You're Fired!

Great timing, Dean.

Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi fired coach Marc Crawford after the team finished with the fewest points in the Western Conference this season and tied for last place league-wide last year. Not only are my season tickets up for renewal in two days, but former San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson just got hired by Toronto. For those without a hockey background, Lombardi was the former San Jose GM, and it would have followed Lombardi's pattern of taking Sharks and suiting them up in Kings sweaters. Wilson, while recently fired, was done so for not advancing the Sharks far enough in the playoffs in too many consecutive seasons. Not as bad a problem to have as we have...

Crawford spent two seasons with the team and had a year left on his contract, coaching the Kings to a 59-84-21 record.

Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi said the team appreciated Crawford’s commitment. “However, we believe that in evaluating where we are at and, more importantly, where we are going as an organization, we feel this coaching change was the right decision to make,” he said. "In the end it just comes down to fit...it's just a gut call on fit."

Lombardi revealed in postseason meetings he and Kings owners have decided to get younger rather than try to create an immediate cup contender, and Crawford wasn't the coach to do it. "It's clear they're committed to building a young core. We have the illusion of being young because our better players are young, but on the back end, there's a transition that needs to come until we are in fact a young team."

Lombardi said he never seriously considered firing Crawford during the season as was speculated, and that the decision was still not made in the immediate aftermath of the season. The only potential candidate Lombardi named for the job was Kings assistant Mike Johnston (uh, who?), who also worked under Crawford in Vancouver. "I think I want to talk to Mike Johnston about the possibility of being considered for this role, once he's had some time to reflect."

Well, there's also still John Tortorella (Tampa Bay), Joel Quenneville (Colorado), John Paddock (Ottawa), Jim Playfair (Calgary), and a few other jobless saps who's names don't start with "J" out there...

In other Kings news, former captain and unceremoniously traded defenseman Mattias Norstrom is retiring. Yes, that's why I read Aftonbladet, the Swedish tabloid. Norstrom said he now intends to focus on his family and get an ordinary job. “I studied building techniques in high school, so carpentry is a possible alternative, but let’s see. I will think about it during the summer,” he said. Starting his career with Swedish clubs Mora and AIK Stockholm, he later played for the New York Rangers and the Kings before joining the Dallas Stars last year. He also played for Sweden in several world championships as well as in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

I'm a little sad that Matty is going to stop playing the blue line and likely taking the blue line to work. A guy like that shouldn't be framing doors.