When you look at the teams near the top of each division, most of them have at least one thing in common. Their goaltending is playing at a high level and usually locked in for years to come.
For the Los Angeles Kings, tied for the Pacific Division lead, neither part is really true, despite recent results. Pheonix Copley, who they have relied on recently, is 15-3-1 on the year but (incredibly) holds a save percentage of .897. Some will argue he makes the important saves, but the clock also might be close to striking midnight on that Cinderella story.
Their other goaltenders – Jonathan Quick and Calvin Petersen – have been even worse. Petersen is in the minor leagues after clearing waivers but is the only goalie in the entire organization that is signed past this season. So some might wonder if the Kings will be on the lookout for an upgrade in net at the deadline.
According to Pierre LeBrun on TSN’s recent Insider Trading, the goaltending search may end up stretching into the summer. The Kings are not interested in deadline rentals like Antti Raanta or Cam Talbot, and are instead looking for a long-term answer.
Where that answer comes from is unclear, especially when Petersen is already soaking up $5MM per season playing in the AHL. Nearly $4MM of that cap hit remains on the books through 2024-25 even if he stays in the minor leagues, making any big free agent goaltending addition a little bit more challenging.
If you have 3 goalies you don’t have any. Without solid play in net this will be a lost season for the Kings, If I were in charge and knowing the assets the club has I’d be on the phone with Verbeek asking what it might take to get Gibson, The Ducks may be reluctant to do business with a big division rival but you have to try.
Funny how I’ve been (also) thinking Gibson could be in play here… there’s (on the surface) a few different moves that could be made w/Petersen to Anaheim in the deal, even if he’s sub-par for an NHL netminder. Anaheim should be able to take his salary no prob after dumping Gibson’s and whatever other pieces get tossed into this figurative deal…
Because even if Gibson isn’t playing his best hockey of his career, he’s still a major upgrade over all three of the Kings current goaltenders…
Whoever it is, Blake needs to bring in someone since Quick will cause them to miss the post-season entirely if he remains our backup. cheers, -Swiney #GoKings
I think it’s more likely the Ducks trade Stolarz since he’s a FA after the season. Stolarz for Peterson and a couple prospects should do it.
Pens need to resign Jarry ASAP.
Maybe GMKA will trade the Kings Comrie for a 2023 1st? ;)
Demko for Petterson (retain $2M) Roy, Turcotte
@Johnny Z—Cal Petersen has a 10-team NTC, and the odds of him not listing all 7 Canadian teams, is probably low. Not impossible, mind you, but not as encouraging as no protection would be.
I think Cal might wanna better shot at playing in the NHL than be stuck in the AHL…… he is posting a .912 in Ontario.
@Johnny Z—That’s understandable, but we’re also talking about the destination known as Vancouver. Could he actually trust GMJR and Allvin to give him a legit chance to succeed? And, knowing how that team is a bit dysfunctional right now, staying in Ontario might look more promising, as bizarre as that sounds. Under normal circumstances, it would be an easy choice to waive the NTC and go, knowing that you’d be looked at as the de facto #1.
Canucks do have an amazing goalie coach
@pawtucket—One thing I don’t hear much of is criticism of the job Ian Clark is doing there. Not a sniff. Ian, though, may not have a lot of influence on the defensive play of the blueliners or the forwards. We’ll have to wait a while to see if the coaching staff can make a dent there.
Jack Campbell for Cal Petersen and a 3rd rounder? Thoughts??? It would be nice to have Soupy back with Ranford to help him get his head back on straight.
@vicd93 – Jack’s getting a bit better, thanks to listening to the likes of Kevin Woodley and others, who strongly suggested he change his equipment to be more in line with his playing style. Will he continue on that trend to a possible playoff spot? Time will tell. If he can build his confidence against teams that probably aren’t playoff-bound, it will help when they face several upcoming games against a murderer’s row.
Kings would have to eat salary or send a better pick (or more).
Saros, offer a package Nashville can’t refuse
@Donovan Voigt – That might have to be a 25-year-old Pekks, in prime form.
They need a healthy Thatcher Demko.
The Capitals sure seem to produce goalies and spin them off.. Copley, Grubauer, Varmalov, Samsonov, Vanecek