What will you remember most?

was this hit a blunder? I thought it was not the correct call.

minor penalty would have been correct. turnover was much worse

I will remember that he takes bad penalties and makes turnovers, but some fans seem to think hes a great on the PK is that cause hes in the box?

A diving elbow to the head of a player at 25 miles per hour that gave him a concussion is equal to a 2 minute penalty?

I hope he is never in a Kings uniform again. He wasn't worth the 2nd rounder we got with him at this point.

Gauthier = the Dan Cloutier of defensemen. Get him the hell out of here before he destroys our playoff hopes.

"A Minor"? Brianguy, check the rulebook. Gauthier left his feet and Gorges was groggy and bleeding. Major Penalty and he should receive at least a one game suspension without pay and a fine.

Gauthier's hit turned the game ugly and forced the Kings to concentrate more on avoiding retribution hits than on trying to win the game.

Sure, the Kings need an enforcer, but they should be seeking a Parros-type, not a Bertuzzi.

The Gauthier hit got covered up by the Higgins noncall. I will always remember Gauthier as a turn over machine, and a defensemen that is not better then Harrold.

Brianguy...
I think I would have to disagree about his hit not being a blunder. The kings were already down one guy and his hit, regardless of wether or not you thought it was dirty, was still a penalty and put the kings down by two men. In my books that was careless and stupid and therefore a blunder.
If I remember correctly though, his turnover was either the tying or the winning goal late in the third and his hit was early in the first so... I would have to go with the turnover. If I were Murray I would see if I could give this guy away. Untimely penalties and constant mishaps in his own zone make him a huge liability and, as others have said before, he belongs in the AHL or on another team.

The turnover. No question about it

The Detroit turnover set the tone for the year, so probably that one. But the biggest blunder of all is continuing to play him.

I think the penalty call against Gauthier was laughable. I wouldn't have given him even 2 minutes.
Maybe it was the horrible quality of the replay on NHL.com, but I didn't see him a)leap of his feet, or b) raise his elbow.
A bunch of BS if you ask me.

In reference to the title of this thread: did Denis get traded or did he pass away last night? Why are we remembering him?
Personally, I'll remember Gauthier getting demonized by Kings fans for a couple of bad decisions. He makes a bad play and gets crucified, Doughty makes a bad play and everyone wants him to win the Calder Trophy. It's quite silly and embarrassing, really.

Finally, in the end I'll probably remember Terry Murray matching up the 4th line and 3rd defensive pairing EVERY GAME and all the goals that resulted from it. I can't for the life of me figure out what the heck this coach is thinking most of the time.

Good Times.

The turnover was by far the worst play of the season. I not only can't stand the Red Wings as a team, but I absolutely HATE their bandwagon fans. I maybe saw like 4 or 5 real fans at the last Red Wings game (wearing denim jackets with old tattered Detroit hats and looking like they just got off of the assembly line at Ford). Gauthier is by far the worst defensemen since..since..I don't even know! Get him out of there so we can win some games, because it seems like we lose whenever he plays.

Ya there was definitely some air and an elbow to the head. You must have seen a really bad reply eat the rich. Also there are way more then a couple blunders from Gauthier. But if you'd rather have Gauthier out there then Someone like Harrold, then that's your opinion. Also, Doughty is a rookie.

Perhaps since he was bleeding and groggy, the Kings can provide Gorges with a signed team stick and a visit to the Kings locker room....

Gauthier is quite terrible, but I'll remember Higgins throwing Doughty more.

The Goat is a noted member of the Murray and Lombardi and Hextall connection to Philly.Just stop it guys,it doesn't work .Anytime an associate they know, that they think could help the team, should be made to pass the litmus test.You will find every blunder and in particular the free agent signings this club has made have been failures.Makes you wonder if Management might need some substance testing as well.Failure.

Definitely the turnover. When they finish teaching kids how to skate and hold a stick, the first thing they teach you is "DON'T PASS IT UP THE MIDDLE!" I have been wishing they'd get rid of him since that day. I don't know what TM and DL see in that guy, but it's not what I see. I'd let Preissing play over him. I'd let Harrold play over him. I'd let my mom play over him! No offense, I'm sure he's a nice guy, he's just not a very good hockey player.

I wouldn't be sad if he got suspended. That's a few games with him out of our lineup.

