being involved with the development of the Kings future.
It was tough to see Visnovsky leave, of course, but in hindsight, it was worth it.
LA Kings Trade Patrick O’Sullivan for Justin Williams
It was the 2009 Trade Deadline.
Leading up to this day, I, in addition to countless fans, thought that Patrick O’Sullivan would be a key figure in the LA Kings’ return to playoff contention. This, however, would not be the case.
Lombardi and the Kings traded O’Sullivan to the Carolina Hurricanes. In exchange, though, the Kings would acquire a proven playoff performer and someone who, even after nearly six years removed from the franchise, remains one of the most popular Kings of all-time.
While he may not have ever competed for the NHL’s scoring title, Justin Williams elevated his game when it mattered most — first in Philadelphia and then in Carolina. In fact, that 2006 Stanley Cup Final that the aforementioned Stoll and Greene were a part of, their Oilers fell short to Williams and the Hurricanes. Williams even notched 31 goals and a career-high 76 points that season.
Not only would Justin Williams help the Kings win two Stanley Cups, but he would strengthen his Mr. Game 7 moniker but stepping up his game in three deciding games in the 2014 playoffs — followed by scoring the OT-winner in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Whether or not he makes the Hockey Hall of Fame or even gets his No. 14 raised to the rafters of STAPLES Center, Justin Williams will forever go down as one of the greatest Kings of all-time.
That has been no easy feat, but it has been very much deserved.