The Los Angeles Kings added veteran depth to the defense corps today, claiming blueliner Randy Jones off re-entry waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers. 

Jones' .75 million salary will be split between the Kings and Flyers. It's been suggested the Flyers did this move deliberately in order to get his salary off their books but according to Flyers GM Paul Holmgren that wasn't the case, saying no one had asked him to put Jones on re-entry waivers.

Holmgren had hoped to add Jones to his roster now that forward Simon Gagne has gone on long-term injury reserve, thus freeing up the necessary cap space for Jones' salary. 

Until today Jones' entire NHL career had been spent with the Flyers. His best season was 2007-08, with 5 goals and 31 points in 71 games. He should prove a valuable

For the majority of NHL fans, Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar remains a mystery. 

Whether it's due to the coverage of eastern-based stars like Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, the Kings woeful performances in recent seasons or a combination of both, most hockey fans have little idea who Kopitar is. 

So it's come as a surprise for those fans to see his name perched atop the NHL scoring race and goal-scoring leaders and second in assists nearly a month into this season. 

The first-ever Slovenian player in the NHL, Kopitar was selected 11th over by the Kings in the 2005 entry draft and made his debut with the Kings in 2006-07. He had a strong rookie season with 20 goals and 61 points but was overshadowed by Malkin, who won the Calder trophy as NHL rookie of the year. 

The Los Angeles Kings today kept a quality young defenseman in the fold, re-signing restricted free agent Jack Johnson to a two-year contract. 

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Johnson's new contract will be worth $1.425 million per season against the Kings salary cap, which is considerably lower than the $2 million-plus per season he was rumored seeking in internet speculation. 

The 22-year-old Johnson is considered a key part of the rebuilding Kings, but the strong rookie performance last season of Drew Doughty combined with GM Dean Lombardi's habit of dealing away players with he's had difficult contract negotiations (Mike Cammalleri, Patrick O'Sullivan) led to considerable internet trade speculation since the spring.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for

Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi hoped to land a quality veteran forward via this summer's unrestricted free agent market but when he came up short opted to go the trade route. 

Having missed out on signing Marian Hossa and Mike Knuble, Lombardi on Friday dealt defensemen Tom Preissing and Kyle Quincey plus a fifth round pick in 2010 to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Ryan Smyth. 

It's a surprising move by Lombardi considering what he was trying to land via free agency and an interesting one. 

Smyth, 33, is coming off a 26-goal, 59 point performance in 77 games with the woeful Avalanche last season. The fourteen year veteran is respected for his gritty two-way play and his leadership, which should make him a good addition to a young Kings