I agree with Brianguy here. Everyone seems to be judging Gauthier's hit from the result and not the actual hit itself.

The way I see it, (and what the replay shows), is at the point of contact Gauthier's skates were on the ice.
Gorge's upper body was immateriality halted by the hit BUT the momentum of the lower half of his body continued forward, hitting Gauthier and propelling him into the air.

Was it an elbow or a forearm? That's debatable.
Was it an illegal check to the head? Absolutely.
Was it charging, leaping through the air in a vicious attempt to injure another player? I don't see it that way.

Komeserik's attempt to elbow O' Sullivan was much more premeditated, Sully was just lucky he kept his head up and ducked out of it in time. Otherwise everyone would be singing a different tune right now. Komeserik did the same thing yesterday in the closing minutes of MTL's loss to the Bruins but he got called for that one.

Gauthier's will get approx 7 games because of his past record and because it was a MTL player. End of story...

Jonny,

I'd rather have Harrold out there than Gauthier. Again, the coaching decisions make me scratch my head.

3rd period breakdown in Detroit earlier this season - Doughty passes right up the middle to Lidstrom who skates in, shoots, and assists on the goal off the rebound while Doughty doesn't back-check on the rebound-shooter. I don't care if the kid is 19, we're trying to win games.
PLAY HARROLD MORE, coach, especially late in games when you're leading...

Plus, don't forget Doughty's horrible play against Calgary where he let Langkow beat him to the front of the net to get the game winner. Murray chose to blame that one on Kopitar.
Another come from ahead loss.

Why are you asking this question? Is it in anticipation of his never playing another game for the Kings? The guy is a 7th defenseman on most NHL teams, who has made a living off cheap shots and bad decision making. I'll remember him best for duping Lombardi into believing he could contribute to this team.

Quick hire Hartsburg,he just got let go from Ottawa by TM's brother Bryan Murray.

Funny--this thread is almost offered as a hockey obituary to Gauthier's career... Jill--do you know something we don't know?

No question about it, though. The Detroit turnover will never go away, no matter how I try to forget it. Just like the Higgins forearm/goal non-penalty and McSorley's curved stick penalty.

"The trip we made to Hollywood is etched upon my mind… The things you think are useless I can't understand."

Hahaha, what are you really trying to say, Rich? Are sources telling you this guy is as good as done? I'm thinking he is, even though he's made some good attempts to help move the Kings in the right direction.

Either way, I can't see this guy playing for the Kings for much longer, given that he was probably brought in to provide some toughness, but mainly as some competition for the youngsters.

Ersberg: this one was posted by Jill.

the turnover directly cost us the Detroit game, whereas i'm more inclined to blame the refs for the Montreal fiasco. either way, i'm sick of Gauthier.

Right, but, doesn't she get the info from Rich? It's Rich's blog..

No disrespect to Jill.

Turnover is much worse. I'll take an over aggressive hit any day.

Not a fan of any of his moments. Please let Hicky or someone else start playing instead.

I hate to say it, but I agree with Avery's assessment of Denis after he gaffled Jeremy.

We'll always have The Price is Right...

Did Gauthier just get released?

It seems we are speaking of him in the past sense, as if he is already gone.

Am I missing something here?

everyone needs to look at the hit again.. First off, Gorges skated the entire length of the ice, untouched until Gauthier stopped him. Second, Gorges had his head down, not protecting himself. If you look at the replay, and I have frame by frame, Gauthier's skate is on the ice at the moment of impact. His elbow is tucked in. Gorges's lower body hits Gauthier's lower body, throwing Gauthier high into the air.

Simply stated, Gauthier knocked the Chit out of Gorges. Will make someone think twice before skating end to end again. Great hit Gauthier. Keep bringing the toughness to the team. Can someone tell me why the player who "tried" to cheap shot O'Sullivan later in the game was penalized. Just cause Sully is a better skatr than Gorges, doesn't mean there should be no penalty.

KEEP IT UP GAUTHIER. TAKE THE GAME OR TWO AND COME BACK AND DO IT AGAIN.

I'll remember that we were lucky to have Gauthier handy when Johnson went down for half the season, potentially ruining our season.

I'll also remember that every game Gauthier was a healthy scratch our PK to a nose dive.
I'll also remember that OD has made many more turnovers than Goat, many of them just as costly as any Goat has made.

