You always have to preface these type of things, so here goes - Ryan Smyth is a class act and was the perfect player at the perfect time when the Kings acquired him a few summers ago.
That said, according to a TSN report earlier today, Smyth has notified the Kings he would like to play for the Edmonton Oilers next season if possible.
It appears to be more than just a rumor. So, let's look at things...
He's 35 years old and has played in 1,069 NHL regular season games - including 82 this past season (the first time he's played a full season since 2003-04).
His 47 points were fourth best on the Kings, while his 23 goals were third most on the team.
Perhaps most important, he plays left wing - a position the Kings are extremely thin at throughout the entire organization.
Even so, a trade to Edmonton is always possible. Anything's possible in the NHL!
If you were GM Dean Lombardi, what would you be looking for in return?
Poll closes Thursday night.
Smyth started his career in Edmonton, playing over 750 games there before being traded to the Islanders in a deadline deal in 2007. His first career game with the Oilers was actually vs. the Kings at the old Forum - something he spoke about in a MayorsManor interview here.
I'm off to Las Vegas in the morning for NHL Awards week. Be sure to follow all the action via twitter and facebook updates at the links below.
The Mayor
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Can the deal be: We'll give you Smyth; you MUST take Penner back?
ReplyDeleteWe get $10MM in cap space...and use that to get????
I'd prefer not losing him, but if he doesn't want to play for us anymore, we need to let him go and replace him.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we need some old guy here - people seem to think that he is the same player that he was in his 20's. He would be the slowest skater around.
ReplyDelete