Since the Dean Lombardi era began in the spring of 2006, the Los Angeles Kings have not been a team that builds significantly on July 1.
Under Lombardi, the Kings have never signed a player on July 1. The only player signed on the first day of free agency in the Lombardi era was Jeff Schultz, who signed a one-year, $700,000 contract on July 5, 2013 after the start of free agency was pushed back due to the work stoppage that preceded the 2012-13 season.
The only Kings team under Lombardi that was constructed heavily via free agency was the 2007-08 team. Michal Handzus, Tom Preissing, Kyle Calder and Ladislav Nagy were signed on the second day of free agency that summer; only Handzus (who was a useful and steady player for four years) and Calder played more than 100 games with the team.
Instead, the Kings have been a team that has been built steadily through drafting, development and key trades under Lombardi. Though the team did not secure the services of Brad Richards and Ilya Kovalchuk via free agency, they did swing key summer trades that brought in Mike Richards, Matt Greene, Jarret Stoll, Ryan Smyth, Brad Richardson and Dan Cloutier, amongst others, in building up a team that began the Lombardi era in a concerted rebuild and enters the current free agency period with two Stanley Cups in three seasons.
NHL players signed in the summer under Lombardi:
2006
Rob Blake (7/2)
Scott Thornton (7/2)
Alyn McCauley (7/3)
Brian Willsie (7/4)
Raitis Ivanāns (7/16)
2007
Michal Handzus (7/2)
Kyle Calder (7/2)
Tom Preissing (7/2)
Ladislav Nagy (7/2)
Jason LaBarbera (7/4)
Brad Stuart (7/4)
Jon Klemm (8/20)
2008
None
2009
Rob Scuderi (7/2)
Brandon Segal (7/14)
2010
Alexei Ponikarovsky (7/27)
Willie Mitchell (8/25)
2011
Simon Gagne (7/2)
Ethan Moreau (8/20)
2012
None
2013
Jeff Schultz (7/5*)
*First day of free agency
Again, this is a list of NHL players signed by Lombardi in the summer free agency period, so some smaller signings (such as players signed out of the AHL, players who made the team as training camp invites and free agent signings out of college and junior hockey) aren’t included.
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