Should We Look 4 Goaltending Help?

[going5hole]

It is almost unanimous among reporters that the Kings need to go out in the offseason and find goaltending help. A trade or sign Theodore or Huet.

I personally am leaning towards steering clear of distraction goalies (Cloutier/Aubin/Theodore) and letting LaBarbera and our kids fight it out next season.

Other people's thoughts on this?

[charles]

don't read anything written by reporters.

[azkingfan]

Is there really any good goalies to be had that can make a difference on our team next year?

[evilgeek]

Until a goaltender comes available that is an upgrade over what they have, i say no. LaBarbera is adequate, Huet or Theodore are not an upgrade over LaBarbera/Ersberg IMO. Defense is the biggest problem. A big, nasty, crease clearing, rebound removing, stay a home defenseman is what they need. Adding a little size and toughness on the blueline will result in goaltending looking a little better.

[No One]

^^^^^^^

The Kings need more help on D than they do goaltending... Yes, the Kings could use a goaltending upgrade as well, but it shouldn't as high of a priority as the blue line.

[UnholyGoalie]

Labs and Ersberg should be enough to hold the Kings next season (when they still won't be contenders). I don't see the logic in locking up a top flite goalie to a mega contract if the rest of the team (defense) still has major problems. If the Kings go after Theodore, I'll laugh my butt off.

[VegasHockey]

A bad defense can make the best goalie look mediocre. If we had good defense, Ersberg and possibly Labs would look stellar.

[azkingfan]

Originally Posted by VegasHockey

A bad defense can make the best goalie look mediocre. If we had good defense, Ersberg and possibly Labs would look stellar.

Absolutely correct. Just ask Luongo how good it felt to have 24 shots against him in the first period of the Coyotes game last night.

[hockeyinsd]

I've said it before and I'll say it again; not even the great Patrick Roy would have gotten this team to the playoffs.

[Butch 19]

Originally Posted by No One

^^^^^^^

The Kings need more help on D than they do goaltending... Yes, the Kings could use a goaltending upgrade as well, but it shouldn't as high of a priority as the blue line.

^^^^^^^

applies to most if not all Kings' seasons.

It doesn't matter who is in net, opposition players get way too many HIGH QUALITY scoring chances and THEN rebounds because the D just isn't there.

[SnoochieBoochie]

This season my opinion of JLB has gone down. I am still impressed with Bernier, and I have been quite impressed with Ersberg. Save the money for D. For the last 20 years we bring in veteran goalies and they play like crap in a Kings uniform. Goaltending is not the problem.

[King Ludwig]

We need to bankrupt the Kings Blue Line Escort Service ASAP and get some decent D...

I say give Ersberg an extension and let Labs and the kids fight for the backup role... Of course a Beachball sighting in Europe wouldn't be a bad thing for us either...even though it might start WWIII...