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Dean Lombardi and LA Kings are at a Crossroads

By Jamaal Artis

Jun 3, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter (left) and general manager Dean Lombardi during media day before game one of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 3, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter (left) and general manager Dean Lombardi during media day before game one of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Despite being one of two teams with multiple Stanley Cups’ the last two years have been frustrating for Dean Lombardi the LA Kings franchise.

It seems nothing is more fleeting than success in sports, despite being the architect of the Los Angeles Kings “Platinum Age;” (Bear with me here the Kings Golden Age was definitely when Gretzky came, but no cups so golden but not platinum).

Dean Lombardi finds himself and the team at a crossroads.

Last year perhaps because of playing in three straight Junes the Kings faltered and missed the playoffs failing to defend their Stanley Cup.

This year the Kings looked to have turned it around leading their division most of the year and getting back to what made them champions; good goaltending, strong defense, and a knack for late game heroics.

The Kings clinched a playoff spot the earliest they had for this current core team.

They looked like a Cup favorite, but then during the last month something changed; all of a sudden the Kings could no longer hold a lead, they looked slow and tired, and they limped into the playoffs before being fillet’d by the San Jose Sharks.

So now Dean Lombardi has some decisions to make if the Kings are going to go forward or fall further behind in the NHL pecking order.

First he must decide whether coach Darryl Sutter comes back.

Sutter and Lombardi go back to the days when they turned the San Jose Sharks into a perennial contender.

It was Lombardi who convinced Sutter to leave his farm to turn the Kings into Cup winners.

On a conference call with the media Lombardi said “that an offer has been made to bring back Sutter.”

"“Darryl has an offer on the table,” Lombardi said. “I think there’s an offer that’s certainly respectable. I don’t think this is about money. It’s, are we ready to do this? That issue of where we’re going and where we are is always out there. It’s a different challenge."

(Updated May 12 2016 at 5:15 P.M.)

Sutter has agreed to return for two years at $3 million per year.

He has no intention of going anywhere else this is where he wants to be and knows with this team and how close they were to the Stanley Cup they can have a chance to win it all in 2017.

Lombardi must also decide what to do about free agent winger Milan Lucic who was brought over in a draft day trade.

Lucic fit in nicely with the Kings bruising puck possesion style of play.

Holding on to him may mean having to lose a core player from the club.

Due to salary cap restrictions keeping Lucic may mean having to find a trade partner for struggling captain Dustin Brown.

Lombardi summed up why the Kings are at a crossroads by saying “We’re in uncharted waters,” Lombardi acknowledged. “We know we’re not where we want to be.”

Now you have to fix it.

Next: Lynn Swanns First Year As USCs' AD

LA Kings fans hope that Lombardi does “fix it” before the championship window closes on the core  of the team that won two Stanley Cups.

What is next for the LA Kings and when is late too late?

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