Pretty interesting how things work out.
The 07-08 season, Willsie scores that game winning goal that puts the Kings 2nd in the draft instead of 1st. Stupid Willsie! Does Lombardi take Doughty even with the 1st pick? My guess would be yes, since he loves defensemen, and the Kings had nothing like Doughty in the organization, but either way. The Kings take Doughty at #2, knowing he's going to play in the NHL the following season, which opens up a guy like Visnovsky to be traded. The Kings turn him into Greene and Stoll a few days later, and for all their faults, they've been part of this whole thing. During the 08-09 season, the Kings make one big trade, which was to bring in Williams at the deadline. The following summer, the Kings sign Scuderi, trade for Smyth, and they start to make the playoffs that next season.
Other than the young draft picks, Williams has been a building block for this team. Stoll and Greene were acquired for a player that was older than they were. Williams was the first instance where Lombardi traded a younger guy for an older guy. The 08-09 season was long gone, but it was a move that was made with the thought that next year, the expectation is that the Kings will be a better team.
Of the moves Lombardi has made, the Williams trade has to be in the top 5. Drafting Doughty, however obvious a move it was, may have been the turning point to the whole thing, but with the way it's worked out, Williams falls somewhere between 2 and 5.
