Blake & Brown Reflect on new Kings Deals

Dustin Brown wanted to make certain he'd be playing for a perennial contender for the foreseeable future. That's precisely the reason he negotiated with Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi on his eight-year contract extension, which was finalized on Thursday and made official by both sides. Combined with the final year on his current deal, the Kings captain will now be with the club through the 2021-22 season. According to ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun, the new deal is worth $47 million, an annual rate of $5.875 million. Brown negotiated his own contract with Lombardi and believes that was the reason negotiations went smoothly and concluded so quickly, talks began a little over a week ago.

"Going into this, I did my homework and did comparisons and received help from the [NHL] Players' Association on some numbers and stats," Brown said on a conference call. "I realized in a cap era that there's only so much money to go around and with the cap going down this year and not having that certainty what it will be next year, there's an opportunity to keep this team together. That was part of my decision in wanting to stay because I believe we have a chance to win."

Brown joins nine other Kings who have been signed to long-term deals, including Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick, and Jarret Stoll. "For me, there's a comfort level with the Kings and I know Dean and the ownership group here in Los Angeles very well. I was comfortable negotiating on my own."

Lombardi felt equally comfortable. "He's very much adapted to Southern California and he wants his kids at school here; every facet that a player looks at where he wants to play is within place. Now it was just a matter of coming to a fair number. But Dustin understood the cap implications. It wasn't about getting as much as he could, but about getting a fair contract that would allow us to win for many years."

Another reason Brown wanted to get a deal done sooner rather than later was to keep from getting hounded with questions regarding his contract. He didn't want it to become a distraction during the 2013-14 campaign. "During the year, it should be about hockey and what's being done on the ice. I didn't want it to be a distraction and didn't want it to get in the way in what I do on a day-to-day basis. We needed to get it done prior to the year if we were to get it done at all."

Brown, 28, was the 13th pick of the 2003 NHL Draft, and in nine seasons has 181 goals and 388 points in 641 games. He also has 31 points in 50 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including 20 in 20 games in 2012 when he helped the Kings win the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship. He was named captain of the Kings Oct. 8, 2008. Lombardi said Brown is determined to become an even better player. He said during the negotiating process, the right wing said he wants to do even more to help the club improve. "It's pretty amazing, seven years ago, he couldn't say two words because he was so shy and now he's doing his own contract and setting himself up for life. I don't think he's done in terms of growth and he's told me so. The fact he was looking out for the team during these negotiations tells me a lot about his growth, but he also stressed his desire to be even better."

Brown had 18 goals and 29 points in 46 games in 2012-13. He helped the Kings reach the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive season after guiding them to the Stanley Cup in 2011-12. "There's always room to grow; there's stuff on the ice you work on every day and I'm still learning every day. I was named captain at a young age when our team was different in a different time. There's places I can be better within my leadership role. Thing is, we don't have just one leader on this team, there are many, but at the end of the day, I was named captain and leading is not something that's taught. It's sticking with it and figuring it out and is more of an instinct thing."

Brown was asked if he is worried about players entering training camp out of shape as a result of the short off-season. "That responsibility falls on players. We have a group that will push for each other in the summer to be ready because we know the type of team we have and what we're capable of. The flipside of that is if a guy isn't coming into camp in shape, it's not going to be Dean [Lombardi] or the coaches or strength coach who will give him a push. It'll be the players. That's the type of environment you want to be a part of. We hold each other accountable, and that's when the real success begins."

Former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Blake is returning to the organization to become the right-hand man for general manager Dean Lombardi. Blake was named the Kings' new assistant general manager last month, replacing Ron Hextall, who left the organization after seven years to assume the same position with the Philadelphia Flyers. Blake, who lives in Manhattan Beach, Calif., had been working as a manager in the National Hockey League's Player Safety Department for the past two-and-a-half years. In that capacity, he worked closely with director of player safety Brendan Shanahan. "I was fortunate to be working with Brendan Shanahan in player safety and when the position opened up with the Kings, I heard from Dean Lombardi and had a couple of meetings with him the last few days," Blake said during a conference call. "I just thought the opportunity to get back with the team, and knowing my history with the Kings, it would be a great opportunity. Things moved forward rather quickly."

It will be Blake's first job as an executive in an NHL team's front office. Included in his job description is serving as general manager of the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate. Lombardi also said that Blake would work closely with director of player development Nelson Emerson. Blake said the scouting side of the game will be a relatively new phase in his career. "The management job entails so many facets, but the bottom line is we're still evaluating players so managing Manchester and getting a handle on how things are run there will be important for him," Lombardi said. "When you talk to guys who played the game for 20 years, they sometimes think they have all the answers, but I really liked the way Rob asked a lot of questions, and not questions about whether he wanted the job but if he got the job … he had a great mind set."

Blake spent the first 12 seasons of his playing career with the Kings before he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in February 2001. He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche that season, and spent the next four seasons in Denver before returning to L.A. for two seasons, from 2006-08. Blake played the last two seasons of his career with the San Jose Sharks and retired following the 2009-10 season. He compiled 777 points in 1,270 games and won the Norris Trophy in 1998. "I think I've always wanted to be involved in management sometime down the road. I was never really sure in what capacity, and right to when I retired, the opportunity to work for the NHL with Brendan and [Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations] Colin Campbell came up really quick and was a great transition to start understanding all the positions in management. In the back of my mind I always hoped to get a spot there with the team."

Lombardi said the fact Blake spent a couple years in a management position with the League and was able to learn that side of the game played a big part in the decision to hire Blake. "Working for the League, clearly you are very much abreast of hockey sitting there and watching three games at once. Sometimes former players have a tendency to turn away from the game and not really watch it, but in the job he had, he religiously watched games every night and kept up to date on everything. While talking to other general managers and League officials, trainers and equipment guys, I was amazed with how well respected he is. He's highly regarded in many facets in our business and those types of things are invaluable. Add to that he was a former great player … he has a wealth of information in that head that I'm looking forward to tap into."

Blake said he considers it a privilege to be able to work with and for Lombardi. "Dean has come in and transformed the organization and has taken it to its highest plateau ever [by winning the Stanley Cup in 2012]. That is now the standard here. Winning the Cup has become a standard and it's great to be a part of that moving forward."

Blake captained the Kings from 1996-2001 and again in 2007-08. He is the franchise leader among defensemen in games played (805), goals (161), assists (333), points (494), power-play goals (92), game-winning goals (29) and shots (2,468). Blake said he watched the Kings during their playoff run this past spring and was impressed by their determination when the chips were down. The Kings finished as the fifth seed in the Western Conference and reached the conference final before losing in five games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. "I thought the team had a tremendous year; they were competitive and got things going after a slow start. You could see they found their game, beating St. Louis [in six games in the first round] and San Jose [in seven games in the second round] before losing to Chicago. But there was no quit. It's tough to win and do it over and over, but they were up to the task. There are a lot of pieces that Dean has set in place here and that was on display last season. Hopefully, we can keep that going forward."