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NHL: Kings

Gann Matsuda covers the Kings for Hockeytalk

KINGS NOTES
Evaluating the 2006-07 Los Angeles Kings: Part 3
by Gann Matsuda
(Last in a series)

LOS ANGELES (May 13, 2007) -- After a break of a little more than two weeks, hockeytalk.biz is back with the third and final segment of our season-end evaluation of the 2006-07 Los Angeles Kings. In this segment, we will look at the goaltenders, one key minor league prospect, the front office, and we will even have a word or two about ownership.

GOALTENDERS

SEAN BURKE (23 games played, 6-10-5 record, 3.11 goals-against
average, .901 save percentage) - After being claimed off of re-entry
waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 18--certainly a
desperation move--the Kings hoped that Burke would hold the fort with
Dan Cloutier out for the season and with Mathieu Garon nursing a
broken finger. But Burke did a lot more than that. Indeed, in his
first ten appearances, he was 4-3-2 with a 2.22 GAA, a .931 save
percentage and one shutout. But as the season wore on, the 40-year-
old Burke came back down to Earth and showed why he was languishing
in the minors, playing (actually, sitting a lot more than playing)
out his contract before retirement. Near the end of the season, Burke
was (generously) an average netminder who was showing his age.
Although there is a slim chance he could be back in 2007-08, do not
hold your breath.

DAN CLOUTIER - (24 GP, 6-14-2, 3.98 GAA, .860 save percentage) -
Atrocious. Abominable. Appalling. Bad. Brutal. Ghastly. Horrendous.
Horrible. Rotten. Terrible. Those are just a few of the adjectives
for Cloutier's disgusting performance in goal for the Kings in
2006-07. Sure, he was coming off a knee injury he suffered while with
the Vancouver Canucks, but it was clearly more than that. He was
never able to get his head on straight and the result was one soft
goal allowed after another. It is difficult to remember a Kings
goalie that was worse, although it must be said that some of them
were so bad that one must intentionally forget about them or risk a
massive brain hemorrhage. Cloutier is likely to get a look in
training camp for next season, but no one in their right mind should
expect him to return to the form that saw him post three straight 30+
win seasons. In fact, at this point in his career, Cloutier is
probably finished as a number one goalie in the National Hockey
League. He might even be finished in the NHL altogether.

MATHIEU GARON (32 GP, 13-10-6, 2.66 GAA, .907 save percentage) -
After going into the season with a vote of no confidence from Kings
President/General Manager Dean Lombardi, Garon had yet another
inconsistent, up-and-down season while battling injuries. He suffered
a groin strain in late November and missed a month. But after being
activated on December 28, he played only a handful of games before
breaking a finger and going back on injured reserve for about five
weeks. Despite his inconsistency and injuries, he still managed to
post the best numbers of the Kings' goaltenders this season. Yet he
was never able to gain the full confidence of the Kings coaching
staff after he returned, as Burke saw more ice time through the end
of the season. Garon will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1,
and when you look at the lack of confidence that Lombardi had in him
going into the season and how his season went, it will be a big
surprise if Garon returns next season.

SELECT MINOR LEAGUE PROSPECTS

JASON LABARBERA (62 GP, 39-20-1, 2.21 GAA, .922 save percentage) - As
it turns out, realistically speaking, there is only one prospect down
on the farm who has been in the Kings system for most of the 2006-07
season and has the potential to make an impact with the Kings in
2007-08. That prospect is Jason LaBarbera, who got stuck down in
Manchester after Lombardi's bungling of the Kings goaltending
situation this season. But to his credit, LaBarbera did not sulk or
complain. Instead, he put in a stellar season and was arguably the
American Hockey League's best goaltender. He ranked first in save
percentage, games played, shots faced and wins, and was fourth in
goals-against average. Looking ahead, LaBarbera has been outstanding
at the AHL level, but still has to prove that he can handle the added
speed and skill at the NHL level. He will get that chance with the
Kings next season, to be sure.

KEY PROSPECTS NOT EVALUATED: Brian Boyle, Trevor Lewis (not with
Manchester long enough), Lauri Tukonen (too many injuries).

FRONT OFFICE - Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi came in
back in April, 2006 and wasted little time making his mark on the
organization. He blew virtually everyone from the previous regime out
of the organization, right down to the assistant equipment manager,
training staff, and portions of the scouting staff. Some facetiously
wondered if the janitorial staff at the Toyota Sports Center received
pink slips as well.

