He is highly skilled, quick and affordable. The downsides in his game are his lack of physicality and his injury history. While Hemsky doesn't fill the obvious hole in the Kings lineup, that being a top-line left winger, he does bring a lot of tangible skills that the Kings could utilize this season.
One has to think that the price to acquire Hemsky would be a top defensive prospect like Thomas Hickey or Alec Martinez plus either a roster player or high draft pick. Dean Lombardi has been slow to give up on his prized prospects and as a result the Kings have failed to make a jump up the standings over the past two years.
That all changed this summer as Lombardi shipped the Kings top prospect, Brayden Schenn, to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for one of the great leaders in the game, Mike Richards.
If Lombardi can let go of a major prospect for the second time this offseason, he could find Ales Hemsky wearing No. 83 for the Kings to start the season.
Although Hemsky has only managed to play more than 80 games once in his career, he has twice succeeded in scoring over 70 points as he did in 2006 and 2008. This kind of offense would surely be welcomed to a Kings lineup that relies on Justin Williams and Dustin Brown to produce goals from the right side. Hemsky could come in and automatically be the team's No. 1 right winger.
The Oilers do not want to trade Hemsky, according to a February Ottawa Sun article. Hemsky also sounded optimistic about the Oilers' future in an Edmonton Sun piece Tuesday. However, one has to question whether or not that is reasonable considering the Oilers boast young, talented wingers like Jordan Eberle and Linus Omark. Does Hemsky fit in with the Oilers' plans? The obvious answer would be no.
Oilers GM Steve Tambelli...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
