I interrupt my season preview of the NHL’s divisions for the upcoming season to turn attention to Friday's news of the Los Angeles Kings waiving veteran goaltender Dan Cloutier.
This is admittedly a surprising turn of events that caught most observers off-guard, particularly the timing of this move by the Kings considering there’s still over a week remaining in training camp before the official start of the season.
Cloutier has once again struggled to regain the form that made him a consecutive 30-game winner for three straight seasons with the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the decade. It was former Canucks-turned-Kings head coach Marc Crawford vouching for Cloutier that convinced GM Dean Lombardi to acquire him, a move that tops the list of complaints of Lombardi’s critics.
Injuries have hampered Cloutier since arriving from Vancouver two years ago, making the Kings goaltending the club’s Achilles heel and preventing the club from gaining any ground in the Western Conference standings last season.
So where does this situation go from here?
First, despite the obvious rise of trade speculation linking the Kings to the Ottawa Senators (Martin Gerber) and Toronto Maple Leafs (Andrew Raycroft), it appears unlikely Lombardi is going to pull the trigger on a deal just yet.
The plan appears to be to shipping Cloutier to the minors to allow him more time to round back into shape whilst allowing surprising prospect Jonathan Bernier an opportunity to perhaps secure a permanent spot on the roster.
As Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail observed, this also gives Lombardi the option to demote Bernier back to Junior by his 11th NHL game thus avoiding paying him his NHL contract should he falter by that point. By which time, hopefully, Cloutier may be close to being NHL-ready and recalled.
Duhatschek also notes the risk of recalling Cloutier for the Kings, as a rival could pluck him off re-entry waivers leaving the Kings on the hook for half his salary. Cloutier with a $1.55 million salary could be more enticing than Cloutier with $3.1 million.
Even that opportunity may not be attractive to rival clubs, particularly if the scouting report on him by that point doesn’t indicate significant improvement to at least make him a reliable NHL backup.
If Bernier continues to shine and if J.S. Aubin or Jason LaBarbera grab the starter’s role, Cloutier can spend more time in the minors regaining his mojo whilst keeping his $3.1 million salary off the Kings payroll.
At this point, it appears Lombardi could start the season with a tandem of Labarbera and Bernier or Aubin.
Only if these options fail to pan out could Lombardi then be forced into the trade market, but even then that’s not a given. Free agents Curtis Joseph and Robert Esche remain available and eager to prove they’ve still got more left in the tank, and could be more affordable options that adding more salary and giving up an asset or two.
Cap space and dollars have to be considered, something some rumormongers tend to overlook when they suggest Gerber or Raycroft heading to the Kings. Both carry salaries (Gerber’s $3.7 million, Raycroft’s $2 million) that simply may not be affordable options.
Besides, if their respective performances should increase enough to interest rival clubs, who says the Senators and Leafs will be keen to move them? Their situations could dictate that either guy may have made themselves invaluable to their current teams’ respective success.
As for Cloutier, this move could signal the beginning of the end of his NHL career. He’s got a lot of work ahead to regain his status.
This confused me just because I didn't think it made any sense. If anything, I think it makes the goal tending worse, but I'm not complaining cuz I'm a sharks fan.
How on earth could this move possibly make the King's goal tending situation worse than it was last year? The only thing that confused me was why the heck the Kings signed this guy in the first place. In terms of ability, Cloutier was no better than what we already had at the time in Garon and LaBarbera. Injured or healthy, Cloutier was horrible from start to finish. Maybe with exception to Roman Cechmanek, Dan Cloutier was the biggest goalie busts in L.A. history. The Kings would have been better off with 40-year-old Sean Burke in net all year long. I am relieved he is gone.
Cloutier for 1.55 is more enticing than Cloutier at 3.1, but even Cloutier for 1.55 is not very enticing. I'd rather have Cujo...or hell, even Belfour for the 1M or less they'd command...
As a Kings fan, this is a good move for all the reasons that Spector pointed out. It covers a lot of likely scenarios that the team will face goaltending wise. But more so, this is a move that boosts not only the players' confidence but also the fan base.
Cloutier's arrival was already met with skepticism amidst all the turmoil and transition the club was experiencing. His overall play did not win him many fans (yours truly included) and this move will help clear things up.
The team did not get Luongo or Vokoun so it's all up to who's around. Unfortunately around LaBarbera, Aubin and Bernier, "Clouts" was on the outside looking in. I hope he manages to redeem himself in the minors for what that's worth...
I know the cap mucks it up but getting either Gerber or Raycroft would be an upgrade. Gerber (my pick) has proven he can be great but I wonder if he's logged too many rough miles in his short NHL career. Speaking of mojo, I hope Gerber hasn't lost too much of his after carrying the Hurricanes on his back for most of the '05-'06 season.
Raycroft has proven he can be steady and has room to take his game into the next level.
1) If the Kings decide to trade for a Gerber or raycroft(Mistakes in our opinion) they would have PLENTY of cap space to fit them in!
2) Even before the Cloutier demotion, the Kings had some space. With him gone, they could add a Gerber or Raycroft and not be significantly affected.
Listen, I'm a Habs fan, we got a 2-0 lead against Gerber and his Hurricanes back in '06. He had the flu and lost something like 15 pounds which explains why he played so badly. Cam Ward got a lucky break and rode it to the Cup! Gerber should get more credit for his part in Carolina winning the Cup. I personally believe he is better than both Ward and Emery, but not Price Ha Ha!
