KINGS' CAPTAIN SHIPPED DEFENSEMAN NORSTROM GETS TRADED TO DALLAS.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND 

Staff Writer

At the end of a long day, Kings general manager Dean Lombardi found himself with a heavy heart, a depleted roster and a team without a captain -- and also with major optimism for the future.

The Kings made three deals in the waning moments before Tuesday afternoon's trade deadline, the most notable of which sent defenseman and team captain Mattias Norstrom to the Dallas Stars.

In the centerpiece deal of a busy day, the Kings sent Norstrom, winger Konstantin Pushkarev and 2007 third- and fourth- round draft picks to Dallas for defenseman Jaroslav Modry, a first-round pick in 2008, second- and third-round picks in 2007 and the rights to defenseman Johan Fransson.

"This is my hardest day, other than the day I was fired (by San Jose)," Lombardi said. "Emotionally it rips your heart out, but this was something I thought we needed to do."

The Kings also acquired veteran defenseman Jamie Heward from Washington for a 2008 fifth-round pick and traded forward Jason Ward to Tampa Bay for a 2007 fifth-round pick.

When the dust settled, the Kings were left without Norstrom, their captain since 2001-02, a rock-steady presence on the ice and in the dressing room but also a defenseman with a burdensome contract. Norstrom, 35, is due $4.25 million next season as part of the two-year extension he signed last March.

By trading Norstrom, Lombardi accomplished his two primary goals: He cleared roster space -- Modry will be a free agent this summer -- and stockpiled more draft picks.

With the Kings long since out of the playoff race, Lombardi has focused on the future. In the past four weeks he has traded Craig Conroy, Sean Avery, Brent Sopel and Norstrom.

Since his hiring last April, Lombardi has made a net gain of five draft picks in 2007 and 2008. The Kings have committed roughly $22.5 million to 11 players for next season, giving them significant cap room.

The Norstrom deal took several days. Lombardi began talking to teams about Norstrom during last week's GM meetings and, out of respect, told Norstrom that a deal might be in the works. Lombardi had a tentative deal in place Monday night and finalized it about a half hour before the noon deadline.

"We weren't going to just move him for anything," Lombardi said. "Sometimes you just see guys getting moved for a bag of baseballs, but that wasn't the case here. ... We needed to get that (first-round) pick."

But Lombardi's late moves put a dent in the Kings' defense, one that will need to be addressed this summer. In dealing Norstrom and Brent Sopel (on Monday), Lombardi sent away two of the Kings' top five defensemen, and another, Aaron Miller, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Modry, 36, scored a career-high 13 goals in 2002-03 during his first stint with the Kings, which lasted seven-plus seasons. But Modry has just one goal and nine assists in 57 games this season.

Add to that Rob Blake is 37, and the Kings have defensive issues. Highly touted prospect Jack Johnson will step into the lineup if he leaves college early, but more help will be needed.

Beyond that, there are leadership issues. Norstrom, acquired from the New York Rangers in March 1996, was by far the longest-tenured King and played 780 games, the most among any defenseman in Kings history. He took over as team captain during the 2001-02 season when Blake was traded to Colorado.

"Even though I've only been here for a short time, I had so much respect for the guy," Lombardi said of Norstrom. "Sometimes you admire a guy from afar and he doesn't turn out to be quite the same guy you thought he was. Matty was every bit and more of what I perceived him to be."

It is believed Blake will take over Norstrom's team-captain responsibilities, but regardless, the Kings will have a much different look when they face the Ducks on Thursday.

Heward, 35, is a veteran of 362 career NHL games and has 16 points in 52 games this season. Fransson, Dallas' second-round pick in 2004, has spent this season in the Swedish Elite League.

Pushkarev, 22, played 22 games with the Kings this season but did not make an impact.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Jaroslav Modry is once again a King after being traded by Dallas in a package that included Mattias Norstrom.

Photog here/Associated Press

(2 -- color) NORSTROM

Box:

LET'S MAKE A DEAL