When the traveling part got settled in St. Paul this afternoon, I was able to catch up with Dean Lombardi for a few minutes to get his thoughts on where the Kings are in the final few weeks of the season…
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Question: Last night, Dustin Brown was pretty emotional and straightforward in saying that the team needed to look in the mirror and it needed more urgency. The coach seemed to take much more of a calm, even-keel approach to things. What’s your opinion on what is going on with the team right now?
LOMBARDI: “Let’s start here. I don’t think anybody thinks we’ve played at the level we’ve shown, consistently, since the Olympics. We’ve had spurts and periods, like when we played in Chicago. I don’t think that anybody feels that, since the Olympics, that we’ve been playing with — I don’t know what the right word is — juice, or confidence or whatever. You see a lot of teams that have been struggling. Ironically, Phoenix is a team that didn’t have anybody in the Olympics and they go on a roll. Most of the teams that had people there, they have issues. So the issue now is, I believe in this group but we’ve got to quit messing around. It’s not only the wins and losses. In my situation, you’re looking to see how they’re playing. Are we playing to the best of our ability? That’s the goal and I think if we do, we’re going to be more than fine. Then we look at how we need to be even better to go to the next level.
“It’s interesting that you bring those two things up, because I think it’s about each individual. Some guys need to do what Brownie said, i.e. kick themselves in the butt and get going, and probably some of them need to start believing in themselves and say, `Yeah, there’s pressure here, but we got here because we deserve to be here, and I’m going to deal with it.’ I’ve been watching us, and I haven’t had that feeling like I do when we’re on a roll. You know how analytical I can get, but there’s always that thing of having a feel for your team. You feel it when the chemistry is good. You feel it when they believe in themselves, and things are going your way. Right now, it’s kind of mishy-mashy. I’ve been struggling with that myself, thinking that I don’t know whether I need to kick them in the butt or, `Come on boys, let’s go.’ So I think it’s up to each individual to decide. `OK, I need to believe in myself’ or `I need to do what Brownie is saying and kick myself in the (butt).’ I think they’re both right. I think it depends on the individual. Before the Olympics, they had that real good flow going. In San Jose, once, we had that situation where the team got a little too full of themselves and needed to come down. But I really believe what I said. Guys can take from both ends of the spectrum. Murph is saying, `We’re good, we need to believe in ourselves,’ and Brownie is saying, `We need a kick in the (butt).’ I think each player probably needs to choose his own remedy.”
Question: Guys might need different things, but at some point, though, doesn’t there need to be one consistent, collective message going out to the players?
LOMBARDI: “You might be right. I’m not sure. It’s a good question. A lot of my dialogue has been one-on-one, dealing with the individuals as opposed to the group. I think you’re right, though. Ultimately, you need to bring it back to a center message. At some point, it’s got to be the same, but in the end — and I’ve told this to the players — no matter what I say or what Murph says, they’re the ones who have got to figure it out. Look at the captain. Look at how much he has learned. When has he ever been in these situations?”
Question: Unless something really remarkable happens, it looks as though you’re headed to the playoffs. Is there a sense of “Just get in,” or is it important for you to see the team playing well at the end of the season?
LOMBARDI: “I’m not sure. I’ve seen it go both ways. I’ve seen teams go into the playoffs completely on fire and fall on their face, and I’ve seen it the other way too. This is another test. This is probably their first really hard test. We had two blocks during the season when it really felt like the wheels were coming off. When we went into Carolina, I think it was, we were really sloppy. Things didn’t feel right and things weren’t going our way, and there was a sense that we were on the ledge. And then, boom, we found a way. Then we had another one, when we went into a three- or four-game slide, right up until Calgary, when you could say, `We’ve really got to start grabbing this,’ and, boom, they found a way. Now they’re running up against it. But that’s about a team building up the fortitude to deal with this. This is a totally different challenge. Now you’ve got to drive the stake home. You’re at the brink, but it ain’t good enough. But it’s the same type of challenge. It’s just that the stakes are higher now. And you know what? When they get through this, the stakes are going to be even higher. But this is about a team, when you talk about building that mental psyche, they’re going to be facing these kinds of situations constantly, these type of challenges. Yeah, we’d all like to be cruising through here, as we should be, but in the end, it’s going to make you mentally tougher and let you find out what you are as a team. Like what Brownie said, each one is going to learn, `I need to kick myself in the (butt)’ or `I need to believe in myself.”’
Question: Terry’s challenge this season has been to take this young team and shepherd it toward the playoffs. In your opinion, how successful has he been toward that goal?
LOMBARDI: “The one thing about experience is that it brings credibility. He has experienced all types of teams. In Philly, he had a powerhouse with the Lindros line. He’s had an expansion team like Florida. He’s built teams in Washington. He’s seen it all. I was talking to him last night, and he’s saying, `We’ve seen this before. This reminds me of Washington, when we were getting better.’ So he’s got experience to draw on. So that’s not a problem. Even as a player, he’s always been a smart, extremely analytical guy who can keep his head about him. You hope that translates to your players. That’s one of the advantages of, `Hey, this guy knows.’ He’s had great players, he’s had working players and he’s seen all types of teams. That’s where experience can be valuable, because they can look to him and say, `He’s been there,’ especially when we have so many players who haven’t. So they have somebody who’s been there.”
Question: There was a lot of discussion about what to do at the trade deadline, about improving, about chemistry. With Modin, you probably got more than you expected. With Halpern…
LOMBARDI: “Halpern hasn’t found his role yet. That’s the problem. This is what I was nervous about. I was looking at Halpern or a truly fourth-line center, but I erred toward Halpern because I wasn’t sure if Williams could come back. He played with Lecavalier and Malone, so I had no problem in thinking that he could move up, in the short term, and I could cover myself there. So now he goes from playing with Lecavalier and Malone to the fourth line, whereas Modin goes and plays with Handzus and fits in right away. The one thing about Halpern is, he’s a guy who could resurface in the playoffs. Don’t forget the other reason that I did it, too, which is exactly what happened. The other guy [Oscar Moller] belonged in the minors, and he’s starting to get it. I wanted to get a guy because I didn’t want him sitting around. Sure enough, when he first went back, he sucked. But since Hex [Ron Hextall] went down and said, `Wake up,’ the way he did with Bernier, he’s had four really good games.”
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