Patrick O'Sullivan remains away from Kings camp
HOCKEY
Team continues to try to work out a deal with the third-year forward, but General Manager Dean Lombardi says the offer won't be for anything less than three years.
As the standoff continues between the Kings' front office and the agent for third-year forward Patrick O'Sullivan, the likelihood of General Manager Dean Lombardi conceding on a one-year contract grows slimmer.
Every day that O'Sullivan is held out of training camp, his conditioning and development suffer, Lombardi said. As a result, it's more likely that the team's fourth-leading scorer from last season won't be at full strength until early next year.
"We're not giving him a one-year contract because I might have to write off this season," Lombardi said during practice Thursday morning.
In fact, Lombardi said he won't offer anything less than a three-year deal. As far as sending the wrong message to other Kings, several of whom will be restricted free agents after this season, Lombardi said he's trying to avoid that scenario.
"The whole message we're trying to send is we want to keep everybody together," he said. "If [O'Sullivan's contract] is not done right, you're going to have a problem with the other guys."
Anze Kopitar, the team's leading scorer last season who played on the same line as O'Sullivan, will become a restricted free agent in the off-season. He's hoping he doesn't get caught up in the same mess.
"Hopefully, we can get a deal done before that," he said. "But my mind is on hockey right now, where it should be."
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The void created by O'Sullivan's absence is slowly being filled by a group of youngsters, namely Matt Moulson, Brian Boyle and Wayne Simmonds.
"I've been very impressed with some of the younger players we have in this organization," Coach Terry Murray said. "They deserve more games and we'll continue to watch these young guys as they move through the training camp."
Murray, who was hired over the summer, was especially complimentary of Simmonds, a 20-year-old right wing who played at the junior level earlier this year.
"He has brought my focus to him often with good play, smart play and energy," Murray said. "It's interesting, for a young player coming out of juniors, to be able to play the level he's playing at . . . he's still playing the game the right way and executing the style of play, the system that we put in place."
