Kings Claim a Wing

If there ever was a system to pluck talent from, you would have to agree that it would be Detroit's that you'd peek into first. That is exactly what the Kings had done when they claimed winger, Matt Ellis (non-pool) from the Red Wings, as he was placed on waivers on his way to the minors.

Ellis wasn't fitting into the regular line-up, rather just filled in some gaps when the team had been going through their injury problems up front. Ellis managed to play 35 games with the Wings this season and snagged 6 points (2G, 4A) in the process.

Alexander Frolov	Anze Kopitar	Dustin Brown
Derek Armstrong	Mike Cammalleri	Kyle Calder
Ladislav Nagy	Patrick O'Sullivan	Scott Thornton
Brian Willsie	Michal Handzus	Raitis Ivanans
Lauri Tukonen	Teddy Purcell	Matt Ellis

Lubomir Visnovsky	Rob Blake
Brad Stuart	Tom Preissing
Jack Johnson	Kevin Dallman
Peter Harrold

Jason LaBarbera

Dan Cloutier

So, here's a look at the Kings current line-up with the addition of Matt Ellis. With injuries and regular scratches, the team looks pretty banged up. The obvious quote you can come up with is that the team really isn't very deep, except on the blueline, but of course we all know that could change thanks to all those rumours circling around the league.

If Brad Stuart (Box 11) is to be moved, that will only create another hole, but it does seem likely if the Kings can find themselves a great deal coming back. Don't forget a guy like Ladislav Nagy (Benson), who could also qualify as a rental player on Tuesday.

As for cap space for next season, they should have plenty. It could open up some room for a league-ready draft pick, if they manage to keep the number one or two pick this summer. They should have enough room to keep Rob Blake (Jeff) around for another season or two and pick up some more help from the free agent pool. This summer, GM Dean Lombardi will have to flex some of his GM talent muscle to make the team competitive again, instead of dwelling the basement as they are this season.

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