CHICAGO -- This is how attached Mike Futa gets to the players he helps develop. When the Los Angeles Kings acquired Mike Richards, the veteran center who helped them win their first Stanley Cup, GM Dean Lombardi pulled Futa aside and broke the news. It was a trade that has worked out for both sides, but Lombardi knew it wouldn’t be easy on Futa, because it meant Wayne Simmonds was going the other way.

Simmonds was the first player Futa helped bring to the Kings organization, going to bat for him to be the 61st overall pick in the 2007 draft, Futa’s first with the organization. He also had him on his team in Owen Sound when he was the general manager there. They were close, still are. So Lombardi knew this deal was personal for Futa.

"He said, 'I'm trading your son,'" Futa said on Wednesday, with a laugh. "When you have these guys from a certain age, you look at them like they're your kids."

They become like family. It makes the trades hard but it also makes the good times even better, like winning a Cup.

Futa doesn’t just scout prospects, he immerses himself completely in their lives. He gets to know their family, their coaches. He offers advice. Like the time when Tanner Pearson first met him in the owners box in Barrie, watching a game and weighing advice from Futa on whether to play college hockey or play in the Ontario Hockey League. Or the relationship he formed with Tyler Toffoli's parents as Toffoli worked his way up through the lower levels.

“Futes has known my parents and I’m sure he knows everybody else's parents,” Toffoli said when we chatted Wednesday. “I know he takes the time, when he’s scouting players, he’s interested in taking the time to meet the family. That’s why we have the guys in the room we have today. Everybody gets along, we all buy into what Darryl [Sutter] and Dean have put together for us. That’s why we jell together.”

So when the Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012, it wasn’t just fun celebrating with the players; it was special to be with the parents as they achieved this hockey pinnacle together.

“It’s such a team production,” Futa said. “Seeing them as kids, being on the same ice, sharing a Stanley Cup with them is off the charts. You can’t put it into words. It’s not just them, it’s their parents, hugging their mums and dads. It puts a whole new perspective on why you’re in the game ... what it’s actually like to see the kids from that stage until they’re men and you’re both achieving your dreams at the same time. It’s kind of cool.”

The bonds he has forged with the players coming up through the Kings' system along with his ability to identify them at a young age made Futa a hot property on the GM market this year. He interviewed with the Buffalo Sabres for the job that ultimately went to Tim Murray, and gave Murray a good run for the position. Early on when the Vancouver GM job opened up, he was in the mix before Lombardi put an end to all of it.

They’d been talking about a new position in the organization, and Futa’s rising stock in the hockey world helped expedite the process. In early May, the Kings announced that Futa had been promoted to vice president of hockey operations and director of player personnel. It's a job title that Kings adviser Jack Ferreira cracked was too long to fit on any business card.

It also means he’s not going anywhere, which is too bad for fans in Washington and Pittsburgh, two clubs looking for a new general manager.