sentences:  Lombardi's employment was terminated 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 goaltender Evgeni 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.