I'll remember Goat blocking more would be goals with his shins than anyone else on the team except for maybe Matt Greene.

I'll definately remember impassioned fans refusing to acknowledge any of these things Gauthier did for the Kings.

I'll also fondly remember the irrational outrage from those same fans the next time Gauthier steps on the ice in a Kings jersey. Subsequently I'll remember several losses that had nothing to do with Goat get blamed on him because its easier and more convenient to scapeGOAT (haha) than it is to say some teams beat us because they are better TEAMS.
I'll remember Brown losing his cool and our Captain costing us a game than I will Gauthier turning over a puck to Detroit, a team that has a long history of stomping on the Kings, regardless of there being anyone named Denis on the team.

Coming full circle, tho I prefer Harrold to Gauthier, I'll remember preferring Harrold-Gauthier pairing than Preissing dressing for a game, and being thrilled we weren't forced to dress an unready rookie or Preissing every game when JJ went down.

I'll remember that without Gauthier, we would never have seen the Harrold at forward experiment, something I think vastly helped Harrold's overall game and improvement this year.

I'll remember that this team has overachieved a bit and pleased me most nights with their effort, and that Gauthier was played a part in that.

I'll remember that all in all Gauthier was brought in as a stop-gap for toughness, and that he filled that role well. Ultimately Gauthier has done arguably more good than harm and that this team, especially when factoring in the injury to Johnson, IS lucky to have had a steady, tough option on defense, because as scary as Gauthier-Harrold have been at times, Preissing-Harrold is a far more frightening prospect.

Put this Jerk-Off on waivers already.
What's the team worried about - some other club picking him up.

That detroit turnover was completely unforgivable but what sticks out is when I was at the game against Tampa. Gauthier pinched at the offensive blueline to make a hit and left Harrold alone swinging in wind and Tampa scored. The know nothings at staples screamed at harrold and told him to go back to Manchester. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Gauthier is a visor wearing goon turnover machine. Harrold has gotten better as the seasons gone on but not Gauthier, he's done

While I can't say I'm a big fan people can't have both sides of the coin. We weren't tough enough, making people pay. The one thing this guy does is hit and he does it a lot. Doing that will come with penalties so you have to take the good with the bad.

On the turnover side, he has no excuse.

Funny--this thread is almost offered as a hockey obituary to Gauthier's career... Jill--do you know something we don't know?

No question about it, though. The Detroit turnover will never go away, no matter how I try to forget it. Just like the Higgins forearm/goal non-penalty and McSorley's curved stick penalty.

Perhaps Steely Dan said it best, speaking for Gauthier:
"…The trip we made to Hollywood is etched upon my mind. After all the things we’ve done and seen you find another man. The things you think are useless I can't understand…"

I recognized the 5 minute penalty as a turning point in the game, but I don't quite accept that it was warranted.

I've watched the hit a bunch of times and there's really no elbow, except the follow thru to the air. Brown has done the same thing to guys and rarely results in a penalty.

the blood was an indirect result of the hit, which was not a hit from behind. 2 minutes for charging (leaving one's feet). they called a major penalty becuase it's Mtl

I will remember his many turnovers behind the net that lead to goals.

If someone mentions Gauthier in a few seasons from now I'll just smile knowing that the Kings don't have to sign marginal NHL players to help fill a need. He seems like a good guy and plays hard, but he's one of those "bridge" guys that Lombardi had to bring in. One and done for Gauts.

I don't know why this blogger keeps ragging on Gauthier?? Gauthier is a solid defensman, he has grit, hes great on the penalty kill, he stands up for his teammates, good skater, good hitter, what more can you ask for out a sixth defensman? So he makes a few mistakes here and there, big deal, get over it. No offense to this blogger, but he has no idea what hockey is about, similar to most King fans. Hockey is a physical sport, and anybody who doubts fighting in hockey is not a hockey fan. I think Rich is his name, well Rich, i've read a few of your articles, and just like the hockey coverage in Southern California is lacking, so is your insight and knowledge when it comes to real hockey. If you need some tips Richy, let me know, I'll be glad to help

Hartsburg fired in Ottawa.

Us coming off the MTL BS, Ottawa losing a coach, I have a feeling this game is gonna be BRUTAL!!!

