Yesterday, Dean Lombardi set the internet hockey world on fire with a simple transaction…
Tyler Toffoli has been assigned to Manchester.
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) January 14, 2014
@mlse @mc79hockey @SkinnyPPPhish true I for one am shocked no one wrote one on how dumb kings are for sending toffoli back to the AHL
— Bryan Murphy (@bdlaker) January 14, 2014
Tyler Toffoli scored on the night Dustin Brown attempted to assassinate Hertl. He never scored again. Now he's in the AHL. #TomasCursl
— Fear The Fin (@fearthefin) January 14, 2014
Why do the Kings keep sending Toffoli to the AHL? I don't understand it
— Tortilla Jackson (@InkedJerk) January 14, 2014
Why are people all hysterical over Toffoli being sent down? He's not producing. It's not a pre-cursor to anything.
— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) January 14, 2014
*sigh* just great. Unless a big move is made to bring a huge scorer to LA, that was just a stupid move to send Toffoli down. #LAKings
— Mike Wilson (@MiggityMike11) January 14, 2014
I thought Toffoli was officially NHL why is he back in Manchester?
— selina ☾ (@snorinef) January 15, 2014
And the rumors began…
Text just now says 'Something is brewing' with #LAKings …sure seems that way.
— The Mayor John Hoven (@mayorNHL) January 14, 2014
Obviously no deal made yet… but our sources say the one name heavily discussed by #LAKings mgmt in the last 48 hrs is #Sabres Matt Moulson
— The Mayor John Hoven (@mayorNHL) January 14, 2014
"@BroadstreetWest: @DennisTFP what LW do you see most likely to end up a king?" Player 13 from Calgary
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) January 15, 2014
Something looks to be up between Montreal and LA. Checking.
— Hockey Buzz Eklund (@Eklund) January 15, 2014
Maybe sending down our top rookie was Dean Lombardi's way of finally apologizing to Doug Wilson?
— John Carroll (@toshanshuinLA) January 14, 2014
Ottawa Sun cites a league executive claiming the Buffalo #Sabres asking price for Matt Moulson could be a 1st rd pick & a top young player
— Jeff Leitch (@JeffLeitch) January 15, 2014
#LAKings pushing very hard to acquire Matt Moulson.
Personally I see this deal getting done, with #Sabres possibly getting Martinez
— Sabres Insider (@InsideSabres) January 15, 2014
But then, I stumbled across a series of retweets from Dan Friedman, one of my favorite Islanders people on Twitter. You see, the Islanders recently sent Ryan Strome back to the AHL, which created a similar “WTF” response from Islander fans. Here was some new information from Arthur Staple, that many Islander fans were not aware of:
(1/2) Something to consider: NHL teams received a memo prior to season saying that a player who plays more than 15 of 20 games prior to…
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) January 15, 2014
(2/2) Olympic break cannot be assigned to AHL during break. Strome move clearly made w/ eye to having him play during break. #Isles
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) January 15, 2014
So that got the wheels at #TeamTRH turning… and by that I mean PumperNicholl figured the whole Tyler Toffoli demotion and Linden Vey promotion transactions out:
If Toffoli misses the next 5 games, so he doesn't play 15 of 20 before the Olympic break, he could still be called up for the outdoor game.
— PumperNicholl (@PumperNicholl) January 15, 2014
Toffoli would then be able to play in Manchester, along with Vey and Pearson, during the Olympic break.
— PumperNicholl (@PumperNicholl) January 15, 2014
Wow. RT: Wow RT Wow. If what PumperNicholl says is true… Dean Lombardi is a genius, the LA Kings may not be leveraging Darryl Sutter’s farm for a Left Winger, and Tyler Toffoli, who wasn’t technically slumping but rather just not receiving the ice time he needs to be successful, gets to refine his game in the AHL, play in the Outdoor Game and then also get to skate with the AHL’s version of the Triple Crown Line during the Olympic Break.
Man, if there was only some way that our tiny little #TeamTRH research staff could get the confirmation we needed that we were correct with our assement of Dean Lombardi’s latest move!
Nice Deano juggling act #LAKings
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) January 15, 2014
Toffoli to Manch explanation… player who plays 15 of 20 games prior to Olympic break can't be assigned to the AHL during Sochi games.
— The Mayor John Hoven (@mayorNHL) January 15, 2014
YAY!!!!
(FYI, these tweets were 15 minutes after PumperNicholl tweeted out this info.)
"@Kyler_is_King: @DennisTFP are you talking about the Olympic break fiasco???" 10-4 but it deflects core issue of Toffoli lack of production
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) January 15, 2014
Still… YAY!!!
Presenting #TeamTRH… your new LA Kings Insiders!!!