While there was much speculation that Dean Lombardi would be on a shortlist for the management job in Buffalo, it still seems like they haven’t reached out to him. On the other hand, the Philadelphia Flyers have interest in bringing him back into the fold according to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post, though the role is unclear as Ron Hextall is firmly in control of the organization.
Lombardi was relieved of his General Manager duties for the Los Angeles Kings earlier this spring when Rob Blake was promoted, leaving one of the more experienced executives in hockey without a job. While the Kings would need to grant permission for any other team to talk to him, it’s unlikely that they would block a team who wanted to bring him in. In Philadelphia, he has ties going back to 2003 when he worked as a scout for the team. When he was hired as the GM of the Kings in 2006, he took Hextall—then also a scout in the Flyers’ organization—with him as his assistant GM. The two won a Stanley Cup together in 2012, before Hextall returned to Philadelphia.
Lombardi has been criticized in the past for being too loyal, giving contracts to players that are past their prime, but it seems that same loyalty may pay off with a new role with an old friend. Whether or not he still remains in the conversation for GM openings around the league is uncertain, though many in the coming years will look at his two Stanley Cup victories with envy and think he can still lead a team to glory.