His turnover against Detroit.

Jill, great question and I've got to agree with the majority here. This is the Kings press release from the Wings game:

"Valtteri Filppula turned a turnover into the tying goal with 1:54 left in the third period, and the defending Stanley Cup champions got goals from Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in a shootout to beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Monday night. Defenseman Denis Gauthier was attempting a clearing pass deep in the Kings' zone and put it right onto the stick of the forechecking Filppula, who took one stride and beat Jason LaBarbera to the stick side with a 15-foot wrist shot"

Hated to bring up old news but there it is.

I agree with Bill in that the Detroit turnover was a season turner; it did seem to set the tone for the Kings this year, I remember thinking that when Filppula made the shot. That was one of the all time worst plays I've ever seen a Kings player make.

Matt R...

"Definitely the turnover. When they finish teaching kids how to skate and hold a stick, the first thing they teach you is "DON'T PASS IT UP THE MIDDLE!"

For those who have played, Matt is dead on. That is one of the first things they teach you when you start working on passing drills. When Filppula made the shot I couldn't figure out how a professional hockey player would ever make that pass.

Finally, on Gauthier's play. I honestly thought it was a great hit and I agree with TM; Gauthier did not do it with intent to injure. However, it was illegal. As soon as Gauthier left his feet he was screwed, there is no way around it. A highlight reel hit? You bet. It won't make it to the pan because it was illegal but it was something to see. The bad thing about the hit other than Gorges taking the pounding that he did and getting a concussion as a result was that it put LA down two skaters and a five minute major to boot. Would that call be made in any arena other than Bell Centre? I don't know. It was a very costly penalty regardless but not one the Kings couldn't recover from. Their PK during the major was excellent; they should have and would have won the game if not for the non-call against Doughty.

The pass up the middle against Detroit was by far the worst play this season by any King. However, for his physical play, aggressiveness and bringing stability to the Kings defense in a season so full of uncertainty, I'd hate to see him loose his job. That will probably be just a formality next year when the kids arrive anyway.

I think JDM sums it up best.....

"I'll remember that all in all Gauthier was brought in as a stop-gap for toughness, and that he filled that role well. Ultimately Gauthier has done arguably more good than harm and that this team, especially when factoring in the injury to Johnson, IS lucky to have had a steady, tough option on defense....."

Why isn't anyone even mentioning Tom Preissing in this equation? Is he so bad that we have to pick between Harrold and Gauthier?

Well, the hit made me recall the turnover. Actually, more than one of the turnovers. It made me think, well I can handle him taking the occasional stupid penalty if he plays physical and doesn't suck defensively. Problem being, he does suck defensively a lot of times. If he gets beat by guys, I can live with that; I know he's not a top four guy. I just can't live with him beating himself, and he seems to do that a little too frequently.

khanon, just let me tell you that you have no perspective on "this blogger...I think Rich is his name" reading a "few" articles and should seriously just shut up while you are ahead.

Also, anybody who outright thinks you don't know anything about the game or aren't a fan if you don't think there is a place for fighting in the game is a close minded idiot. You may be a hockey fan, but a statement like that definately earns you idiot status as well. You don't help the cause of fans like myself that support fighting in the game and actually have good arguements on the subject, not just "you're stupid if you don't agree with me", with BS like that. You should check out letsgokings.com. Plenty of other idiots to exchange equally asinine comments with over there. Enjoy.

khanon81....

While I agree with your comments on Gauthier and hockey in general, your attack on Rich is unwarranted, unjustified and doesn't deserve a response.

Thx Captain Material....wish I'd said that.....

I'll remember this hit. Face it his elbow was down at his side. he didn't throw it. It looked so bad because Georges was coming in low with his head down. Was it dirty? I don't think it was dirty. If Georges was upright we wouldn't be talking about this at all. I would say it was a brutal hit that players make every game (ie run at Sully) This guy just didn't have his head up and he paid the price.

I like Goat as a tough 5/6th D-man. Every player makes mistakes. Yes Every player. We just have some brutally harsh critics here that call for a head every time a mistake is made.

Wicked burn on khanaon81 Captain Material, way to go. Keep the garbage on the TSN blogs khanon!

