The Kings have filed a grievance charge with the NHL on Friday, on which they believe that Colin Fraser, the player they acquired in the Ryan Smyth trade, is unfit and unable to be with the team. Also, he has a broken ankle fracture which the Oilers said would be healed in the next few days. Well, guess what? The trade was like a month ago and he's still not healed.
The Kings are expected to release Fraser but they can't release him until he has completely healed from his ankle fracture and that'll take time. Unfortuntately, I think Dean Lombardi doesn't want to play him the money when he can't play and that's probably what he's mad about.
Earlier, Lombardi tried to acquire Gilbert Brule from the Oilers but found out he was also injured. He settled with Colin Fraser but after looking at him, he's had enough of the Oilers being misleaders in their attempt to get Ryan Smyth.
Lombardi's not asking for a void in the trade, as I expected he would say. Fraser's just not healthy, and he believes the Oilers tricked him into getting a player that's not healthy. And that's enough for him to file a grievance charge.
Grievance charges are not that easy and sometimes they may take months to even clear up. But for Dean Lombardi, he's probably got something going. He got a player that was injured and he can't do anything with him until his ankle fracture is over.
Ankle fractures take time to heal. I've had one when I was younger and it completely ruined the entire summer. Yes, it took me three months (July, August, and September) to completely get myself healed. So it's not surprising that it's taking Colin Fraser this long to get himself healed. But Lombardi just wants to get rid of him now!
My advice for Lombardi: If he wins it, let Colin Fraser still play for him! You've done your job and Colin Fraser is a great player. Just wait until he's healed and then you'll see how much of a factor he's had. I'm just afraid Lombardi might not listen to me. So he couldn't keep Ryan Smyth but he's creating too much drama to try to get his point across.
What'll happen now? Will he win? Or will Gary Bettman find another answer? Seems like the mess is going on for a while and there's probably no end in sight. We'll just have to wait and see, puckheads. The drama for LA is not over.
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