Marco Sturm To The Kings...Just Kidding!

Dean Lombardi:"The San Jose Sharks are proud to select from EV Landshut of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga Marco Sturm."

Tomas Fleischmann was rumored to L.A..  He's a member of the Colorado Avalanche now.  At 26 years old, Fleischmann could have been a part of the Kings core group going forward.  His situation reminds me alot of Patrick Sharp.  Sharp was buried on a deep Philadelphia Flyers roster and Philly dealt him to Chicago.  Given the opportunity to play in a top-6 role with the Blackhawks; Sharp has become the team's most consistent goal threat.  Have the Kings let the next Patrick Sharp slip by?  Only time will tell.  In limited time; Flash netted 23 goals and 51 points in 69 games.

The Kings responded quickly...sorta...by acquiring a player very similar to Fleischmann.  Just six years older and coming off major knee surgery.

TSN's Bob McKenzie's twitter with the play-by-play on the botched Marco Sturm to Kings rumors.

• Marco Sturm has been traded to the LA Kings. Details to follow.
• Sturm is UFA at end of this season. $3.5M cap hit. He is 2-3 weeks away from playing. Thrilled to land in LA. Waived his NTC to go there.
• Hearing the Bruins received a conditional draft pick for Sturm.
• Medical issues clouding potential Marco Sturm trade from BOS to LAK. No deal in place at this time. Some uncertainty whether it gets done. 
• Sturm waived NTC to go to LAK and thought he was on his way but fact he is still injured complicated matters. Stay tuned. No timeline. 
• BOS GM Chiarelli says he spoke to Sturm about waiving NTC but no trade with another team was ever consummated. 
• Sturm, tho, thought trade was going thru. Sources say LAK backed off over how long before/uncertainty over when Sturm would be back. 
• Final word on aborted Sturm deal: LAK were furnished with player's medical records. They had concerns with what they saw. 
• My own personal opinion is that once Sturm is actually ready to play, this BOS-LAK deal could get re-visited. We will see, I suppose.  

Sturm is coming off a torn-ACL and MCL that he suffered in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals back in May.  His recovery time was quoted at six months but in reality it takes most players at least a full calendar year to recover.  Anyone that remembers Michal Handzus's first season in Los Angeles will remember him lumbering around the ice at what seemed about 60% after coming off major-knee surgery.  Zeus eventually bounced back but it took a full year for him to get back to his career averages.

For a player like Marco Sturm who relies more heavily on his speed and skating ability to create offense; it's a shaky proposal at best to think Sturm could return to form in time to help the Kings this season.  At a cap hit of $3.5 million and Sturm expected to miss at least another 2-3 weeks; the Kings would be paying Sturm close to $400,000 before he even laces them up in a game.  It's just good business sense not to make a deal for the 32-year old until he's completely healthy.

BOTTOM LINE: Considering it's been made public that Chiarelli approached Sturm about waiving his NMC; it's only a matter of time before this deal gets done.  Once Sturm is completely healthy; Chiarelli will be forced to clear more cap space and moving Sturm is the likely solution.  Lombardi and Hextall love players they're familiar with and Sturm fits the bill.  I'll say Sturm is a King by the new year. 

A little Marco Sturm highlight reel so you know what to expect when he's lined up next to Kopi.