I am no Gauthier fan at all but I don't think he's one of the major reasons for close game losses this year. I agree with Irsh Pat in the fact that Gauthier is a "bridge player" and has had his uses. I too will be glad when we don't need him.

khanon81 is actually eklund

I'll remember JDM making the best argument for why Gauthier has become scapegoat No. 1 since Labarbara left.
I'm really sick of reading criticism of the players who are giving it everything they've got while the coach go relatively unscathed.

It comes down to putting the players in a position to succeed.
More often than not, Murray sets them up to fail.
His lines had been better lately during the winning streak, but its back to the "same old, same old" with his approach to the game.
Maybe we don't have the players to compete for a playoff spot, but its undeniable that these players have gotten themselves plenty of leads through the first 2 periods only to have everything blown to pieces in the 3rd.
I don't know where to find 3rd period statistics, but I'm sure they're not pretty for this team.
We've let too many games slip away (some to bad teams) while Murray was punishing Frolov or Stoll or whomever for a small error.
Meanwhile, some of the "top line" players on this team skate by with no accountability for their actions.
The lack of consistency from day 1 of the season is really frustrating.
The team is better than last years, so I have to give Murray a lot of credit, but it seems as though he's the one who is too slow to appreciate that he's got a pretty talented club.
The "bright spots" of this season's club are more down to Lombardi than Murray.
That's something I would have thought I'd never say only 4 or 5 months ago.

Maybe Murray's system really does take a long time to learn and it is the players that need to "mature" into finishing off games, but its hard to see that when all the come from ahead losses are figured in.

Great post, JDM.

Aside from the fact that I haven't seen the charging major on Saturday's game, I've gotta go with the TO against the Wings. It was that single play that made me swear allegiance to anybody who could keep him out of the lineup. Commish (or whoever reviews these plays), I pray that you suspend him for five games.

Also have to agree with JDM's post, nice to read a little perspective. Can't buy into the criticism of Murray though, I think it's too hard to speculate from afar how these players are actually being treated internally & what conversations have been had about plays/mistakes etc. I do know that it probably takes a degree of maturity to bear down and finish off games, perhaps as a group they just aren't there yet. Certainly Calder needs a good kick in the arse over those stupid cross checking penalties he took...

Hey guys the Goat got five games and if this was Ovetchkin it would have been 0 what a joke.

gauthier made a big mistake and he will pay with a steep suspension...

ON ANOTHER NOTE....

whether this is the ottawa sun trumping up rumors and/or speculating, they have a one-liner about the kings are will to trade FROLOV and his $4mil next season...the same one-liner was then echoed today in espn's insider rumor page...

jill/rich...

is there any truth to this?

i really hope not...!

the goat got 5 games

EAT...If you consider TM as unscathed, I invite you to read the thousands of negative posts about him on this blog since the beginning of the season. As fans, its so easy for all of us to get emotional, but if you look at the simple facts...he's better than Crawford. He's no Bowman, but he is a big improvement. By the numbers. No emotionally charged remark can change that. Numbers don't lie.

Goat has been treated pretty badly on this post I agree. But the truth is, his game isn't fun to watch, so again, going with emotions...I see where it all comes from. But there is no doubt about his PK abilities, he does add value. Long story short...he won't be a King forever. Just not part of the long term...so like a bad break up I think its easier to hate him than love him. We all know he isn't going to be here forever.

The Frolov rumors are intriguing...I don't see how he isn't worth extending. But then again, its possibly worth considering if it means getting a more talented player to fill his spot.

"The Frolov rumors are intriguing..."

I'd probably use the word "ridiculous" instead, but depending on what you mean by intriguing, I suppose.

We need offense. One could presume a team interested in acquiring a player like Frolov would also be in need of offense. It's not likely we are going to get what we need (more offense) by trading Frolov (because that team is likely short on it also seeing as how they are interested in a player like Frolov).

It's much more likely we trade what we have an excess of (defensive prospects) for what we need (offense) than us trading Frolov.

Unless we're talking Kovalchuk with a pre-agreed upon extension coming the other way, it doesn't appear to make a ton of sense that Frolov's name comes up.

Also, its Bruce Garrioch we're talking about here. The proverbial broken clock is right more often than he is. Just look at the other rumors hes got in the same article he mentions Frolov in and tell me how much some that stuff makes sense as opposed to how much it just looks like topical guessing. Montreal is short on defense and over stocked with skill guys, so they want Havlat? Okay Bruce, if you say so...

