Posted by In the past few weeks there has been much talk about how the Tampa Bay Lightning might be looking into trading their captain and franchise player, Vincent Lecavalier. Teams mentioned to be interested in the All-Star center were the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings, yes the Los Angeles Kings.
Vincent Lecavalier could be the answer to ending the Los Angeles Kings playoff run
The fact of the matter is that the Los Angeles Kings have plenty of players and prospects that could be attractive the the rebuilding Tampa Bay Lightning. The biggest chip that the King possess is defenseman and restricted free agent Jack Johnson.
Johnson was the third overall pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2005 entry draft. A year later he was traded along with Oleg Tverdovsky to the Los Angeles Kings for Tim Gleason and Eric Belanger. The Kings would sign Johnson to an entry level contract in 2007 and would play five games that season. The next year Johnson played in 74 games and recorded 11 points and 76 PIM but statistics is not how Johnson has measured his success rather he prides himself on his play in his own end and physicality.
Johnson would bring the Tampa Bay Lightning a true number one defenseman and a face of the franchise on the defensive end. Johnson could be seen as expendable because of the amount of defensive talent that the Kings have waiting in the wings including Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert.
To sweeten the pot for the Lightning, the Kings could add forward prospect Teddy Purcell and goaltender Erik Ersberg. Purcell has had a promising AHl career and enjoyed a good amount of time with the Kings the last season recording 16 points in 40 games at the NHL level.
Erik Ersberg would provide the Lightning with an adequate backup to injury riddled goaltender Mike Smith and Ersberg is still a young man with tons of upside.
If the Lightning were to trade Lecavalier to the Kings, the Kings would finally have a face to their franchise since The Great One Wayne Gretzky, no offense Anze Kopitar. A trade like this would benefit both teams and could possibly launch the rising Los Angeles Kings into the playoffs in 2009-2010 season.
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nothing brings out the L.A .reporters faster than a “star” — even if they have never heard of them before … I love Vinnie and that Tampa Cup run was great in 2004, but all that is over, and TB needs to rebuild;
but above all, it keeps him out of Montreal, which might be fatal for a high-profile French Canadian who does not have the supporting cast to succeed …
The Kings don’t need an under acheving Vinnie..Keep us going in the right direction, with unselfish defence and solid goaltending. Vinnie the “star” is good but we need unsung players that can blend into this team…