Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
The hits just keep on coming
The Kings continue to be movers and shakers in the third day of free agency, when they signed defenseman Brad Stuart to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. Stuart's signing bolsters an already improved blueline from last season, with the addition of Tom Preissing. he also improves the Kings' power play, with a wicked cannon of a shot and a gift of making outlet passes.
Stuart was originally the third overall pick in 1998 by... wait for it... Dean Lombardi and the San Jose Sharks. He was eventually moved to Boston for future All-World center Joe Thornton. After he was dealt to the Flames last season, he didn't hit his stride until late in the year.
The trend that seems to be occuring is Lombardi signing guys who need to proof themselves. Nagy's one-year contract should spur him on to play for a new contract next season. If Stuart plays up to his potential, he could once again be among the top defensemen available next season. There's nothing like having players who play with chips on their shoulders.
Now the Kings have three decent defensive lines: Blake and Visnovsky, Stuart and Johnson, Preissing and Calder. Of course, Coach Crawford mixes up his lines on a nearly game-by-game basis, but that's it in a nutshell. According to Scott Burnside of ESPN.com, the Kings now have two of the top UFAs on defense, as well as two of the top free agent forwards available.
In other news, the Kings agreed to a two-year deal with Jason LaBarbera. This firms up my belief that L.A. will be going with a Cloutier/LaBarbera tandem going into training camp. Whoever comes out on top will have arguably the best defensive corps the team has had in a long time. Although fans may be delirious from the rapid-fire signings over the past two days, some may be disappointed that the Kings aren't trying to get a goalie as well.
But Dean has hinted all along that LaBarbera and Cloutier were going to be numbers 1 and 1A going into camp. Cloutier is believed to have gotten past his multitude of injuries, and LaBarbera is ready to prove he is capable of playing full-time in the NHL next season.
All in all, things just got a little more interesting in Hockeywood this week.
