GM Dean Lombardi: Mike Futa 'will remain a Los Angeles King'

Teams seeking front office help need not look to Mike Futa of the Los Angeles Kings.

Futa, the club's vice president of hockey operations and director of player personnel, is oft mentioned as a candidate to take on a general manager position, and was recently reported to be in the mix for the Toronto Maple Leafs' vacancy.

But according to Kings GM Dean Lombardi - who spoke recently to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider - Futa isn't going anywhere, for the time being at least.

"Mike Futa is still a Los Angeles King and will remain a Los Angeles King," Lombardi declared. "You don’t think the guy could jump ship now, right? … There’s a big challenge ahead of us."

The challenge at hand, of course, is getting the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup champions back into the playoffs following a down season.

Futa has been with the organization since 2007, assuming his current position following a run as the director of amateur scouting. He's credited with targeting the likes of Drew Doughty, Tyler Toffoli, and Tanner Pearson in the draft, as well as the free-agent addition of Jake Muzzin.

Needless to say he's had a major impact on the Kings' recent success, and will be tasked with helping them rebound in 2015-16.