MORE PUCK FOR THE BUCK? INSPIRED BY BASEBALL'S `MONEYBALL' FORMULA, KINGS GM LOMBARDI HOPES TO ASSEMBLE A SOLID TEAM -- WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND Staff Writer

``Moneyball'' is back in Los Angeles. This time, the concept is being served over ice.

Less than a year after the Dodgers ran Paul DePodesta out of town and dumped his computer printouts in the recycling bin, a new and unlikely disciple has emerged: the Kings' Dean Lombardi.

While ``Moneypuck'' doesn't have quite the same ring, Lombardi, who in April replaced Dave Taylor as president and general manager, has borrowed liberally from baseball's controversial theory of team management.

``I was thinking about a lot of this stuff even before `Moneyball' came out,'' Lombardi said. ``It requires almost a cultural change, to get your staff thinking a certain way, and that's what we're working toward.''

On-base percentage and VORP ratings don't translate to hockey, but the ideals of the system remain the same. In this new, salary-cap era of the NHL, teams are looking for any edge possible, and in Lombardi, the Kings have uncovered one of hockey's most analytical minds, a man who isn't afraid to experiment.

That's a product of two things: Lombardi's general nature as an outside-the-box thinker and the three years he spent after being fired as GM of the San Jose Sharks, a period in which Lombardi worked as a scout and formulated and culled a plan for how he would run a NHL team if given another opportunity.

``Some of that stuff I had in the back of my mind for a while,'' Lombardi said. ``When `Moneyball' became en vogue, it was when I was spending lots of time on the road for Philadelphia, and I thought a lot about it and parts of it really started to come together.

``It's an ongoing thing. We had another meeting about it (this week). It requires not only open minds but also manpower. I'd like to have that in place in 24 months. Then we'll really be rolling. This is new turf, but I believe it works. It takes open minds, sharp minds and manpower.''

The Kings open training camp today in El Segundo, and the new faces -- such as Rob Blake, Alyn McCauley, Scott Thornton and Brian Willsie -- don't necessarily reflect Lombardi's long-term strategy. In essence, they're transition players, a means to a new, and perhaps revolutionary, end.

``Moneyball'' is a 2003 book, written by Michael Lewis, that examines the Oakland Athletics, their GM, Billy Beane, and the concepts behind how a low-budget team could succeed in baseball.

Some things get lost in the baseball-to-hockey translation, naturally, but the gist remains the same. The system is based on evaluating statistics through a different eye, examining specific player attributes, and the trick for team executives is to sign, or trade for, players whose skills are undervalued on the market.

It's a budgetary tool, one which Lombardi hopes will allow him to get the most bang for his buck under the salary cap.

As for specifics, Lombardi isn't spilling them to anyone outside the Kings' inner circle.

``He thinks of things that a lot of people don't think of,'' said Kings assistant general manager Ron Hextall, who worked with Lombardi in Philadelphia. ``This whole thing is still a work in progress, but he's a big-time thinker. Sometimes he gets so deep in thought that it's hard to get his attention.''

Lombardi speaks about charts and reports, about his older scouts working in synergy with his younger scouts, but the specifics of what Lombardi is looking for will remain a secret for now.

``I had enough of my ideas stolen in San Jose,'' Lombardi joked during a recent conversation.

All of this goes back to SanJose, where Lombardi started in 1990 and became GM six years later. Working under a strict budget, even in the pre-salary-cap era, Lombardi learned to manage money carefully and put extra emphasis on the draft and developing young players.

Under Lombardi's stewardship, the Sharks acquired young talent such as Jonathan Cheechoo, Patrick Marleau and Vesa Toskala and improved their point total in six consecutive years.

Lombardi built the nucleus of the current San Jose team, which is expected to contend for the Stanley Cup. He was fired in 2003, after the Sharks totaled just 73 points. San Jose had made the playoffs in the previous five seasons but never advanced past the second round and won just two playoff series.

``This is a results-based business,'' said Sharks GM Doug Wilson, who worked under Lombardi in San Jose for six years, ``and ultimately, our report card is based on how you perform in the playoffs.

``Sometimes bad things happen to good people, but I had no doubt that Dean would get another chance. He will do a lot of in-depth analysis. That's always been a signature of his.''

Already, the Kings are finding out. During this week's prospects camp in ElSegundo, the Kings' brain trust spent countless hours camped out in a workout room, to the point that Lombardi said ``some of the guys are starting to make hostage jokes,'' but everyone knows there is plenty of work to be done.

For a team that has missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, there is no time to waste. Lombardi has new ideas, big ideas, even if he's a bit reluctant to put them in public view just yet.

``We've put a lot of time and thought into this, and now we're going to see if it works,'' Lombardi said. ``This is one of those things where we're going to end up going down paths that don't work. But we're going to find the right one, and we're not going to get frustrated along the way.''

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Photo:

(1 -- color) New Kings president/general manager Dean Lombardi is considered an outside-the-box thinker.

Juan Ocampo/Getty Images

(2) no caption (Luc Robitaille)

(3) no caption (Rob Blake)

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HELLO, GOODBYE