Dean Lombardi Dean Lombardi ( born 1958 in Holyoke , Massachusetts ) is president and general manager of the NHL ' s Los Angeles Kings . He previously served as GM of the San Jose Sharks , a position he held for seven seasons ( 1996 – 2003 ) . Early life . Lombardi grew up in Ludlow , Massachusetts , and was an All - Western Massachusetts forward for Ludlow High School for the 1974 – 75 season as a junior . As a senior Lombardi was a member of the Wallace Cup champion Springfield Olympics of the New England Junior Hockey League in 1975 – 76 for top talent developer Gary Dineen . Played two more seasons for Dineen , were he was selected to the All - America Junior hockey team . He played college hockey at top flight division 2 Elmira College freshman year , and tranferred to University of New Haven ( D2 ) where he was selected the scholar / athlete his senior year , and served as captain his junior and senior years . Lombardi graduated third in his class . Lombardi graduated with honors from Tulane University with a law degree specializing in labor law . He initially became a players agent under the tutelage of famed agent Art Kaminsky , and crossed over to the management side as an assistant general manager to Jack Ferreira with the Minnesota North Stars , from 1988 – 1990 before moving with Ferreira to the expansion San Jose Sharks . Named general manager of the Sharks in 1996 . Son - in - law to Hockey Hall of Fame player Bob Pulford , himself a former longtime NHL general manager . As GM . Upon taking over the San Jose Sharks , he was widely criticized for signing veterans . This move , however , proved to be beneficial while stockpiling the team ' s farm system with homegrown talent . During his tenure as Sharks GM , he drafted Patrick Marleau , Brad Stuart , Scott Hannan , Marco Sturm and Marcel Goc in the first round along with Jonathan Cheechoo , Mark Smith , Ryane Clowe and Christian Ehrhoff in the later rounds . He also traded for established veterans , including Owen Nolan , Teemu Selänne , Adam Graves , Vincent Damphousse , Mike Ricci , Kyle McLaren , Mike Vernon , Todd Harvey , Bryan Marchment and Scott Thornton , while developing their prospects slowly . All would become vital in the Sharks success during his tenure . The team would increase their point totals for six straight seasons during his guidance , becoming only the second GM in NHL history to accomplish the feat . Only Hockey Hall of Fame GM Bill Torrey accomplished the same feat overseeing the dynasty of the New York Islanders in the early 1980s . Lombardi was relieved of his duties , along with head coach Darryl Sutter , late in the 2002 – 03 NHL season , a season in which many felt the Sharks would go deep in the playoffs , but struggled with a slow start , and never recovered . This could be mainly attributed to the lengthy contract hold - out of star goalie Nabokov . Shortly after his firing he was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers as a Western Conference scout , a position he held until April 2006 when he was appointed president and general manager of the Los Angeles Kings . He will attempt to re - establish the team and its farm system with similar building and drafting strategies as he did with the Sharks , though the salary cap now comes into play . As of the conclusion of the 2008 - 09 season the Kings have yet to make the playoffs , though they have improved , albeit slightly , in wins and points under Lombardi ' s watch . However the Kings , despite aggressive moves by Lombardi , remain a second - tier team in the Western Conference . His five draft picks during his tenure include Jonathan Bernier ( 11th overall ) and Trevor Lewis ( 17 ) in 2006 , Thomas Hickey ( 4 ) in 2007 , and Drew Doughty ( 2 ) and Colton Teubert ( 13 ) in 2008 . Of those draft picks , only Doughty was on the Kings roster at the end of the ' 08 - 09 season . Bernier , Hickey , and Lewis are with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League , the Kings top farm club .