Penner’s arrival in Los Angeles has momentarily energized an impatient fan base. It’s not that the Kings are losing on the scale of 1988 proportions; they’re 35-24-4, good for sixth place in the West. It’s just that the goal-scoring has been done by committee – the only way it was going to get done once the Kings lost the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes last summer.

AROUND THE PACIFIC

The same Hollywood market that coveted a superstar some 23 years ago still wanted one Monday. Dustin Penner isn’t a superstar, but the former 30-goal scorer may be close enough.

 

Here’s one more: Penner kept his off-season home in Southern California after he left Anaheim to sign an unprecedented offer sheet from Edmonton in 2007. His wife, actress Jessica Welch, certainly won’t mind her husband’s change of address. The comparison seems to end there with the shades of Janet Jones – assuming Penner didn’t promise "Mess" that he wouldn’t cry Monday.

 

Maybe Penner made no promises.

 

"I'm sad to leave," Penner told reporters in Edmonton. "I think like everybody here, I felt we were building something.”

 

Dean Lombardi could hear the emotion in Penner’s voice and the Kings’ general manager sees it as a positive attribute, one that may have served Gretzky well once upon a time.

 

“I kind of like that Dustin was tied to Edmonton,” Lombardi said. “In my experience when a guy is a little hurt by a trade that means they were loyal to their team. Eventually you want them to be that for you. It’s our job to get him in here and have him be part of the family and hopefully he’ll bleed your colors the way he was bleeding for his other team.”

 

The Kings don’t even need that much from Penner, who came at the price of prospect Colten Teubert, a 2011 first-round draft pick, and a conditional 2012 third-round draft pick.

 

His 21 goals this season are more than any Los Angeles player. Optimistically, Penner should be able to maintain that pace if not exceed it while surrounded by more talent than he had in Edmonton. Head coach Terry Murray told “NHL Live!” on Monday that he envisions Penner skating at left wing with center Anze Kopitar, who ranks sixth in the league in assists.

 

At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Penner should fit in well on a forward corps that won’t be outskating him and plays a system designed to feed him the puck. Murray covets players who are in their element around the net. Second-line left wing Ryan Smyth and third-line center Michal Handzus fit that description.

 

Kopitar does not, and Murray has tried to force his linemates to fit that mold. At times that has resembled a vain exercise involving a square peg and a round hole.

 

While Penner might be the best fit, he wasn’t the Kings’ first choice. In Edmonton, that was Ales Hemsky. There were also rumors pointing to Brad Richards, but the Dallas Stars center might have been off the table (for the Kings, at least) as long as a week ago.

 

In the end, Lombardi got what he wanted: A bona fide, first-line left wing who didn’t come at the expense of anyone on the current NHL roster.

He is no Wayne Gretzky, but a more modest set of expectations — something Penner never enjoyed in Edmonton — may suit the big winger just fine.

The Kings also signed right wing Justin Williams, an impending unrestricted free agent, to a four-year, $14.6 million contract extension. … One day after being placed on waivers by the Kings, Marco Sturm was claimed by the Washington Capitals. … Kings C Andrei Loktionov, who has split the season between the NHL and AHL this season, suffered what is believed to be a season-ending shoulder injury on Friday. … Ex-assistant coach Mark Hardy, fired by the Kings after he was charged with sexual assault last summer, will play in a charity alumni game along with Luc Robitaille, Jamie Storr, Craig Johnson, Ian Turnbull, Nelson Emerson, Pete Demers (trainer), and Glen Murray (coach) in Ontario, Calif. on March 12. … The Ducks acquired F Brad Winchester from the St. Louis Blues for a third-round 2012 draft pick Monday. They also sent C Maxim Lapierre and minor-leaguer MacGregor Sharp to the Vancouver Canucks for minor-leaguer Joel Perrault and a 2012 third-rounder. … The Orange County Register reported that the Ducks looked at acquiring New York Islanders C Zenon Konopka, but a second-round pick was the asking price. … The Ducks also acquired G Dan Ellis from the Tampa Bay Lightning for G Curtis McElhinney earlier in the week. … Ducks GM Bob Murray signed a four-year contract extension through the 2015-16 season. … The Sharks, winners of six straight, are close to getting G Antero Niittymaki, D Dan Boyle and F Ben Eager back from injuries. … The Coyotes acquired D Rostislav Klesla and F Dane Byers from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for F Scottie Upshall and D Sami Lepisto just before the trade deadline Monday. … Shane Doan set a new Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise record for games played (1,099), eclipsing the record held by Teppo Numminen. … Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk made big (non-)news by not trading Richards before Monday's deadline. … In his first game as a Star, D Alex Goligoski had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over Nashville on Saturday. Goligoski was acquired from Pittsburgh for D Matt Niskanen and LW James Neal.

 

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