Seventh round pick, 183rd overall, traded to Dallas for their 2013 seventh round pick
 

What is the deal with this? Lombardi passed on Slepyshev, Nathan Walker, Nikita Gusev, etc. to trade Edmonton's high seventh round pick for Dallas' 2013 seventh round pick. Shouldn't he have been able to get a 6th, at least? Is a seventh next year really better than any of the available players, including Nick Ebert?

Tough to say not knowing what is going to be available in 2013. Plus he can use that pick in a trade for a healthy body like he did when he acquired Freddy Modin. The Kings probably felt that the player they wanted in the seventh would drop to them with their last pick, and if you paid attention to the TV coverage of day 2, you could hear the Kings staff talking rather openly about them having nothing to lose by going with Ebert. Considering that every team passed on Slepyshev, can't really pick them apart for not selecting him.

This, if the Kings wanted or want Slepyshev then can invite him to camp and sign him to a contract there like they did with Jones, and Roach.

They can't sign him. Philadelphia ran into the same issue with Tomas Hyka, the Kings 6th round pick. European players who have not played in North America at least one year can't be signed if they are under 22 years of age.

As for why the Kings traded the 7th this year for next... Dallas probably wasn't willing to trade their 6th next year for a 7th this year, especially if the consensus is that 2013 is deeper as a whole.

Lombardi also said that he doesn't like to make a habit of entering the draft with so few picks... so my guess he wants to try and accumulate some more in a deeper year.

Woah, blockbuster.

There must be something about Slepyshev we don't know.

There's a reason why so many teams passed on him.

It's been said that Slepyshev is under contract in the KHL, but not sure if that would scare off any team. Maybe they are aware that he's not committed to coming over.

Does anyone know what our prospect limit is at? If I'm not mistaken, not only is the contract limit at 50, but the limit on total players (Signed plus drafted) is 80. Maybe we're getting to close to that number and DL wanted to defer a pick to next year?

Also, as others have said, I'm not going to bust DL's balls for passing on someone like Slepyshev when the other 29 GM's did as well. There's some piece of info the hockey minds know that we don't. The fact he couldn't bother coming to the combine was likely telling as well.

A quick glance leads me to believe this is what the count is roughly:

24 NHL players (23 + Dwight King who was qualified.)
14 minor league players under contract
5 RFAs who were tendered offers (not counting Azevedo who signed in the SEL)
19 unsigned prospects (including recent draftees but excluding Elkins, Holloway, Murray, Moller, etc that may no longer count toward the 80 player limit.)

So after RFAs are resigned the Kings appear to be at 43 contracts that count toward the 50 contract limit.

Leaves the Kings with 62 players, give or take a couple, that are counted toward the 80 player limit, so they still have space to sign a couple Junior players out of training camp if they wanted to.

I was listening to nhl radio before the draft and they were talking that many times teams want an extea 7th to make a scout happy. It may be they really want some kid or it may be that they want to draft someone from an area to show an even younger kid that the team has its eye on an area. Sometimes trading a seven round pick earns you a round of golf at the owners club. Sometimes there is no one they really want and why not do a favor now for a favor later

He apparently has two more years on the deal and also apparently didn't go to the combine to take a test at school. That's what I saw from another poster so can't verify.