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Are The Kings Repeating the Blue Jackets Mistake

February 24, 2012, 8:57 AM ET [55 Comments]
Eric Smith
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The Blue Jackets moved one of their two big chips as they sent center Jeff Carter packing to Los Angeles for defenseman Jack Johnson and and a first round pick in either the 2012 or 2013 Entry Draft depending if the Kings make the playoffs.

The question now is if Kings general manager Dean Lombardi is falling into the same trap that Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson did last summer?

With Jeff Carter it's like when you were in school and you want to date the pretty cheerleader. You get so enamored with the pretty face and how popular she is that you ignore those things that will drive you nuts after about three dates. She laughs like a horse, she has breath that could melt steel and she is so unaware of what's going on that she thinks Justin Bieber is the President of the United States.

Howson was so desperate to put a first line caliber center with Rick Nash that he didn't look and see if the whole package would be something you could live with. Howson found out pretty quickly that it wasn't.

“We made several moves last summer that earn strong reviews at the time but for a number of reasons haven't worked out,” Howson said in his press conference. “We were excited and had high expectations when we acquired Jeff Carter but we just couldn't quite find the right fit for him here in Columbus.”

Yes the reviews, especially locally, were heaping praise on the acquisition more from the point that an elite type player was coming to central Ohio. There were plenty though that wondered how Carter and Nash would work together as both wanted the puck, both were in the top ten in shots on goal in the 2010/2011 season and even after all the spin doctoring everyone knew that Carter was not jumping for joy to get to the Jackets.

“I think Jeff struggled with this right from the out set,” Howson explained. “He had made a long term commitment in Philadelphia. It was hard for him to deal with this trade (coming from Philadelphia). I thought he came in with an open attitude. The season got off on the wrong foot. We couldn't get on the winning track. He got injured early and just as the season went on and on we decided that it might be the right thing to try to make a move with him.”

There is no doubt that the Kings wanted Nash but the asking price was too high for them to swallow. So the prettiest girl left at the dance was Carter. Lombardi is on the hot seat and he knows it. His team, on most nights, can't buy goals as they are dead last in the league with a 2.05 goals a game average. Lombardi is thinking he can reunite Carter with Mike Richards and get instant chemistry and the scoring will follow.

“I think it's been fairly obvious this year that we've struggled with our offensive game,” Lombardi said. “It's something that we have been looking at for quite awhile in a number of areas. We had to give up a very good player here but we think we have some depth in our back end coming. Jeff (Carter) brings a lot of the things that we are looking for. He's big, he's fast and he has the natural scoring instincts. Obviously we are very familiar with him as John Stevens has coached him and Mike Richards has been a teammate of his. These are tough deals to make but this was something we felt we had to do.”

Notice that last sentence? “Something we felt we HAD to do.” Desperate times can a lot of times cloud your judgment and make you only look at the now and not the big picture. Lombardi acquired Simon Gagne and Richards in the off season that was to cure all their offensive woes. Gagne is hurt which everyone pretty much knew would happen as it is the unfortunate pattern of Gagne's career. Richards has 14 goals in 53 games this season. Not bad but I think they were hoping for more.

There is a saying that you don't throw good money after bad. Lombardi could be doing this here as he tries and chase down a situation that will save his job but in the process has taken on $915,000 more per season in salary and for 10 years on a player that's commitment to game has come into question plus has injury issues enough so that the Kings required a physical today due to worries about a hip injury.

“I think it's been more physiological than it has been physical,” Lombardi said.

If that's true, Carter isn't your answer.

Lombardi doesn't want to lose his job and that's understandable but for the organization's overall health may have been better to stay with what you got and make a bigger push for Nash in the off season.

You know how it goes in that Kenny Rodgers song, “You got to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em. Know when to walk away and know when to run.” Lombardi and the Kings may have been better off if they would have taken Rodgers' advice.


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