deadmarsh20a
The Return of LaBarbera
Posted 8:00 PM ET | Comments 0
Now living in L.A. and reading the spordaic L.A. Times Column on the Kings has taught me one thing I already knew, everyone wants Jason back. I pose you this question, why? Yes he was robbed of AHL MVP last year and yes he is the best goalie we have short of forcing a strike in the juniors ending their season early and getting Bernier back. But without we fell to the last place, by letting Phoenix past us. You can blame that on goaltending, scheduling, injuries, or even the controversory surronding Cro and the infamous Beruzzi hit. Either way it happened. With Jason we were in second to last still saying goaltending needed to be shored up. We still could not put the little black thing in the thing we with string and twisted metal. Cammy was in a slump. Handzus and Army's hot streaks of five goals were no where near what number 13's production coul have been. You can even through Preissing and Blake in there who both scored during Minnesota and Dallas to avoid shutouts and then you are probably about half way to Cammys production. Since LaBarbera's absence, not counting the one where he has been in net and not played, Nagy, Frolov, Preissing, and Frolov have all missed games. They were replaced by Willsie, Thornton, Scott not Joe, Gauthier, Giuliano, and Dallman who had one goal altogether. There is a rumor that Toronto is shopping around Andrew Raycroft, and apparently the Kings have called. The Kings need to develop a goalie. In the big leagues we currently have LaBabera and Aubin who are currently C's-D's then you have in the AHL Erksberg, Quick, Taylor, and Dan Cloutier, who is saying "remember me". Side note Cloutier is shut down with is knee acting up again but he will return within a month and a half. Then you have Bernier and Zatkoff in juniors, both first rounders. So take any one of the guys in Juniors or in the minors and using Danny Boy groom him. Don't waste your trade stock on Raycroft who hasn;t been good since he won the Calder. Use it for some one who can score, who is in his prime or is a proven youngster, Stastny or Wolski. LaBarbera is okay but him coming off of IR means nothing. We are not going anywhere. Kings fans don't rejoice don't watch tonights game. I suggest preparing for the long hard winter we are going to have here in Los Angeles.