from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

Eyebrows raised around the NHL when the Los Angeles Kings acquired Vinny Lecavalier on Wednesday.

What does Dean Lombardi, general manager of a Stanley Cup contender, see in a 35-year-old healthy scratch who was of little use to two coaches on non-playoff teams in Philadelphia?

Turns out, Lombardi is hoping for a little of…Bill Walton? Yes, the basketball Hall of Famer.

"The logic here is there's a lot of history of this," Lombardi explained to reporters. "I think Vinny, at this stage of his career, it's been made clear to us that it's all about getting one last chance to win it all.

"…When you look at the history of things like this, with teams that have a chance to maybe do some damage, whether it's a Bill Walton, a top player, when he went to the Celtics; a guy here, Bob McAdoo, went to the Lakers; a guy like Darryl Strawberry and [Cecil] Fielder going to the Yankees – these were all top guys who, near the end of their career, wanted a chance to win and were willing to accept a lesser role."

It sounds off-the-wall, but Lombardi's thought process is interesting.

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