A few thoughts on the big Ryan Smyth(notes) trade last night before returning to our respective potato salad and beer comas ...

The trade, which saw Captain Canada move from the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night to LA for defensemen Kyle Quincey(notes) and Tom Preissing(notes) and a fifth-round draft pick next year, is an interesting leap forward for the Los Angeles. Kings. He'll make $6.25 million against the cap until 2012. He had a nice rebound year for the Avs last season, but his numbers have been in decline. Because of his style of play, the guy is perpetually hurt, even when he plays through it.

Kings GM Dean Lombardi acknowledged some of these points in his chat with Inside The Kings last night, but also noted that his team has coveted Smyth since the trade deadline and had him ranked higher on their wish list than "some of the free-agent guys we weren't willing to extend ourselves on." His most interesting answer came when asked what Smyth brings to the team:

"The position he plays, the role he plays -- as a top-six guy who plays left wing -- and most importantly, the way he plays. That was the most important thing in terms of why we were aggressive. We lack guys who are going to go to the blue (area in front of the net) and score hard goals and pay the price. He's not flashy, he doesn't make highlight films, but he wins hockey games. You've got a guy who is known as 'Captain Canada.' As far as his character and his competitiveness, this is the type of player that we need."

He also mentioned Mike Ricci(notes) in reference to this deal. So now we're changing the Kings' grade to an A-plus-plus-plus, obviously ...

Smyth and defenseman Rob Scuderi(notes), signed from the Pittsburgh Penguins this week, might be a little too blue collar for Hollywood, but they're perfect for this Kings team as mentors and leaders. Brayden Schenn sharing the ice with Ryan Smyth in the near future is pretty much a dream scenario from a developmental standpoint.

As for the Avalanche ... well, rebuilding is now the Rocky Mountain way. The first of what should be many salary dumps with middling returns. (Tom Preissing wasn't even listed on the NHL roster for the Kings.) Mile High Hockey is displeased in a very PG-13 way. Adrian Dater of the Denver Post spells out the owner Stan Kroenke's philosophy as Smyth goes west:

We all knew this day would come, Av-aholics. These are the lean days, the rebuilding times. But it doesn't take a lot to get back to respectability in this game. The Avs are assembling some good young pieces (Duchene, Shattenkirk) and a 1-2 up the middle of Stastny and Duchene should be pretty damn good in the future. But for the present? It's going to continue to be tough for a while.

The Avs still have some salary to shed, but Dater's right: They could be the team in the Kings' situation sooner rather than later with the talent already in the pipeline ... and by completely bottoming out for the next few years. Ask the Penguins how that works out sometimes.