JOHNSON TO L.A.
The Los Angeles Kings acquired defensemen Jack Johnson and Oleg Tverdovsky from the Carolina Hurricanes for defenseman Tim Gleason and center Eric Belanger.
What does it give the Los Angeles Kings
The first blockbuster trade of the season occurred even before the drop of the first regular-season puck, as the Kings landed the rights to (arguably) the best defense prospect in the game in the talented Johnson. In order to do so, Kings GM Dean Lombardi also had to accept Tverdovsky's inflated ($2.5 million) salary-cap hit. Down the road, it will all be worth it. For now, the Kings are a little weaker along the blueline in the Gleason-Tverdovsky swap, and a little less deep down the middle without Belanger. However, dealing the latter should open up roster spots for two hotshot rookies, Anze Kopitar and Patrick O'Sullivan.
What does it give the Carolina Hurricanes
Obviously, the defending champions are in win-now mode. Otherwise, they'd never contemplate dealing their top prospect (by far) for a quick fix. But that's exactly what they've done with this move. Gleason replaces Frantisek Kaberle, who may not play at all in 2006-07. Belanger replaces the departed Matt Cullen and Doug Weight as Carolina's new third-line center--behind Eric Staal and Rod Brind'Amour. GM Jim Rutherford obviously had enough of Johnson's posturing, but he will eventually live to regret the decision to include Johnson in this trade. For now, Rutherford's team got stronger.
Fantasy impact
