Smyth headed to the Kings
by James Mirtle on Jul 4, 2009 6:00 AM CDT
11 comments
The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that it has acquired defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing, along with a fifth round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Ryan Smyth. The trade is conditional upon the players passing a physical.
"We are pleased to be adding two quality NHL defensemen," said Avalanche General Manager Greg Sherman. "Kyle and Tom are both versatile players who can contribute at both ends. They will add defensive depth to our lineup."
>> team release
The Kings have been searching for another top line winger in free agency, hoping mainly to land Marian Hossa, and I suppose Smyth serves as a replacement of sorts. He started to come into his own last season in Colorado, but has struggled with injuries and is obviously overpriced.
Given his $6.25-million cap hit for the next three seasons and relatively modest production, it shouldn't be that surprising that Smyth hasn't netted much return, either. Moving out Preissing is a big blessing for L.A., as he was potentially going to be bought out and only used in a depth role. (I'm not sure why the Avs saw value in him.) Quincey, however, should be a useful addition, even if he tops out as a potential No. 4.
The Kings could be a much improved team even with the subtractions on the blueline, as Rob Scuderi joins an underrated top six that includes Sean O'Donnell, Jack Johnson (if signed), Drew Doughty, Matt Greene and Peter Harrold. L.A. could also potentially add another depth defenceman if need be.
All in all, this is a move made by two teams headed in different directions, with Colorado set to rebuild in earnest and the Kings hoping to make the playoffs and begin to climb the standings. I can't help but wonder if they would have been better off signing someone like Alex Tanguay, but unloading the Preissing contract makes this move worth it.
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Good move for both parties
Colorado now goes with 7 NHL blueliners and solidifies the defence in front of Anderson, rather than calling up Cumiskey and Macias, AND saves themselves some money.
Los Angeles is able to take on Smyth’s contract by sending back Preissing’s salary, and obviously they get better up front.
Maybe Sherman could have gotten more, but both teams should be happy.
by TD O'Dell on Jul 4, 2009 8:00 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Of course, Colorado now needs to call up every one of Willsie, Galiardi, Dupuis and Stoa, whereas yesterday they only needed 3 of the 4 forwards.
Meanwhile, the Kings need to call up Drewiske as a seventh man.
Both teams now have ample cap space to sign another player, so maybe a couple of these rookies don’t make the big clubs.
by TD O'Dell on Jul 4, 2009 8:11 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Reality Check
Colorado is a franchise in trouble. This is a salary dump by a team destined to finish 15th in the conference for points and quite possible for attendance.
Gear up for the Hamilton Avalanche rumours.
by garth the hoser on Jul 4, 2009 9:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Gear up for the Hamilton Avalanche rumours.
Stop. Just Stop right now. Again Kroenke is heavily invested in the Denver area, and is worth $3.5B dollars. Unless he sells the team (which is very unlikely) they aren’t going anywhere.
by Jibblescribbits on Jul 4, 2009 9:55 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think it was a joke…
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there)
by Doogie2K on Jul 4, 2009 10:01 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Except
He’s spouting it off every time any time anything negative is reported about the Avs.
by Jibblescribbits on Jul 4, 2009 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
He’s got a lot of material to work with then.
by HockeyJoe on Jul 4, 2009 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Hah.
Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com
by James Mirtle on Jul 4, 2009 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Which the team can cope with because they have the reserves to be horrible for a few years and benefit from high draft picks. If their ownership was shaky, then I’d buy this. As long as they can actually cash in on being horrible, they will likely bounce back fine.
"A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with." -- Tennessee Williams
by Baroque on Jul 4, 2009 11:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
And this is the main point
Kroenke is dumping salary because he thinks “If they are going to be terrible, we might as well not spend a lot on them”. Apparently Kroenke doesn’t think there’s much hope for this coming season in the standings, so he wants to shed salary during a recession.
I don’t like it, but it isn’t an indication of impending franchise doom.
by Jibblescribbits on Jul 4, 2009 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Besides, Ryan Smyth is not the guy who will propel the Avs back to glory. By the time this team is ready to move back into the elite, his contract would be up. It was pretty useless from a hockey success perspective to keep his contract on the books.
by Habs on Jul 6, 2009 7:38 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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