Well if anything the real winner in this situation could turn out to be Ottawa, considering they are desperately looking for anyone to pony up the funds to take Gerber off their hands. Now if he outplays Emery, well then the jury's out. Cloutier has been an unmitigated disaster start to finish and I'm sure Lombardi and company would like nothing more than to gladly pay half (or more) of his salary to get him off the books. I can't imagine anyone really having a problem with this, it was evident the Kings were going to have difficulty between the pipes barring a trade anyway and why pretend that Cloutier was the answer? Maybe heading off on the bus will ignite the spark in him..and then he'll let in a goal from the blue line in the playoffs and we'll be right back where we started. Let the kids play.
It'll be interesting to see how things end up now that Bernier is going to get a look. I saw him play a lot in Lewiston in the juniors over the past few years, and he's better than almost any other goalie I've seen at his age.
As for Cloutier, would the Kings really be bothered if someone picked him up off waivers? Sure they'd be on the hook for half his salary--but it'd be better to be winning games with Labarbara/Bernier than winning no games with Cloutier and ALL of his salary. Besides, the Kings have some great goalies in the wings right now anyway--John Quick is going to be turning some heads real soon. To me, at this point in his career, Cloutier would be no big loss.
LaBarbera deserves the shot, and if it doesn't work it's no worse than what they would get out of Cloutier.
Toaster - Having watched Quick the last couple of years I have to agree that he could be turning some heads in the future. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the next level.
Mottazuma - I don't know, Mike Blake, Jammie Storr and Denis DeJordy come to mind when thinking about poor Kings goaltenders.
Gregsky - In using the term bust I mean the salary paid to performance given ratio. Like Cechmanek, Cloutier was paid copious amounts of cash to specifically be the team's number one goalie and failed to keep that position for more than one season. At less than one third of the salary, Jaime Storr played in 173 games for the Kings, posted 42 victories and had a goals against average that was a goal and a half less than Cloutier's. Even if you just compare Jamie's rookie season with Cloutier's 2006 numbers, Jaime comes out the winer. Sure, Jamie never secured the starting position as he was drafted to do and was ultimately a disappointment, but at least he gave the Kings a few productive seasons as a #2. Cloutier wasn't even reliable enough to be a backup.
As for Blake and DeJordy, if my intent was to simply point out bad or mediocre Kings goalies of the past 30 years, I don't think foxsports.com would have enough bandwidth to post the list on their site.
Bernier has apparently outplayed every goalie in the Kings organization and my estimate is they will reward the kid with a 9 game taste of the NHL before sending him back to Lewiston.
Shuttling Cloutier back and forth between Manchester and L.A. isn't that big a deal unless your Dan Cloutier. No one is going to claim him unless they are desperate for a goalie and/or if Cloutier plays like Patrick Roy in the AHL. And by desperate I mean DESPERATE(!!!!).
The Kings goalie shuffle makes me grimace at times, but I'm thrilled that Jonathan Bernier may be the real deal. Only time will tell.
Cloutier has been a basic bust since h left Vancouver, even there, he had up and down injury riddled seasons. Time to retire Danny boy, can ya hear the hills a callin?
I admit that my hockey knowledge is limited, but in the few times that I saw him, I was really impressed with LaBarbera. Am I wrong? Why is he not given the chance at the full-time job? He certainly can't do worse than Cloutier.
LaBarbera has been shaky in extended stays with the big club. Cloutier is another example of the team around him actually making him a better player. Vancouver had some good teams in front of him. LA is a young, building team that could be good in a few years, but right now they just aren't that good.
Mottazuma - Fair enough. I guess it was the "in L.A. history" part that threw me off on your point about compairable to salary paid. My point with Storr was that he was hyped to be the "big future" in net and pretty much laid an egg when they handed him the reins in 2000 due to Potvin's troubles. As for DeJordy I was thinking about the season (1970? maybe, not sure) where he was the #1 and lost something like 30 games with a GAA of near 4.00 - that pretty much sealed his fate.
Watching LaBarbera in Hartford was nothing short of impressive. I'm surprised he hasn't had a major shot in the big league. I think once given a real shot at it, he'll be a great fit for the Kings.
In other news, I'll enjoy every visit from the Monarchs. Watching the up-and-coming Rangers eat Cloutier (a former Rangers, believe it or not) alive is going to be fun.
i watched, in horror, every single game Cloutier 'played' last year. It wasn't just poor technigue, or inability to excell because of injuries, or even bad defensive play in front of him. No, Cloutier absolutely sucked!!! I have never seen an NHL goaltender play as badly as Danny boy performed last season.
Why even send him to the minors? I will NEVER attend or watch a game that Cloutier plays in ever again. I hope he plays himself out of the AHL just like he played himself out of the NHL, and ends up in the ECHL or a beer league.
That said, Jason LaBarbara has a golden opportunity to be a #1 NHL goaltender. He is in shape, and is coming off an excellent season in the AHL, albeit a season in which there was no pressure on him. Bernier might play 10 games, but I think we all know the risks of exposing a young keeper to the ultrafast crease crashing NHL.
Junior hockey is just not the same as the show. Bernier has a huge upside, but his time is far off.
Hell, even Fukufuji had a great AHL stint last year, so lets not get too excited. This a team without a captain after all. Go KIngs Go!!!
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