Lombardi certainly hit the ground running as he began to tear down
the team for what is turning out to be a complete rebuild back in
June when he traded veteran forward Pavol Demitra for Patrick
O'Sullivan and a draft pick that was used to select forward prospect
Trevor Lewis.

Since that time, Lombardi's moves have been consistent with the goal
of rebuilding the Kings by acquiring, either through the draft or via
trades, young, talented players, and developing them in-house. And so
far, aside from one huge misstep, Lombardi gets very high marks.

That blunder, of course, was not only trading for goaltender Dan
Cloutier, but then he went on to sign him to a two-year contract
extension before he even played a game for the Kings. And as
mentioned earlier, Cloutier was a disaster in goal, injuries
notwithstanding. Lombardi's big mistake threw a wrench into the
Kings' goaltending rotation, and even forced them to call up goalie
prospects Barry Brust and Yutaka Fukufuji, who simply were not ready
for the NHL. Even worse, the Kings are stuck with Cloutier's contract
through the 2008-09 season. If the Kings want to go in another
direction, they will have to buy out his contract.

After all that, a better time to evaluate Lombardi and the front
office will after the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. At that point, we will
get a clearer idea of what Lombardi's vision and plans are for the
Kings, both short-term and long-term.

OWNERSHIP - Over the years, there has been much to dislike about how
the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) has operated the Kings. To be
sure, the Kings are still just a pawn that AEG used to build Staples
Center, and now, the huge LA Live entertainment/retail complex that
is under construction across the street from Staples Center. In other
words, the Kings have never been a priority for AEG, not when they
have so many big real estate, entertainment and other projects in
other locales around the world.

However, the hiring of Dean Lombardi, all but admitting that
ownership meddled (a mild term) far too often in hockey operations
and player personnel decisions while Dave Taylor was the general
manager, and then saying that it would now be Lombardi's show with no
meddling from ownership--those were all positive signs of hope. It
said that maybe, just maybe Philip Anschutz and Tim Leiweke finally
figured out that they need to leave player personnel decisions to
those who are qualified to make them and restrict themselves to
providing the resources necessary to build a consistent winner for
the long-haul, rather than blowing money on one or two top-tier free
agents and hope that they can make a team that consisted of little
more than third or fourth-line forwards, average defensemen and
mediocre goalies, a Stanley Cup contender.

Given AEG's horrific track record in that regard, they still need to
do a great deal of fence mending before they can be trusted to stay
the course. Therefore, they get an incomplete grade until there is
further evidence that they "get it." What the Kings do on draft
weekend will also give us an idea regarding ownership's support of
Lombardi's grand plan for the Kings, so be sure to check this column
after the draft.

BROWN LOOKS AHEAD

Kings winger Dustin Brown had a breakout year in 2006-07, scoring 17
goals with 29 assists for 46 points--all NHL career highs and an 18-
point improvement over last season.

"This is my third year in the NHL, and I have a lot of confidence,"
he said. "Playing with Kopitar obviously helps, and I feel good
physically."

Brown said that he certainly feels a lot more comfortable playing at
the NHL level.

"My first year out there, I was getting injured, and I didn't really
feel like I belonged at the NHL level at that time," Brown explained.
"Now, I feel, there's games that I've dominated, and it shows that
I'm ready to take on the responsibility of being a core guy."

Especially late in the season, Brown showed that he has the hands and
skills to be a consistent offensive threat, perhaps even a 30-goal
scorer.

But there were numerous games when Brown seemed to focus on taking
the body and was invisible offensively, and it raises the question of
whether or not Brown will be able to put it all together.

But Brown does not seem to be concerned about that.

"The bottom line is to be the best player I can be all around," said
Brown. "Some nights, with this team, it's not scoring a goal, but
having four or five good hits and getting under the skin of other
teams. The goals, I've increased my numbers every year, and that's
something I'll keep trying to do."

Perhaps Brown should be more concerned. After all, if he can find a
balance between burying a player with a body check and contributing
offensively, he will finally become a legitimate threat as a true NHL
power forward, instead of a slightly-better-than average second-line
winger who contributes with an occasional goal here and there.

LOS ANGELES KINGS

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