He most recently served as the president, general manager, and alternate governor of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The next season (1975–76), as a senior, Lombardi was a member of the Wallace Cup champion Springfield Olympics of the New England Junior Hockey League, where he played for top talent developer Gary Dineen.
The team would increase their point total for six straight seasons during his guidance, becoming only the second general manager in NHL history to accomplish the feat.
Only Hall of Fame general manager Bill Torrey accomplished more consecutive seasons of increased point totals, seven (1972–1979), in his overseeing the dynasty of the New York Islanders into the early 1980s.
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.
Lombardi also complemented the draft picks with solid veteran signings and trades for Dustin Penner, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, among others.
The following season, the Kings won the same number of games (46) and had 98 points, but were again defeated in the first-round, this time by his former team, the San Jose Sharks.
The Kings started the 2011–12 NHL season slowly, going 13–12–4, a record that resulted in Lombardi's firing of head coach Terry Murray.
The Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP was goaltender Jonathan Quick, a product of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst of the Hockey East conference.
He also highly complimented his predecessor Dave Taylor of laying the foundation with keen draft picks, including Anže Kopitar.