Surgery for LaBarbera

YES, I'm a LaBarbara basher. Figured I'd get that out of the way. :)

I hope he recovers quickly....preferably before the draft....that way the Kings can deal him.

Ya gave it yer best shot kid....yer just not cut out fer dis kinda ting.

glad to hear we'll be seeing more of ersberg, i was excited when he was signed and he has definitely shown he is more than capable of being a competent nhl goalie

aww shit. get well soon labs.

Ersberg, do not blow this chance.

Unless DL literally builds a brick wall across the net each night, it really doesn't matter who's between the pipes. The bastard mutant love child of Roy, Brodeur, and Toe Blake couldn't win without a functional defense, and we ain't got one. Sorry to hear Labs is hurt, but Ersberg is not going to "fix" the problem. More likely, the lack of competent defensemen pushes him out the door. Legace, Garon, and Huet will have company in the "Success After LA" club.

Ersberg has been solid, but he better learn to play his size. On that Tkachuk goal he went down way too early and being a smaller guy left the entire top of the net open. I had to wince on that one. Didn't love the game winner either. Hopefully with the vote of confidence and playing time he'll watch some Kiprusoff videos.

@ Paul

Labarbera will be an UFA at the end of this season. The only way to deal him would be to get him to re-sign and trade him shortly thereafter.

This sucks for Labs but I am glad we will get a better look at Ersberg. Hopefully they shelf Cloutier and just buy him out in the offseason. Next season I want to see a Ersberg/Bernier combo!

Whoops. >.

ok... welcome to the goalie shuffle, mr. ersberg! hopefully our man EE can at least be a solid presence in net for the time being. we know the defense won't help him much as it is.

When I was driving to practice today,I saw a bunch of big guys on the field.I thought for a second that it could possibly be them but I didnt believe it. Then I got to practice and it was only 4 guys.It all makes sense now. haha

Ersberg/Bernier Combo sounds like something you'd order at Denny's "Yes, I'd like the Ersberg/Bernier Combo with a side of bacon..." In all reality Ersberg has played well even though he hasn't won a game yet. He has shown poise, solid reflexes, quickness and a good glove hand. Truthfully though with our defense it won't really matter. A goalie can only keep you in it for so long and last night he weathered the storm early agains the Blues. I am rooting for him though. I hope he shows DL he's ready for the NHL.

Erik Ersberg 0-1-2 SV%.929 GAA 2.34

Guys, what do you think about this:

Lord Cammalleri
Antonio Labarbera
-to Nashville

Ryan Suter (D)
Shea Weber (D)
-to L.A.

Put Jeff Zatkoff (the human wall in the NCAA ranks) in nets.

It wuld almost solve all our problems.
Thoughts

Deano if you trade his highness and not re-sign Blake, we'll call it even.
Start new.

Bleh. Note to self, don't use emoticons here. So yeah, like I was saying. I was wrong and on nhlnumbers.com I was looking at the wrong spot so Labs has another year on his contract. But it doesn't much matter because he has little to no trade value for being so injury prone and just coming off of surgery.

why would nashville give up both of their young, stud d-men for an average goalie and a decent top 6 forward?

come on anthony...

Does anyone else think Anthony should be banned from making comments. I think my IQ drops every time I read one of his posts. Get a clue man. Do you watch hockey? You've already proved you know nothing about the Kings, but trade proposals like that show that you know nothing about any other team either.

Anthony......ahhhhh forget it. No matter how well I explained it, you wouldn't get it.

Okay here's my trade idea:
Jamie Storr + Keith Van Horn (yes we can get him out of retirement to play hockey too) for Ryan Miller.

Thoughts? Comments.

@jkwonda: that's very very funny. After a Weekend At Bernier's when you eat too much LuboCookies you have to get your system back to normal with some Eggs with Ersberg sauce. Hold the Sully.

Anze's ("Anzeeee" if you're a Columbus announcer) name should never be used in a food related joke. Ever.

On a side note people were wondering who the King's captain should be next year and I think it's either Brownie or maybe a re-signed Norstrom reclaiming his C.

My goal in life is not to become a bitter and jaded Kings fan, despite the last 5yrs or so, but I think next year we're only 3 players short of a vastly different team: 2 D'men (i dunno if Norstrom is one of those) and an above average goalie who can steal a game here and there

LaBarbera, the Human Rebound Machine, will not be missed. Why everybody pined for him last season during his banishment to the minors, it's hard to fathom right now. Sure, he won an MVP Award, but AHL hockey ain't the bigs, buddy.

Ersberg shows potential and already has exhibited skills with the glove that Jason just does not have. When both he and Cloutier are jettisoned off the payroll at season's end, it will open up an opportunity for Ersberg, Bernier or perhaps some capable free-agent goalie if Lombardi knows anything about building a hockey club. Every good NHL exec will tell you, it all starts with your netminder. The Kings rank near the top of the league in goals-scored, but with a sieve in goal, there is no hope until a proven backstop suits up in Los Angeles. It might be Bernier. It might be Ersberg. Or it might be a goalie playing out his contract someplace else right now.

Anybody know who the free-agent candidates are for next season when it comes to goaltenders?

Imagine we snagged Commodore as a UFA and somehow pried Gleason away from the Hurricanes?

RAVE ON ANTHONY, RAVE ON!!!
I for one enjoy Anthony's posts and will often scan down to read his first then laugh at all the responses that follow.
Sure, he's a character and his comments can be critical, devoid of fact and downright outlandish but there are times when he hits the nail right on the head too. Agree or disagree, you cant say Anthony isn't funny and no one should be band for a difference of opinion.

"Start new"
That is too funny!

Welcome back Rich! You were missed. Rave on!

Here's an odd thought....
Best wishes to Jason on a speedy recovery.

Question: Since I am not a doctor I am wondering, could that spear by Ryan Smyth have been the cause of this injury? I know it was reported a ribs injury but, having hurt my ribs a few years ago, I really had a hard time believing he could come back that fast from dislocated ribs. I had serious pain for months. This injury has to have been a problem for him playing for some time regardless.

On another note, it's good to have you back Rich. Sorry Matt lost his job, but I do enjoy your posts more.

We should just bring Rick Knickle out of retierment.

Rick Knickle...that's a nutso reference

Jason Labarbera most probably would of had a decent season if he was playing on a team that had a descent team defense in front of him. Our team defense is atrocious. They get out muscled and out worked along the boards and they have a problem with the coverage in front of their net. Any goalie playing in the nets for this team and the result would have been the same. When a team sends a defenseman to take draws that means our center iceman are not reliable. Handzous and Armstrong failed miserably all season long in that category. The penalty killing suffered directly due to lack of having a defensive center on the team. You can not just fault the D, because the guy in the middle is the third defenseman in your zone. So, Jason was not the problem back their. It was a combination of not having the right kind of players who could win face-offs on a consistent basis and defensemen that could not control the front of their net.

Roger

Well said Roger... Barbs did a solid job. I don't think he's a #1 but I wouldn't mind him backing up Bernier in the future.

IMO, How the goalies have looked so far this season.

Ersberg
Barbs
Bernier
Quick
Cloutier
Aubin