Jill, the only blunder I can see is your posting such a harsh and ridiculous blog entry.

Gauthier has not been bad this season -- surely not as badly as people enjoy saying -- and he's never BEEN that bad of a player. Sure, he's made a couple of errors, but who hasn't? Every player on this team has, at some point, made a serious error. Just like every player on every, single team in the NHL.

His hit was not a blunder. He didn't even take a real run at the guy, skating over from probably 15 feet or so (and Georges knew it was coming). He may have left his feet a bit prematurely, but not much. Five games is a joke, and is simply due to his status as a repeat offender.

Frankly, I'm shocked that you'd write something like this. Perhaps you should be banned for five days (from posting), as this entry was extremely offensive -- and you are a repeat offender, after all. Then again, you probably will not post this response, and will ban ME for awhile. So be it. I don't mean to be a jerk, I know you are doing your best. I just find this blog entry to be in very bad taste and felt I had to tell you so.

T

TB,

You make a good point about Murray and the comments even though probably 900 of them are from me and the other 100 are from Anthony.
Also, I am hesitant to praise Murray based on the bar set by Crawford.
Maybe we should at least judge him based on Andy Murray, who wasn't great but wasn't horrible.
I don't think T Murray is a horrible coach, but I've been waiting for it all to make sense and I keep waiting.
I have to admit that at times this years club has rivaled my favorite Kings teams of all time, or at least in the 20 years I've been a fan.
I just don't get why he changes the lineup after a string of victories, or why he's cutting back on ice time for guys like Harrold and Simmonds (arguably the heartbeat of the team after Brown and Johnson).

I would love to see Murray put it all together, and as of a few days ago it looked like maybe he'd found the reins. But the 3rd period collapse against Colorado is a reality, and coming from ahead to lose in Montreal is an issue because it's happened quite a few times this season.

When will he try Calder/Stoll/Simmonds as our 3rd line?
When will he try Brown with Frolov and Kopitar?
Why can't he get more out of O'Sullivan?

Sure these guys are young but we know that they can get a lead against pretty much any team in the league.
If our defense is much improved, we should be able to hold it. No?

PS - If Frolov is traded I'll flip out. I want this guy playing here for the next 12 years. If he were in Detroit, he'd be one of the top 10 scorers in the league. He really is that good, IMO.

side note: I'm certain that Detroit could make a winner out of Gauthier. It would be a shame if we actually made the playoffs and didn't have him for depth and physicality.

I hate to say it, Jill, but your question more than anything panders to the desire of some of your readers to have somebody to bash. I mean, who right now would make an easier target than Gauthier, especially the way you phrase it? Sure, Gauthier has made some crucial mistakes. So has Doughty, Kopitar, Ersberg, Quick, etc., etc., as many here have already noted. He's also at times provided some valuable PK contributions -- better than most of the players on this team could do. His physical play has helped to re-define the character of this team as a big, punishing opponent. I would venture to say that there are other players on this team who have been equally, if not more, disappointing than Gauthier.

As far as the hit goes, judge for yourselves. The slow-mo clearly shows that DG's elbow was in, his skates were on the ice, and that Gorges' head was descending toward the point of contact. The elbow only extends outward, and the skates only come off ice after and as a result of the hit. It was unfortunate for us that the refs didn't see it that way in the flash of the moment, and unfortunate for Gorges that he had his head down and got injured. But was this a dirty or illegal hit? With intent to injure? Not a chance. Bad call by the refs and the NHL.

I hope the next time that you ask us to "remember" somebody's actions, maybe you'll consider the blunders of the referees, or the hype-happy media, or somebody -- anybody -- who isn't such an easy target for our venom. Seems like a pointless exercise in scapegoating to me.

I'm not the biggest fan of Gauthier, but I don't think he's useless. I have to admit that I associate him with turnovers. It is unfortunate for him that his mistakes have been so magnified. I think the hit he put on Georges was not malicious and at worst was only worth a 2 minute minor (and that's questionable). I also don't understand why he gets ice time and Preissing is a healthy scratch. I think the judgment handed down by the NHL was not fair, and I agree with Lombardi's assessment of it.

Detroit give away.